Paul Semtex Daley - Have Faith

Full transcript: Paul Daley on London Real

3:43 Brian Rose: This is London Real. I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Paul Daley, the British mixed martial arts fighter who has competed professionally for the past 15 years for Cage Rage, Strike Force, the UFC, Bama, and now Bellator MMA. Known for your lethal stand-up style and brutal knockouts, you’ve faced legendary opponents like Dwayne Ludwig, Nick Diaz, and the current UFC champion Tyron Woodley. Your most recent fight with Brendan Ward in January ended with a spinning back elbow followed by a flying knee knockout.

5:04 You faced top ranked former UFC fighter Rory McDonald at Bellator 179 here in London on May 19th at Wembley Arena. Paul, welcome to London Real.

5:13 Paul Semtex Daley: What an intro. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me.

5:17 Brian Rose: You know, I’ve got to ask, is it weird going on the tube and seeing your face all over the place? Because I just… you’re everywhere. Is that strange?

5:26 Paul Semtex Daley: I wouldn’t say strange, but it’s something that you’ve got to get used to. I’ve been competing in the sport, as you say, for a long time, and I’ve had the opportunity to go on the media attention and people invest in me.

5:39 I think, you know, you do get used to it slightly, in not an arrogant way, but yeah, it’s nice. It’s sort of… it still always seems a little bit surreal. You kind of brush it off, like you get used to it and you’ll see it and you’ll be like… but then you’ll think about, hey, my face is just on London Underground and it becomes surreal, yeah.

6:07 Brian Rose: Yeah, and you’re the biggest face there.

6:09 Paul Semtex Daley: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, a little bit.

6:11 Brian Rose: It’s like you and Rory and MVP and whoever he’s fighting, but you’re prominent. So you’re kind of carrying the show that night. How does that feel?

6:20 Paul Semtex Daley: It feels great, you know. Main event, Wembley Arena against Rory McDonald, you know. It’s a big show, you know, and I think that it’s just going to be a great night. I’m looking forward to it. Yeah, it’s an exciting, exciting two weeks coming up for me, doing all this press and doing all the media, and I look forward to the night.

6:44 Brian Rose: Is this… is it fair to say this is the biggest fight of your career?

6:49 Paul Semtex Daley: That’s a tough one, you know. So, eh, it’s a tough one. They’re all big fights, you know. Like you said at the start, you know, I’ve fought big names. I’ve fought champions, former and current, and they’re all big fights for me at this stage in my career, but…

7:08 I think it’s an interesting fight. It’s intriguing. Rory’s a tough guy, and I hold him up there in the top five in the world, but… I feel me in my camp, we have something that’s going to surprise him, and we look forward to the night, so yeah.

7:23 Brian Rose: Yeah, I mean, for Bellator, this is a huge thing to bring Rory over. You get the first shot at him. You know, this is a big card, it’s a big thing. He’s easily top five. He’s been out now for a year, healed up.

7:36 A lot of people are going to watch this thing. Like you said, I guess every fight’s big, right, in your career.

7:41 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, every fight’s big. But yeah, like you say, Rory is definitely up there with the best in the world. He’s beat the current former UFC champion.

7:47 So, you know, it’s a fight that I have to be prepared for. It’s a fight that I’m excited about, and we look forward to it.

7:56 Brian Rose: I think you once said, I’m a guy that likes to test himself. And so, when you heard Rory was coming to the Bellator, were you like, on the phone with Scott Coker saying, this is my fight?

8:09 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, definitely. I’m not here to take easy fights. I want to test myself. I feel I’m at the caliber to challenge these top guys.

8:18 And sometimes I think that I go under the radar a little bit, and I feel that now’s my time to shine. I never shied away from a big fight. When I’m in the big fight, I always perform well. And I think I found a certain place in my life where I feel like on May 19th, it’s going to be my night.

8:38 Brian Rose: I rarely get to talk to fighters this close out or like about two weeks away. What’s your process now, these last two weeks?

8:47 What are you thinking about training, eating? What’s going on? Because you seem pretty chill right now.

8:54 Paul Semtex Daley: That’s what I’m trying to be. I’m just trying to… Well, not trying to be. That’s how I am. I’m so used to this.

9:01 I just want to relax, enjoy the final two weeks of preparation. My weight is good. I’m a little hungry right now, but yeah, my weight’s good. And I just need to take all this in my stride, enjoy it. And that’s it.

9:20 Brian Rose: I know one time, Cabo Sironi was asked, what’s it like that night when he goes into the cage? And he says, when he’s walking into the cage, he says to himself, what the fuck am I doing? He has that freak out moment. And I wonder what it’s like for you on the night of. Do you get thoughts like that ever?

9:36 Paul Semtex Daley: No, not really. I kind of embrace the whole thing. You’ve got to embrace it or you crumble. You have to sort of take it all in. Take in the crowd, have a look around, feel the canvas under your feet, have a look across at your opponent and know that this is real.

9:54 So you’ve got to embrace everything or you just crumble. I enjoy it. This is my job. What more can I ask for?

10:00 Brian Rose: Right. You feel like it’s like a special even privilege when you go in there, center stage, great opponents. I guess this is what you live for.

10:08 Paul Semtex Daley: I think the actual fight is the easiest night. I think the fight is the easiest night. Now, the weeks prior, they’re dying, they’re getting up early, they’re training, the cardio, not spending quality time with your family and not being able to socialize like a normal person. Those are the hard things. The night of the fight is when you get to get all those things back. You get to perform. You get to see what all the sacrifices are all about.

