5 Most controversial UFC moments of the decade (2010-2019)

#3 Paul Daley’s sucker punch

Paul Daley was banished from the UFC after sucker-punching Josh Koscheck

UFC President Dana White has been known to throw his fighters under the bus, but for the most part – if he thinks they can benefit his promotion – he’s always willing to bury the hatchet, even with the likes of Tito Ortiz, who he feuded bitterly with for years. Back in 2010 though, one fighter was jettisoned by the UFC, and in this case, White has stuck to his word and never brought him back.

The fighter in question? British striker Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley, who was on the verge of capturing a Welterweight title shot when he fought Josh Koscheck in the semi-main event of UFC 113. The winner of the fight was pegged to face champion Georges St-Pierre, but in this match of striker vs. grappler, it was Koscheck – the grappler – who came out on top, as he used his stellar wrestling to grind Daley out for a clear-cut decision.

Daley didn’t like Koscheck’s style, and he almost certainly didn’t like his opponent’s post-fight trash talk. And so ‘Semtex’ decided to take matters into his own hands, and as Koscheck celebrated, the Brit rushed him from behind and hit him with a shameful sucker punch. Referee Dan Miragliotta quickly restrained him before more strikes could be thrown, but despite Koscheck not really being hurt, the damage – to Daley’s UFC career at least – was done.

Nobody had ever attacked an opponent after the final buzzer before Daley; MMA had always been a sport built on respect between martial artists and professional athletes, and this went entirely against that credo. It came as no surprise then that Daley was instantly released and has never returned – and the moment remains controversial to this day.