Paul Daley Not the First Fighter To Be Cut for Bad Behavior

Last night, after losing all three rounds to Josh Koscheck in the co-main event of UFC 113, Paul Daley took a swing at Koscheck after the fight was over. The punch clearly had intentions of doing damage, and while it did land, it was glancing and did little to Koscheck.

The impact of the punch was felt at greater force by Daley himself, after he was cut from the UFC roster following the incident.

After the event, UFC president Dana White stated, "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."

Seemingly more important to White was Daley's response after the fight.

"There's no excuse for what he did, and I didn't like the answer he gave me when I went up and talked to him after the fight, either," said White. "His answer to me was 'I didn't hear the bell.'"

Had Daley been more apologetic for his actions or came up with a better excuse, maybe he would have got off with just a fine and suspension, but White has never passed a chance to flex his power.

After all, this is not the first time a fighter has been cut from the UFC following a foul and subsequent bad choice of words.

In October of 2007 at UFC 74, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, in a match against David Heath, held on to a rear-naked choke for a few seconds after Heath had tapped, and resisted the attempts by referee Steve Mazzagatti to separate them. In those few extra seconds, Heath was rendered unconscious.

Likely, Sobral would have been suspended and fined at worst if he had apologized and pretended he didn't know Heath had tapped.

Instead, however, Sobral stated to Joe Rogan after the fight, "he (Heath) has to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me 'expletive.'"

Later, after the event, most of the controversy was on Sobral's choice of words. It was debatable if he was referring to the legal beating he gave Heath in the cage, or the extended choke he applied after the tap. Either way, he was quickly fined and suspended by the commission, and cut from the UFC roster.

Again, it seemed White was bothered more by the post fight response, than the actual foul.

Weeks later in an interview, Sobral expressed little sympathy for his actions and stated that he had an equally good deal with Strikeforce now, anyway.

Well, since White continues to call Daley one of the best welterweights in the world, chances are that a competing promotion, such as Strikeforce, might be willing to pick up another talented bad boy.

And again, little will be regretted by the fighter, while the UFC loses a top contender.

Being the boss is never easy, and examples must be made. Let this be a lesson to all UFC fighters out there.

If you foul someone, come up with a good excuse afterwards.