10:34 You get to show everybody what you’ve been working on, why you haven’t seen them, why you haven’t been able to go out and have a pizza or have a beer or socialize the way that you would think someone should of my age. It’s time to show them that all the sacrifices are worth it.

10:52 Brian Rose: I think Conor McGregor says it feels like every step he takes when he gets to that cage, he’s like they’re taking off the shackles for him. For that one few minutes, he can be free. Does that feel that way to you?

11:05 Paul Semtex Daley: I understand his way of thinking. That’s a good way to put it. For me, like I say, it’s all about the sacrifice. Fighting is something I was born to do. I’ve been fighting forever.

11:19 I don’t fear the fight. I embrace the fight. I actually look forward to going out there and punching a guy in the face, kicking him in the leg, throwing elbows or whatever. I look forward to it. I know this is what I was born to do. Now’s the time to show everybody.

11:39 Brian Rose: You had a face off of Rory, but behind the scenes, you’re complimenting him. You’re like, wow, this guy’s a great fighter and I’m excited to fight him. There wasn’t beef necessarily between you guys.

11:51 Paul Semtex Daley: There’s no beef. Very few people do have genuine beef or hatred in the sport because I respect them for what they’re doing, as I’m sure they respect me for what I’m doing.

12:02 With Rory, he was one of the first of the new breed, a very well-rounded, talented fighter. Good, just about everywhere. I have to give him his props. He’s achieved a lot. I think he’d say the same thing. He has to give me my props for what I’ve done.

12:23 If I was a worthy opponent, he wouldn’t have accepted the fight. I’ve seen a recent interview. He said he used to watch me as a teenager, which is a massive compliment. But on May 19th, we’re going to fight and I’m going to take him out. But as a fighter, for his skill set and what he’s achieved in the sport, I’d be stupid not to give him credit.

12:44 Brian Rose: You’re known for an exciting stand-up fighter. Rory stood up, I think, most of his last few fights, even though he always had that grand game. But I just remember remembering all of his stand-ups, sometimes an old-school boxing style and stuff. Is this fight going to stay up, you think?

13:00 Paul Semtex Daley: Well, I ain’t going to be looking to take it to the ground. We’ll say that much. Like I say, Rory’s very well-rounded. He says he’s going to stand. He’s not afraid to stand.

13:10 But throughout my 15 years competing in the sport and other experiences in life, I know that when I touch him with a punch, he’s going to want to take it to the ground. And I guarantee you that. If not, the fight’s going to be over really, really quick. I’m an extremely tough guy. I punch extremely hard.

13:30 And I just feel like I’m just a little bit better than everybody thinks. You can see me on footage and you think, oh, okay, I could take that. Oh, that guy took that punch. But when you get in there, it’s a different story. And I think on the night, Rory’s going to find that out very quickly.

13:48 Brian Rose: He says he’s going back to his roots a bit. And he told me when he was here that he felt maybe he got too many ideas in his head and he was always trying to be a bit of a new fighter. And he thinks he kind of got lost in those last couple of Stephen Thompson fights. And I even know now he spent some time back in British Columbia in his original gym, not even a TriStar. And he kind of want to get back to what he’s good at, I think.

14:10 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I heard that. And I kind of get the impression that he feels like deep down he was a fighter, getting back to just getting out there and fighting, which is going to suit me perfectly. I know TriStar as a gym, they study a lot. And I think that’s what he means. He kind of got lost in the study and then trying to find a style to defeat this opponent rather than just going out there and fighting.

14:33 And I hope that on May 19th, he comes out just to fight. And like I say, if he does that, it will be a short night and easy work for me. I don’t think he’s that stupid and I definitely don’t think he’s that tough. And at some point he’s going to be shooting in, trying to get the fight to the ground. And when he fails at that, it’s going to be lights out, you know.

14:57 For me, for all his talent, I know deep down inside, Rory’s a quitter and I hope he sees this. I know he is a quitter. I’ve seen it in the Lola fight when Lola took his best and he stood across and he looked at Rory, he had his hands out and was like, come on. I think that broke Rory. If you quit because of a broken nose, then you ain’t nowhere near in my league.

15:20 I’ve taken beatings, I’ve come back from horrendous shots and there’s no quitting me. I’m not a quitter. You can say anything. But when it comes to taking punches and kicks, I ain’t going to quit. And that’s it. I know he’s a quitter.

15:36 So that’s how I’m pretty sure that once these punches land on him, he’s going to be quitting the idea of standing up and trying to get the fight to the mat.

15:47 Brian Rose: Are you going to aim for his nose?

15:49 Paul Semtex Daley: I’m going to aim for everything, you know. I feel like people say the way I’m going to win is by knockout, but I feel as a fighter, I can beat Rory. Through my experience, through my fight IQ, and I can beat him on points. If I wanted to play the points game, dance around, jab here, front kick here like Rory does and do his Les Massalis shuffle that he did against, I can’t even remember.

16:15 DJ Penn, that was a life. Yeah, I could do that. I could do that and still beat Rory. But we’ll see how it plays out. It all depends on him.

16:27 I’m confident. I’m happy with where I’m at. I know people’s opinions on the fight and I’m going to prove everybody wrong.

16:35 Brian Rose: Yeah, because you know he’s going to kind of come in with a plan, the TriStar strategy. And it could mean strategic, like you said, but it might not. And you’re ready for other ones.

16:47 Paul Semtex Daley: I’m ready to fight.

16:48 Brian Rose: And I think when you can abandon everything, when you’re well prepared and you can abandon a strategy and be confident that wherever the fight is, you’ll succeed, then you have no emotion and no thought going into that fight. You are essentially free, as you referred to as McGregor feels.

