• Strikeforce: Emelianenko v Henderson

Paul Daley's never coming back to the UFC - White

ESPN staff
July 28, 2011
Dana White has no idea what Fedor Emelianenko has to gain by beating Dan Henderson this weekend © UFC
Enlarge

UFC president Dana White has reiterated his stance regarding the future of Paul Daley, insisting he stands by his decision to never allow the Brit back into the UFC.

Daley has established himself as one of the top welterweights outside of the UFC, recently losing a Strikeforce title bout with Nick Diaz despite dropping the champion. Diaz has now moved into a showdown with Georges St-Pierre, while Daley heads into another war with Tyron Woodley.

Victory over Woodley would only increase calls for Daley's return to the UFC, but White cannot forget the Brit's post-fight sucker punch on Josh Koscheck. In his eyes, it was an unforgivable act.

Asked if he holds to his word over the declaration that Daley would never fight in the UFC again, White told Sports Illustrated: "Yeah, it's just a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn't happen in the UFC.

"Listen, you just had 15 minutes to punch this kid in the face. You're going to punch him in the face when the fight's over? Two different worlds, man. You had 15 minutes inside this sport to do it. After that bell, it's assault."

Pressed further by the statement, 'As far as you're concerned, he's just done with you', White confirmed: "Yeah, it doesn't even cross my mind. That's one thing I just can't take."

The UFC president delivered a superb interview in which he talked about a range of factors, one of which being his own complete lack of participation with Strikeforce. And to that end, he questioned what Fedor Emelianenko will get out of a win over Dan Henderson this weekend.

"If I've got to still give Fedor his digs, my dig would be, 'Dude, you're fighting a 185-pounder'," said White. "Henderson's got a great chin, he's durable, he's got good wrestling, he can stay out of submissions, and all the great things I can say about Henderson, but Henderson weighs 185 pounds.

"So I actually think this fight, as far as Fedor is concerned, it's a lose lose for him. If he knocks out Dan Henderson, he knocks out a 185-pounder. If he gets knocked out, he just got knocked out by a 185-pounder."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices