UK'S PAUL DALEY PASSES ON UFC

By Lee Whitehead

It’s all change in the life of rising British superstar Paul “Semtex” Daley, current FX3 and Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion. With much speculation about his future in the sport and his move to the international stage, MMAWeekly can exclusively confirm that Semtex has inked a contract with Elite XC fighting.

Semtex defines the Elite XC deal as an obvious choice for himself, with clear benefits for him going forward, “The contract is a one-year deal for 3 fights, the first of which is in negotiations for May or July, most likely to be July because of the state commission over there and the fact that I will be defending my Cage Rage British Welterweight title on the 21st of April.”

Sounds interesting, but has the UK lost one of its most exciting fighters to the US? Not necessarily, one of the main reasons for inking with Elite XC is the flexibility involved, here’s the Semtex view, “The contract also allows me to fight for other organizations, which means I can be much more active as a fighter. I can still defend my FX3 title, my Cage Rage belt and possibly make a return to Pancrase. There is also the possibility of fighting on more US promotions. Elite will give me a lot of exposure in the US. Once the fans see me smash someone up, I'm sure to be in high demand!”

So why sign with Elite XC over the tabled offer from the UFC? “The deal gives me the flexibility to grow even further. Elite has the intention of continuing to helping me develop as a fighter, in skill and character. I will be the Elite XC champion. I am training hard for this”

So, with the UFC over in the UK going head to head with Cage Rage on contract signings, it appears that Elite XC have stolen a march by securing the cream of the British scene. How did the deal come about? “A Friend/Coach of mine Chris Reilly at the Bomb Squad Gym, now Legends MMA, put me in contact with the WFA. That offer fell through. When we heard the some of the staff had gone to Elite XC, we got in contact with those that we knew and they hooked us up”

In closing, Semtex is very excited about securing his future but for the moment it’s a case of heads down and focus on the first hurdle. With this news breaking, Semtex is aware that he will be viewed as a big target until his debut. First in line for his will be Daniel Weichel, European Vale Tudo and King of the Cage Veteran at FX3 on the 10th of March in Reading and after that Wolfslair Ground and Pound machine Paul Kelly at Cage Rage on the 21st of April.

With Semtex moving from Nottingham down to Kent and upcoming fights and contract negotiations, you have to wonder how training is going. “I am still part of the Team Rough House, and will always be, this is my family.” He continued, “I want to be that Jeremy Horn type character, one that travels and trains, and seeks out the best for the development of fighting skill in this arena; a true traveling warrior. There's much more to MMA than the fighting and the fame, etc. I am still a martial artist at heart and follow that old image.”

“I am training with New Thai Coach Maz Panzino. He is awesome, trained in Thailand, by true Thai champions and has fought at Lumpinni many times. My conditioning is done by my trusty coach, Sunny Dhoalki. For BJJ/Wrestling I am still making the three-hour trip to Nottingham to train with Rough House and BJJ/Wrestling Coach Lee Livingstone.”

“As for Holland/Mike's Gym and ATT, they are really awesome places to train, and I will continue, when time and money permits to train there when possible. I have had great experience and learned so much from these camps.”

Paul's management is current looking for major US sponsorship deals. For more information/contacts please go to www.blackstar-ent.com.