17:08 Paul Semtex Daley: It is freedom. When you’re confident that wherever the fight goes, you’re well prepared. You don’t need a strategy. You just need to go in there and fight. And I think that is essentially what Rory is saying, is going back to his old gym to do, is just to fight, not to follow what’s his name, Ferrazi.

17:28 Yeah, follow his tactics on, you know, this guy moves to the left all the time and throw this shot at this time. And when you pin him against the cage, he’s always going to put his right hand in to dig for the under first. Because what if that shit don’t happen? Then what are you going to do? You have to be free when you’re fighting. You just have to go out there and fight.

17:49 And don’t overthink it. If you’re prepared well, you shouldn’t have to think about fighting. If you’re prepared well, you shouldn’t have to think about fighting. You should just be able to go out there and fight.

18:00 Brian Rose: And with his nose being caved in, a lot of people gave him the pass, but you know as a fighter, that’s not a reason enough to quit.

18:07 Paul Semtex Daley: No, that is no reason to quit. When it comes to feeling pain and being put under pressure, I’ve been in horrendous positions. I remember fighting as a country. I had no main event at K1 Max fighting this 6’5 Iranian kickboxing champion. And the first round, you could fight it on YouTube. I was taking a horrendous beating. I was being kicked. I was being mean. I was being punched. And I’ve never felt a pain like it.

18:36 And I got back to that corner. My corner said, Paul, you lost that round. I said, oh shit. He said, so you’re going to go out there and win this fight. I said, you’re damn right. And I went out there and I won the fight.

18:45 And for me, having been in that position, sort of, I hadn’t been in that position before. I’d been in fights where I’d been hurt and had to show some heart. But in that fight, I was in a lot of pain. And I had to fight through it. And Rory quitting because of a broken nose to me tells me, no matter how deep down he believes he’s a fighter, he’s not really a fighter. I will never quit to a broken nose ever.

19:18 Brian Rose: Yeah. There’s some footage of you out there where you’re cornering, I think, one of your fighters. And in between rounds, I think you yelled at him, I shouldn’t have to give you a bloody pep talk. You’re a pro. Is that your mentality when it comes to fighters?

19:31 Paul Semtex Daley: Well, look, this sport of fighting with fighters, you know, it’s not a matter of being a pro amateur. If you’re a fighter, there’s certain qualities that you should have in yourself away from all your martial skills. Now, being a fighter, there’s fighters in life, you know, people who’ve had terrible lives, had to fight through a lot from the bottom to the top. Their fighters as well. And those qualities that they have to succeed in their chosen path in life, you should have as a guy who’s about to start swinging on a guy and being able to accept punches back.

20:12 And I feel if you can’t show those qualities in a fight and persevere through hard times, then you’re not a fighter. No matter how many spinning back kicks you can do, or front kicks or elbows and all this kind of shit, arm bars, triangles. If you don’t have those qualities in yourself, you’re not a real fighter. And I feel a real fighter will also always win against someone who doesn’t hold those qualities. So it’s about taking the pain, having the mindset, not quitting.

20:40 Not necessarily about taking the pain, it’s about persevering against situations that you have no control over. It’s about perseverance.

20:49 Brian Rose: OK. You were talking about British MMA and the emergence of it earlier. I was saying I first got here in 2002 and I went to Brawl in the hall. I think it was UFC 38.

20:59 And I saw Ian Freeman, just KO, a very young Frank Mir that was coming up and the whole place went crazy. But, you know, you grew up in this kind of place. And I’ll be honest, I think, you know, five, seven years ago, I felt like you were kind of keeping British MMA alive. And now I’m at Paul Day and knocked another guy out. And you were kind of keeping this scene here. But tell me what it was like growing up when there wasn’t much of a scene over here.

21:25 There was a few guys here and there. No one was training in the States. How did you get the bug?

21:31 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, it was very different. And I think what really got me geared towards competing in this sport is there was an old Channel 5 documentary with Ian Freeman, Leo Medios, Mark Wayer.

21:43 Brian Rose: Who you fought later, right?

21:45 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I fought Mark Wier for the Cambridge British for the world title, in fact, and knocked him out. But yeah, he those three guys really motivated me. I was already a fan of the sport. I haven’t watched early UFC, VHS tapes and stuff like that.

22:03 But watching the documentary and seeing some British guys really going for it and making strides to walk towards competing on a big stage got me involved in the sport to the level where I wanted to sort of invest more time and money and try and pursue this as a career. Because even in the early stages, there were guys I won’t call it a career, but they were making a living from fighting, you know, fight to fight. So if I could do that, rather than work in nine to five and live, you know, fight, do something I love, get getting a paycheck, then I was sure that’s going to pursue that.

22:39 So that’s what I did. And so things fell into place for me. I found a great coach in Rupert Smiley and not just a coach, but a mentor. And he was behind me. You could see the determination. Yeah, you want to do this as a career? Okay, we’ll do this.

22:54 And one of the early moves that we made is began a promotion, a promotion that still runs today, not very frequently because I’d normally do it in between fights. And we generated some funds from that and set about the plan to go over and train with the best team that we could find at the time. And that was American top team around the same time. There was a guy called Dan Hardy who, you know, I passed across to amateur martial art event. And we sort of became buddies. And he heard that I was, you know, raising funds to go to America. And he did a similar thing.

23:30 And so we set off on this adventure to American top team and, you know, the rest is history. And, you know, we’ve both done pretty well from having been inspired by the early UK MMA pioneers and sort of pursuing the dream.

