Why did Paul Daley receive a lifetime UFC ban?

The UFC brass decided to cut British welterweight Paul Daley from their roster in 2010. A lifetime ban was imposed on Daley following an outrageous post-fight incident with Josh Koscheck.

Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck shared the Octagon at UFC 113. The matchup was meant as a title eliminator contest. The winner was guaranteed a shot at Georges St-Pierre, the then-welterweight king. The stakes at UFC 113 were clearly high for Paul Daley as he had the opportunity to become the first British UFC champion.

However, the fight didn't go as planned for 'Semtex' as he was pretty much dominated by Josh Koscheck all through the fight. 'The Blanket' executed his NCAA Division-1 wrestling acumen, cruising to a unanimous decision victory.

After the third and final round ended, Paul Daley charged at Koscheck and threw a left hook out of sheer frustration. The referee in charge, Dan Miragliotta, promptly stepped in and damped down Daley's aggravation.

Following the illicit sucker punch, Paul Daley was immediately released from the UFC roster. President Dana White indignantly condemned the entire fiasco in the post-fight press conference.

According to White, Daley made the excuse of not being able to hear the bell at the end of the fight:

“I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he is the pound-for-pound best in the world. He will never fight in the UFC again,” Dana White said.

#Bellator257 results: Paul Daley comes back for wild TKO win over Sabah Homasi https://t.co/u6sKym4HRS

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) April 17, 2021

Paul Daley doesn't believe he was treated fairly by the UFC:

Paul Daley believes the UFC 113 post-fight incident was blown out of proportion by Dana White. In an interview with MMA Junkie, the Bellator MMA fighter compared his situation to Conor McGregor's infamous Barclays Center rampage (the dolly incident) from 2018.

Daley stated that Dana White had a more affable reaction to Conor McGregor's misdemeanor. Despite hurting several fighters, the Irishman was given a clean slate by the promotion:

“It has definitely been a driving factor for me in my career,” Daley said of his UFC snub. “Here is this guy who was banished from the UFC still doing my thing and fans still love to see me fight. To have the longevity I’ve had, even though I was banished from the biggest promotion, is a testament to my fortitude. I put that down to wanting to prove you can still succeed in the sport if you have the talent, whether you are fired from the UFC or fired from another promotion.”

Paul Daley, who was banned for life from the UFC, says Conor McGregor should receive the same treatment he received, but understands why the UFC wouldn't want to do that. Watch #TheMMAHour live: https://t.co/11sYrEm5Ug pic.twitter.com/dx65bPq6LW

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) May 7, 2018