"Semtex" Paul Daley came in 2lbs. over weight for his title fight against Yuya Shirai in tomorrow night's BAMMA 5 main event. (Photo courtesy of Lee Whitehead and MMA Weekly)
For the fifth time in “Semtex” Paul Daley’s (23-10-2) past 11 fights, the British slugger has missed weight. And this time, not even an extra hour made a difference.
Daley was slated to take on DEEP Welterweight Champion Yuya Shirai (13-8) in the main event tomorrow night for the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts’ (BAMMA) currently vacant welterweight title at BAMMA 5 in Manchester, England. But during today’s event weigh-ins, Daley came in at 172lbs. – two pounds over the limit – reportedly due to his hotel’s malfunctioning sauna. He was given an hour to drop the additional weight, during which he reportedly traveled to another location in attempt to shed the extra pounds in a working sauna. His second attempt on the scale rendered a reading of 170.4lbs., which still exceeds the limit for a title fight. Consequently what was scheduled to be a five-round title fight is now reduced to a non-title three-round affair. Shirai on the other hand made weight, coming in at 169.6lbs.
“Semtex” was cut from the UFC due to unsportsmanlike post-fight conduct against “Kos” Josh Koscheck (15-5) at UFC 113 last May. Several months later the Brit undertook a single match with each Impact FC and Shark Fights, winning both bouts, before signing with Strikeforce in the Fall. In his debut with the UFC-rival promotion, Daley KO’ed fellow knockout artist “Hands of Steel” Scott Smith (16-8) just 2:09 into the opening stanza, which prompted Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker to declare Daley the top contender to take on the promotion’s 170lbs. champion “Diablo” Nick Diaz (23-8). Daley was all but guaranteed the title shot – so long as he walked out of the MEN Arena in Manchester, England tomorrow night with the BAMMA Welterweight Championship belt around his waist. Whether or not Daley’s inability to make weight and fight for the title at BAMMA 5 effects his shot at the same title in Strikeforce has yet to be known.
Unfortunately Daley was not the only UFC veteran to miss weight, as former heavyweight champ “Suave” Ricco Rodriguez (44-11) also came in 2lbs. over his contracted catchweight limit of 215lbs. for the co-main event bout against The Ultimate Fighter 10 alum James McSweeney (4-6).
Minus the main event being changed to a non-title affair, BAMMA 5 will still go on tomorrow night as scheduled. Viewers in the UK and Ireland can watch the show free and live on Syfy, Saturday at 9pm GMT/1pm PST/4pm EST, whereas international fans can purchase the live stream or on-demand on BAMMA TV.
(Video courtesy of WHOA! TV)
Very unprofessional Semtex.. He’s still one of my fav fighters.