23:45 Brian Rose: And from that to how it is now with your million dollar purses and, you know, you know, you know, Greg is driving around and Rolls Royce is and, you know, your flash mansions is completely different.

23:58 Paul Semtex Daley: I think for my first professional fight, I got paid 80 pounds. And that’s not the joke. The joke is that I was paid by checking a check bounce.

24:07 So I get paid shit. So, you know, it’s changed and it’s been a it is and it continues to be an interesting journey.

24:14 Brian Rose: You said guys like you and Dan, few of you were investing in the future. That’s the interesting way you put that because you saw this being much more than it was. Yeah. And you were betting that there was going to be a big future and you should spend whatever limited funds you had on, you know, flying to the states and getting training.

24:33 Brian Rose: Training not cheap, right?

24:35 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, it wasn’t cheap. And, you know, I think we stayed in a hostel for one night and after like a bad, bad experience, we saw we sort of opted to rent an apartment. Now the apartment cost is a little bit more money and we didn’t have much money, even though the funds we raised was enough to get us there and pay for training and transport. Once we’d got this apartment, we pretty much had nothing left. We had one bed in the apartment and one sofa type chair similar to this.

25:02 So we would swap each night. Dan would have the bed, I’d have the chair and then we was eating cans of tuna and rice is all we could afford for the three weeks that we’re there at American top team. And the training was intense. And, you know, if you had the chair to sleep on that night, you know, the training would be even harder the next day. There was those cockroaches and, you know, it was it was pretty much a rocky type story. But we had belief firstly in ourselves and secondly in the sport because we could see this facility in America, American top team.

25:40 It was fantastic. Cage, fitness area, bags. There’s even in England now, there’s very few gyms like the American top team had way, way, you know, eleven years ago. So we could see there was a potential in the sport and we could see, you know, Minatoro at the time, I think he was one of the guys that was there over from BTT pulling up in the Mercedes even back then, you know, having won the pride grand prix. So we could see that there was, you know, money to be made.

26:09 Brian Rose: That’s motivational.

26:10 Paul Semtex Daley: That’s motivation. And we would like to say pride was the biggest thing back then.

26:15 So even just seeing him was was massive for us and a massive drive and inspiration to continue in the sport. So like I say, we could see that there was a future in the sport.

26:25 Brian Rose: What did you learn from the Americans then? What did you see there that you’re like, OK, this is different or they’re doing this different or nothing?

26:33 Paul Semtex Daley: Everything.

26:34 Everything. We learned everything. We learned everything. First off, we learned off that we wasn’t that good, even though it was beating people up in the UK. We learned we really wasn’t that good. We learned, you know, I credit a lot to American top team and I’ve said this before. And every time I see the ball, I always thank him for allowing us to train there.

26:54 We learned how to structure a training program, how to warm up correctly, how to spar even everything. How about to go about business, you know, sponsorships and confidence and self belief and stuff like this. And a lot. I remember one thing that I still do today from American top team, which is you can see on their their logo is a guy with his hands up after every session at every sparring session. Every sparring session, whether you had a good day or a bad day, the boy would always shout, put your hands up, put your hands up like you’d won the fight and have pride in what you’ve done and what you put in on that day.

27:35 And, you know, and whether you had a good round or bad round, you’re still a champion. And I still do that to this day after I spar a good session. I put my hands up after I’ve been pushed in conditioning training and feel like shit. I put my hands up. If I’ve had a bad sparring session, you know, I still have that pride. You know, I’m in here. Other people dream of doing what I’m doing. So I have to take pride in that.

28:00 And, you know, I thank American top team for that.

28:03 Brian Rose: You know, we have a mutual friend, Peter Irving. He’s one of the kind of early legends, you know, an MMA here, you know, and we used to train at Urban Kings. And he actually co-hosted London Real for a bunch of episodes. And we had some fascinating people on. But he says he used to go up and spar with you.

28:19 And he said you’re known for bringing top fighters in, putting yourself in bad situations in the ring with them, getting yourself tired and putting yourself in bad situations. And Peter says that’s not normal for guys at the top of their game. You know, I’ve learned, you know, I’ve traveled a lot. I’ve trained a lot of places and I’ve learned what has made those people that I admire and made them successful. What has gotten to that position? And I think it was a quote from Ali. He didn’t win every sparring round.

28:57 Mayweather wasn’t an undefeated amateur and stuff like that. And they don’t win every sparring round. And, you know, just people that you see at the top of their game have got there for being in difficult situations. And I adopt that to the way that I train. I know the situations that people are looking to put me in.

29:21 And if I can defend those positions or avoid those positions when I’m tired, then I can take confidence in that when I’m in the fight, you know, I’m comfortable in these positions. And another thing that I do, which I got from boxing and, you know, again, again, for people I admire in boxing is I’m very up to date on future stars. People that I see potential in, I watch fights on guys coming up and I do my best to bring those guys into training camp with me.

29:53 I’ll try and recruit them. And nine times out of ten, they’ll come because it’s a big opportunity for them. You know, I’m an established name in the sport. And a lot of these guys are younger. A lot of these guys kick my ass.

30:04 And, you know, and people are surprised that I do that. Why a guy of your reputation would you put yourself in a position where someone could say, oh, yeah, you know, I went up to spar with Paul Daley and, you know, I did all right. You know, so people sort of. But I put myself in that situation because I know in the long run I’m going to perform better if I can keep up with these young lions and I can be in there at disadvantage, tired, fatigued and stuff like that.

