The first fight under former Cage Rage welterweight champion Paul "Semtex" Daley's recently signed four-fight contract with the UFC will be against Brian Foster at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas.
UFC president Dana White announced the signing of Daley (21-8-2) on Friday and the British striker has since been added to the "Franklin vs. Belfort" card.
"Yeah it's awesome," Daley said Wednesday to FanHouse. "Been a long road to get here, faith, luck and hard work."
Daley had been competing all over the UK since 2003 and in the past couple of years, began winning over North American audiences with stops at Strikeforce, EliteXC and Canada's Maximum Fighting Championships events. He was preparing for another US televised fight, at Affliction "Trilogy" until the cancellation of the card. While the fall of Affliction remains a disappointment to Daley, he's glad to know that something positive came out of the whole fiasco.
"I've always believed everything happens for a reason, good or bad," Daley said. "I had faith in there being a reason for the Affliction collapse and my MMA career."
At UFC 103, Daley will be taking on a fellow UFC newcomer in Foster (10-3) out of Matt Hughes' H.I.T. Squad in Granite City, Illinois. All ten of Foster's wins have come by either (T)KO or submission and none of his fights have gone a full three rounds. Daley will be Foster's most high-profile fight thus far.
"Yeah, I will most definitely be his toughest test," Daley said. "But I think he's gonna come in very well prepared, he trains with an awesome team including the ex-UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes. I think he's tough, has got good hands and looks to finish standing or on the ground, he sets a hard pace too. It's gonna be an awesome fight!"
Daley-Foster is currently one of ten bouts scheduled for the UFC 103 card and will take place on the undercard.
PPV:
- Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort
- Mirko Cro Cop vs. Junior Dos Santos
- Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann
- Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg
- Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca
Prelims:
- Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller
- Jim Miller vs. Thiago Tavares
- Brian Foster vs. Paul Daley
- Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal
- Eliot Marshall vs. Jason Brilz
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