Bellator's Paul Daley 'not interested' in Josh Koscheck rematch, wants newly signed Rory MacDonald

Although Paul Daley came up short in a key fight with Douglas Lima earlier this year that would have put him in a Bellator welterweight title fight against champ Andrey Koreshkov, “Semtex” remains bullish about his big-fight prospects.

Daley (38-14-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) thinks he can get back in position to challenge for the belt, a road that starts with his upcoming Bellator 163 showdown with Derek Anderson (14-2 MMA, 5-2 BMMA). However, the biggest names and most difficult fights are what Daley is after above all, with recent Bellator signee and the No. 4-ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, Rory MacDonald (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), on his radar.
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“Definitely it’s a fight that interests me,” Daley told MMAjunkie of MacDonald joining the Bellator roster. “I would love to test my skills against a guy that’s challenged for the UFC title. It would be a great fight. He’s the new prodigy after B.J. Penn. It would be great because he has a name, and it would be good to test my skills against him. We’ll see what happens. I think he will probably go straight for the title. We’ll see. If the fight is offered, I’ll take that.”

Bellator 163 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Daley vs. Anderson airs on the Spike-televised main card following prelims on MMAjunkie.

After suffering his first loss under the Bellator banner courtesy of a unanimous decision to Lima (27-6 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) at Bellator 158 in July, Daley is ready to get back on the winning track against Anderson. The British fighter hasn’t experienced back-to-back losses since 2011, and he doesn’t intend on allowing “The Barbaric” to hand him another setback.

If Daley wants the big fights like one against MacDonald, a Lima rematch or a title shot against current Bellator 170-pound champion and No. 10-ranked Koreshkov (19-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA), Daley is going to need another run of victories. One fighter Daley said would be an easy win is longtime rival Josh Koscheck (17-10 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), whom he was originally booked to fight at Bellator 158. However, he said the matchup doesn’t garner his interest the same way it once did.

Daley and Koscheck have history that goes back to their UFC 113 fight in May 2010. Koscheck used a wrestling-heavy game plan to control Daley on the mat en route to a unanimous decision. Koscheck taunted the Brit throughout the fight, which caused Daley to walk across the octagon and deliver a post-fight sucker-punch. It led to Daley’s immediate UFC release and a lifetime ban from the promotion, according to UFC President Dana White. Years later Koscheck found his way to Bellator, but he still hasn’t competed since signing with the organization in July 2015.

Bellator has tried to book the grudge match to no avail. At this point, Daley said he doesn’t care about it.

“I think he’s past that – I think Koscheck is past it,” Daley said. “It’s quiet on the Koscheck front, and I’m not interested in calling him out or anything. I just don’t think the guy’s head is in the game. He’s quiet, and I think he’s a guy that’s going to stay there. More power to him. If you’re not really feeling it, then it’s dangerous to accept such a fight against me.

“I’m past that fight. There are many more interesting fights out there for me.”

Daley, 33, wants those fights, but he’s not willing to wait around for them. He’s always taken pride in being an active fighter, and his Bellator 163 bout with Anderson marks his 55th fight since turning pro in June 2003. He wants to continue that pace – a request he said Bellator is willing to accommodate.

“I just want to stay active, and it’s one of the things I’ve loved to do in my career,” Daley said. “There are a lot of opportunities to stay active with Bellator and stay in the cage fighting.”

For more of Bellator 163, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.