30:32 And perform well against these future champions. And I can hold my place in the sport after such a long time. I’ve already been here. I can I can I can stay at the top of my game. But you have to check your ego because I have no ego sparring is sparring.

30:49 I tell you that I’m 100 percent honest with you. I don’t win every spar around. Sometimes I get beat up by my own students. I have no ego because I’m there to learn. I’m more likely to analyze how that shot landed.

31:03 Why is this guy better in me better than me at certain things? How did he get me to this position? How can I avoid being in this position? And like I said, I take confidence from that. The fact that I got no ego is is how I think I’m so successful as well.

31:20 People think I have an ego, but for me, I sometimes I don’t give myself enough credit. I have won fights and been absolutely completely disappointed in my performance where I don’t even want to talk to anybody.

31:40 And that’s not because I have an ego. That’s because I always seek to better myself. So if by making them by by putting myself in bad situations and by, you know, I sort of put myself in bad situations and struggling. And I look for ways that I can be successful in defeat. I’m looking for success. I don’t know how to put it.

32:11 But when I fail, I’m looking. I’m looking more deeply into where I can succeed.

32:17 Brian Rose: You mentioned McGregor earlier. What do you make of this whole phenomenon and also how big MMA got UFC? Very quickly.

32:27 Did you see that coming? And then what do you make when you see someone like McGregor kind of at the top of that heap?

32:35 Paul Semtex Daley: I think he’s done extremely well. You know, I could never knock McGregor or anybody who comes into the sport and can ignite ignite it like it like it has been, you know. And it doesn’t happen very often. I don’t know what else to say. I think he’s done absolutely fantastic when it comes to bringing MMA into the mainstream.

32:56 I think he’s earned well for himself. But I think everything has a shelf life. You know, if you look at the stuff that McGregor is doing before him, you had your Chels Sonners before Chell, you had your T2T’s. It’s just I think it’s a lot of it’s to do with timing. There’s always going to be that brash character who stands out from the crowd who nine times out of tank can back up what they’re speaking, you know.

33:23 And I think he’s done well for himself and I commend him.

33:26 Brian Rose: It’s like another level. I mean, Tito used to be level. You’re like, wow. And then Chell, you’re like, it doesn’t get crazier than this. And then McGregor, it does get crazier.

33:34 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, it does. But, you know, McGregor is very smart, you know, even before he had all his managers and all the advisors around him. First off, from my opinion, I know personally, I know he’s a fight fan. And you can see that from what is taken from watching other people. Some things he says, some of the way he acts, you can see he’s taken that from this boxer or you can see he’s taken that from this fighter and, you know, his swag.

34:08 You can tell he’s taken all the best bits of other people and he knows how to say the right things at the right time to get the maximum impact. And that is himself. And now, obviously, he has advisors that push him and, you know, he’s made much more of it. But he was just he was a fighter. He loved to fight. So that tells me he used to watch a lot of footage, watch old boxing footage, you know, watch old whatever fight footage.

34:36 And Anderson Silver fights and stuff. You can see he’s taken things from other people and, you know, he’s done well.

34:43 Brian Rose: You must have seen him coming up in Cage Warriors here.

34:46 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I’ve seen him. But to be honest with you, I didn’t think he was as talented as he is now.

34:51 Not that he wasn’t very good, but I would have never guessed he would have been this huge. He was very good, always performed well at Cage Warriors and, you know, was a two weight champion. And he was fantastic. But I don’t even think he could have predicted how big this whole whole McGregor phenomenon has become.

35:09 Brian Rose: Yeah, I always say it’s like going into a casino and walking past the blackjack tail or going to roulette and putting your entire life savings in your house and your kids all on like red number three.

35:21 And then when he wins, it’s like, let’s put it all back and roll it again and roll it again and roll again. He’s the guy that’ll bet everything on like, you know, six fights in a row and talk the most smack and rubbish. And not many people will do that. Put it all on the line.

35:41 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, no, McGregor, like I say, he’s a fighter. You know, he for me, he is a real fighter.

35:47 Yeah, I see a lot of good qualities in McGregor. I don’t know what else to say. He’s done well as a product. But if I’m looking at him just as a fighter, I think I’ve got to commend him because he always performs well. And even in defeat, you know, he can accept, he accepted the losses that he has and just looks to move forward.

36:13 Brian Rose: Yeah, as a fighter, what do you see when you see those two, you know, in the Dias fights? Like when you see that defeat, every fighter’s been there. But you must see things I don’t see.

36:25 Paul Semtex Daley: Well, do I see I just seen that for me, I think the Dias style is just a hard style to prepare for. And I think people don’t give him enough credit for that. They’re very durable. They can take a hell of a shot. And they’re the cardio is insane.

36:41 And the pressure and then the punch output is just phenomenal. And when you’re put under that pressure, if you haven’t prepared for it, if you’re not aware of it, you know, it can be very difficult to deal with. And that’s what I mean by, you know, watching footage is all great. But when you’re in there, it’s a completely different thing because I haven’t thought Nick Diaz, I’ve watched the footage and I thought, yeah, you know, yeah. He throws a lot of punches. It doesn’t look like he hits that hard, keeps the pressure on you, whatever. But when you’re in there, it’s completely different.

37:20 And I feel like people think that with me as well. I’m not the biggest of welterweights. So people think, oh, his own is small. He can’t be that strong. Oh, this guy took that shot. He can’t really hit that hard. And so I take comfort in that. I take comfort.

37:38 Brian Rose: But they think they know they can get through your power until they feel it.

37:42 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, but they don’t know. They really don’t.

