On January 29th, Bellator will kick off 2016 with a card headlined by longtime rivals Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley in front of Koscheck’s home town of Fresno, CA. Koscheck and Daley have an intricate rivalry that goes back to 2010, and Bellator 148 will be the first time the two will be fighting on the same card since UFC 113, in May of 2010. And for some reason, Bellator has elected not to have these two fight each other, but instead have Koscheck (making his Bellator debut) facing Matt Secor, and Paul Daley against Andy Uhrich. A match-up between Koscheck and Daley would certainly have drawn the interest from those that might not otherwise watch Bellator 148, due to the history between them.
The bad blood between the two began well before their bout at UFC 113; the two had already publicly announced their dismay for one another, as was evident in the UFC 113 Countdown segment. Their feud led to their match at UFC 113 in Montreal, and it was certainly not without controversy.
When the fight began, it become apparent that Koscheck had no real intention of standing with Daley, (an accomplished kickboxer and far superior striker), and instead opted to take the fight to the ground. In the first round, Koscheck scored a takedown followed by a big slam and came close to submitting Daley with a rear naked choke. After a quick scramble, Daley returned to his feet and threw what appeared to be an illegal knee to the head of a grounded Koscheck. Referee, Dan Miragliotta, quickly stopped the action and deducted a point away from Daley, but after watching the knee on replay, it became obvious that the knee Daley had thrown completely missed Koscheck, and that Koscheck had sold it for all it was worth, culminating in a flop that would have made Chris Bosh blush. Though the point was eventually not taken away from Daley, the event proved that Koscheck has always thrived on playing the villain, and this was just another example of Koscheck playing it to the hilt.
The rest of the fight had little action. Koscheck capitalized on Daley’s wrestling inabilities and clearly won by unanimous decision. But the real action happened after the final bell rang, when Daley hit Koscheck with a sucker punch well after the fight had concluded, perhaps out of his dislike for Koscheck and his displeasure with the fight. Whatever his reasons, Daley had clearly crossed a line, and would have to pay the consequences.
“There’s no excuse for that. These guys are professional athletes. You don’t ever hit a guy blatantly after the bell like that, whether you’re frustrated or not.” Dana White said after the event. “I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he’s the pound-for-pound best in the world, he will never fight in the UFC ever again.”
Daley, clearly one of the best welterweights in the world, was forever banished from the UFC because of his feud and his disdain for Koscheck. But in the five years since his banishment, Daley has done well outside the UFC. He’s had 18 MMA bouts since fighting Koscheck, going an impressive 14-4, including 3-0 in Bellator, and has also competed in kickboxing, going 7-0 with five knockouts.
Koscheck on the other hand, has lost quite a bit of momentum in his career. Though unlike Daley, he stayed in the UFC, the last few years have not been kind to Koscheck. With the win over Daley, Koscheck earned a shot at the Welterweight Title against Georges St- Pierre. The fight was terribly one-sided, and saw St-Pierre retain his title, winning on all scorecards 50-45, and in the process, fractured Koscheck’s orbital bone.
Koscheck did bounce back from the loss, earning back to back victories over Matt Hughes and Mike Pierce, but then started a downward trend that he has yet to recover from. Koscheck is currently on a five-fight losing streak, including four straight stoppages, three of which came in the first round. Following the losses, Koscheck elected not to resign with the UFC, but instead left for greener pastures in Bellator.
Which brings us to Bellator 148. The first time the two men have been under the same banner in five years. The rivalry between them hasn’t seemed to cool any, which is to say they certainly haven’t kissed and made up. A grudge match only makes sense, as these two have long had unresolved issues. But Daley doesn’t believe that Koscheck has earned a rematch against him; because while Daley is still performing at a high level, Koscheck is not.
“Koscheck needs to prove he’s still got it,” Daley mused, before settling on the thought of, “maybe a summer showdown.”
Daley’s thoughts of a summer showdown with Koscheck brings to mind the possibility that Bellator is intentionally separating the two men for the time being, in hopes of building the eventual rematch. For Bellator’s sake, I hope they know what they’re doing. If Koscheck was to get knocked out or badly hurt in his Bellator debut, it’s likely many MMA fans would be calling for his retirement.
And considering the mileage on both men, letting this fight marinate makes little sense. It’s already been in the works for five years. Why wait any longer? If everything works out for Bellator, a rematch between the two would be exciting and would draw well, but Bellator runs the risk of missing out on that. A rematch could happen, but for now Bellator 148 feels like a missed opportunity.
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