37:44 Brian Rose: I was watching the footage of you and Nick last night and Jesus Christ, you hit him with some shots in the beginning that they look great. Or there was a Hollywood stuntman because he was just dropping and dropping and dropping in. But then, like you said, his cardio was there and he just finds a way out of it.

37:58 He finds a way out. Even when he hit the ground, he was kind of pulling this guard.

38:02 Paul Semtex Daley: And although it looked like I could have been stopped at any point, too. Like I say, Nick is a very tough guy. And not long before this, I did an interview with The Sun.

38:09 But, you know, the Nick Diaz fight is always brought up. But, you know, I don’t like to say it because I don’t want it to sort of detract from what a phenomenal fight was and how great Nick is. But I didn’t train for that fight. I know I haven’t said it before because people always bring up from me and I say, yeah, thank you very much. But really, I didn’t train for that fight. If you could have seen the scene, how I was, you know, maybe at this stage before that fight, you would never believe it.

38:38 I was still going out every weekend. You know, I was drinking. I was coming in at six in the morning. You know, I didn’t train for that fight because I seen the footage and thought, shit, this guy doesn’t hit that hard. You know, I can beat him. I just have to land one shot. I wasn’t as serious as I am about the sport as I am now.

38:59 You know, I was just trying to get a lot of money quickly. And the Nick Diaz fight was a big fight. So I took the fight. It was a great fight. Nick’s a tough guy. But had I prepared properly for the fight and been the person I am today, the outcome would have been a lot different.

39:15 I still feel even experienced in the style that he has.

39:18 Brian Rose: Right. I think it would have been different because you’d had the cardio and a bunch of other things on your side

39:23 Paul Semtex Daley: that would not just not just the cardio. I would have had the correct preparation for the fight. But it was a great fight. I ain’t taken away from the fight.

39:31 And I’m not trying to say that Nick isn’t a fantastic fighter, but it’s just I don’t make it common knowledge that I didn’t prepare for that fight. So I like to put it out there every now and again. But it was a great fight. And people loved that version of me swinging wildly and knocking Nick out and coming back and being rocked and whatever. Then I’m happy for that. But I could do better.

39:58 Brian Rose: And what was it like being on there with him? Do they feel small? What does it feel like?

40:04 Paul Semtex Daley: They look like, but they hurt. They’re legitimate shots.

40:07 Brian Rose: Yeah. There’s a lot of pop to the shots.

40:10 Paul Semtex Daley: I think, you know, yeah, I don’t want to. Yeah, he can punch. He can really punch. And he’s a lot faster than you think as well. Those shots come at you and they come very quickly. And then by the time they’ve hit you, you know, there’s another one coming.

40:29 Brian Rose: Yeah. It’s good. Yeah. And I mean, these guys are sparring with Andre Ward, you know, one of the pound for pound best fighters in the world. So if this guy is having him in training camp, you know that these guys have legitimate boxing skills. So that should say all.

40:44 When Nate has his first fight with McGregor, did you think this could be interesting? Because Nate has, of course, similar style as his brother?

40:55 Paul Semtex Daley: I sort of watched it with an open mind. I didn’t really favor either guy. But when I see McGregor start to get tired, I knew it was game over.

41:05 I knew Nate wasn’t tired. I knew Nate wasn’t tired. And all the blood and all of the shots that were landing, you know, I thought I knew it was going to be a difficult night for McGregor once they can see you’re tired. You know, when they stop mocking you and shit, then, you know, it’s game over. And psychologically as well, when you’re hitting the guy that many times and he’s not going down, when your whole career, McGregor’s knocking guys out in the first round, second round.

41:32 That’s got to also make you think, oh my God, this is a longer night than I thought it was going to be. It depends what your gas tank’s like. If you’ve got enough in the tank to keep doing it, then it’s all right. But if you’re hitting them with your best shots and you’re thinking, fuck, I’m getting tired, then you know it’s going to be a long night for you. But, you know, they’re both tough guys, Nick and Nate.

41:59 Brian Rose: McGregor comes back from rear naked choke, almost out cold on the mat. That’s a pretty big thing to come back from. What did you make of all that and did he kind of redeem himself?

42:09 Paul Semtex Daley: I think the changes that he made for the second fight were the right changes to make. And the one that sticks out to me, which I said prior to the fight as well, I feel like McGregor sort of banded his kicks a little bit in the first fight.

42:22 He’s got great boxing, great knockout power, but in a lot of his earlier fights at Cage Warriors he was quite a dynamic kicker. You know, you would do a lot of capoeira and he had a good solid low kick as well that I think that he should have utilized more in the first fight than he did in the second fight. And I think it played a massive part in getting the victory in the second fight.

42:44 Brian Rose: Mayweather, McGregor, does it happen? Do you have thoughts on it?

42:48 Paul Semtex Daley: I don’t think it happens. I think it’s just a way to keep the interest in both fighters while McGregor’s having a baby, being a father, and Mayweather’s just happy people. Don’t forget that he’s a high-turning boxer and one of the best fighters ever and undefeated and all that. I think it’s just a great media spin. If I’m wrong and the fight does happen, I would have to favor Mayweather.

43:17 I think anybody who favors McGregor are crazy or they’re Irish. Or both. That’s not knocking. I’m not knocking McGregor, but boxing is a completely different sport, as McGregor knows. And I think he just…you know, this is Mayweather. He’s been in there for Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Kotto, Canelo.

43:52 Brian Rose: Could you see McGregor beating any of those names I’ve just ruled off?

43:58 Paul Semtex Daley: No, never. Even some British boxers, European-level boxers, boxing is such a hard sport and it does take a lot of dedication. You need to have a lot of rounds on your belts. And I commend McGregor for saying he’d get in there.

44:18 They both make a lot of money, but I think boxing is completely different. I heard a boxer make a commentary, he said when you get into that eighth round and those gloves start feeling like lead weights, that’s when a boxer’s experience and everything knows how to deal with that. Everything. The tempo’s different. And you know Mayweather’s going to take him into that deep.

44:38 Brian Rose: Exactly. It’s very intriguing and it’s got people talking. I mean, we’re talking about it. And I think that’s one of the aims of the whole thing, is to keep people talking. I don’t think it’s going to happen purely for the negotiation purposes and the money.

44:57 But then that’s one of the reasons it could happen, because of the money. So it’s one of those things. I know some people close this situation and they said there’s so much money at stake, it has to happen. They’re talking about it being the billion dollar fight. And if it’s that fight, maybe in total, if it’s really that big, maybe it won’t be, but maybe it’s close or half of that, it kind of has to happen, because ultimately they’ll negotiate. Mayweather will say, all right, I’ll take half of it.

45:22 Conner will say I’ll take 20% of it and who knows else with the rest. And it’ll happen because there’s so much money.

45:28 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, if it happens, you know, it happens. It would be very interesting. It’d be everyone will watch. That’s why there’s all the money involved. It’s an interesting fight.

45:36 You know, you’ve got a guy who’s come in to MMA. He’s the biggest thing in MMA and, you know, he’s up there with the biggest thing in combat sports, you know, and then you got Mayweather, who was the biggest name in boxing, had all the numbers, as they say, coming together in a boxing ring. That’s the interesting thing. It’s that Conor McGregor’s going to box. Yeah, we have to see it. I’ll want to watch it.

46:00 Brian Rose: The crazy thing you think about, though, is after a payday like that for Conner and whatever he gets, 50 or 100 million, how then does he get back into a cage for a few million?

46:11 Paul Semtex Daley: You don’t. It’s done, right? No, no, he doesn’t. He enjoys the rest of his life. Yeah, you know, chills like anybody would.

46:18 Brian Rose: Talk to me about UFC, your experience. You’re with Bellator now. I had Coker in here. Coker is a different kind of guy than Dana White. I’ll go ahead and tell you what King Moe told me. You know King Moe, right? And this is the way he told it to me.

46:31 You can tell me where you agree with that. He said, Brian, you remember East Coast and West Coast rappers, right? Have you heard this story? The star already is here. He said you had Death Row where you had Shug Night and Dre and Snoop Dogg, right?

46:46 And then you had East Coast where you had P Diddy and Micky Smalls, right? And so on the West Coast, Shug Night was there, but Snoop was in front and Dre was in front, and they were doing all the business. Whereas with Diddy, B.I.G. was there and Diddy was always jumping in and saying, hey, it’s me and me. He said that’s Dana White. Dana White is jumping in front of the cameras all the time when it’s really the fighter show.

47:10 And he said Scott Coker is the Shug Night of MMA. What are your thoughts?

47:16 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, well, that’s a funny one from Moe. But yeah, it just shows they are two completely different characters. But I feel for me personally, I feel Scott Coker is more approachable.

47:31 I feel like I could send him an email, I could send him a message, I could give him a phone call. I think the relationship side of things is better with all of his fighters. I don’t think they’ll feel this favouritism. I feel like Scott just wants to put on good fights. And if two fighters agree they want to fight, then if it makes sense, then why the hell not?

47:54 Whereas I think with Dana and the UFC, I think there’s favouritism. I think that’s the major thing for me is favouritism. I don’t think everyone is treated fairly. And that’s probably the main thing. Away from the brash character that Dana is and the sort of subdued character that Coker is, I think for me personally, I feel like I can go to Scott.

48:21 Whereas I never really felt like I could just go to Dana and say, look, I want to make this happen. I think this would be good for me. Or can you ask this? Can we put this together or something? I never really had that relationship. But I was there for just a short time.

48:35 Whereas Scott Coker, I fought for him at Strike Force and now I’m here with him at Bellator. So we already sort of understand how each other works.

48:44 Brian Rose: When you first went to the UFC, I know the kind of the party line there was the best fighters are here in the UFC. And I think from the very beginning, you kind of said, you know, I fought the best in the world and they’re not all here. They’re everywhere.

48:59 Brian Rose: Was that a conscious effort? Because I know not many guys would have said that coming into the UFC.

49:06 Paul Semtex Daley: I just felt like, you know, I’m a boxing fan as well as a martial arts fan. And I just was looking at the two sports and then the closest sports that, you know, I can compare. And I just thought that, you know, boxing, not all the best boxers are the BBC champions.

49:26 You know, there’s a WBA champion that would whoop a WBC champions, you know, but. And that’s how I thought about MMA. I thought, right. Yeah, the UFC has some great fighters. But if I put that pride fighter against that guy at that time in their career, you know, I think the pride fight would win.

49:44 And I’d been fighting these guys. I’ve been fighting guys that weren’t with the weren’t with the UFC, but were champions elsewhere. And some of them even had wins over current UFC fighters. So I just thought that it was it just wasn’t a fair thing to say that all the best UFC fighters are all the best fighters in the UFC. And I still think that today not all the best fighters are in the UFC.

50:11 I think Douglas Lima is one hell of a fighter. And I think at this point in time, I put him against Tyron Woodley and I put money on Lima to beat Woodley. So, yeah. Yeah.

50:23 Brian Rose: Many years later, when you look back, what do you make of Kostchek and that fight in the UFC?

50:30 Paul Semtex Daley: Kostchek. I would love to get the rematch because, you know, I’ve seen how his return his short-lived return went. You know, knock the fuck out. And then I would have liked to have been the guy that that that that that that but, you know, like I said, I ain’t got no beef with nobody. It was a fight he won. He’s out of the sport now. At least I think he is. And if he does come back, then I think we should put the rematch together.

50:57 But I think he’s out of the sport. He’s made his money. I can’t hate on him. But, you know, it is a fight that I’d like to get back. I have no personal thoughts or views on it, but it’s a fight I’d like to get back.

51:09 Brian Rose: Do you ever replay that night in your head? Because I know after that it was like Dana was like apologize. And yeah, I mean, and Kostchek and people forget back in his prime, he would just dig at people and get under people’s skin. Right. That was that was his thing. Right.

51:24 Paul Semtex Daley: He was just that guy.

51:26 Brian Rose: He was the bad guy, wasn’t he?

51:28 Paul Semtex Daley: So he he sort of relished in that position. But for me personally, it was like I was just still a little bit immature. Like I didn’t realize at that stage, like, you know, how many eyes could potentially be watching.

51:46 And I know the UFC at that point, which are trying to negotiate a big TV deal with other networks. And I think those people were sat front row. And then, you know, you’ve got Dana trying to convince these guys that these are professional sports athletes. And then you’ve got me swinging on Kostchek after after the bell. So I didn’t think I don’t think that helped the situation.

52:07 But like I say, it’s all done and dusted now.

52:10 Brian Rose: Yeah, I was Murgliotti the ref for something. Yeah.

52:13 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, he was even here. And he was like, he’s like, he knew the deal was coming. He’s like, oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

52:22 And I see Dan. Is it Dan? Yeah. Yeah. I see him. And you sort of have a laugh about it because, you know, he puts me like a real naked joke. Yeah. Because he drives me away and he’s a big guy.

52:36 But yeah, what’s done is done. It wasn’t the smartest thing that I’ve done. But everything happens for a reason. I’m in a position now where I’m happy with my life and I’m the main event, main 19th. So it’s all good. Yeah. Yeah.

52:49 Brian Rose: I know. And then when you look back at it, you know, you ended up having this amazing career when you got out of the UFC and came back to London and just things really started really coming together for you. Yeah. But, you know, I know for a while there was that. And then Dana was like, I went back and he didn’t apologize. And it was this whole thing. Well, I thought it was interesting that you wouldn’t apologize.

53:08 Paul Semtex Daley: No, I didn’t apologize. I did apologize. You know, initially after the fight, you know, I’m already heated. Don’t Dana came over, says like, what the hell are you doing or something like that? It’s like, do you want to be in the UFC? I’m up, you know.

53:19 Didn’t bother me either way, but that’s that’s directly after the fight. You know, I didn’t have time to cool down or anything like that. Apologies went in. I think my manager at the time he sent sent an email that I worded. They had no effect. And for me, I did after that, after we said no, I wasn’t. I didn’t really, you know, there was no campaign from me. Let me let me back. Let me back because I was confident in my ability. You know, I’ve been in the UFC for three fights. I feel like I made a massive impact.

53:51 You know, I knocked out the number three guy, Martin Cameron in my first fight, Dustin Hayser, another up and come. I knocked him out and then I lost to a cost check by decision. He went on to challenge for the title over five rounds. So I was confident in my ability, even at that stage that there was still a future for me in the sport. And I was going to continue and I wasn’t going to quit. And that that for me makes all this all this that’s happening now, even though I’m even more even more sweet. You know, I went from fighting at the MGM Grand to fighting in a leisure center in front of 500 people. And I still didn’t quit. You know, I went all around the world fighting on these small shows still don’t quit for a percentage of the money I was getting. And then slowly I kept going. I kept going. And that’s the perseverance I’m talking about. And now I’m here. I’m happy in my life. I’m doing well. And the main event, May 19th. You got to persevere. And that’s the fire. That’s what makes a fighter. That’s the fire. The Marshall skills. That’s it. It’s something you need as well. But the fighters, the one that comes back. There you go. The fight leads.

55:02 Brian Rose: Was there depression after that? Or were you just like,

55:05 Paul Semtex Daley: not depression. I think there was a, I don’t know if it was depression, maybe a little bit drinking and a little bit partying and whatever. It was just, I knew I was going to stay in the sport, but I didn’t really have a clear path. There was no real, uh,

55:21 There was no real target. I was just going to keep fighting because the fight office kept coming in. You know, I wasn’t working towards getting back to the UFC. There was, you know, dream was there, but they really, they were fading away and there was no real end goal. I was just happy to keep fighting, keep going out, you know, whatever. Um, but then, you know, as situations and life change, they became targets and I was zoned in and I was focused. And now I’m here. Yeah.

55:49 Brian Rose: Talking about the partying. Like, I know you liked it back in the day. Somebody told me you liked to party as soon as the weigh in was over.

55:57 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah. Yeah. Well, not so much after the way in, but you know, um, like I say, you make a lot of sacrifices and yeah, I like to drink and it doesn’t really have a great effect on me. Given that I’ve spent all this time training and stuff. So sometimes, you know, people remember me for being, being daily, the loud mouth drunk that we have to put in a taxi at the after parties and stuff like that. But.

56:21 You know, I’ve kind of grown out of that now. Um, just maybe one or two drinks.

56:27 Brian Rose: Okay. You’re the family guy. You got the kids.

56:30 Paul Semtex Daley: I’m the family guy. I love my family. I love my partner Elizabeth and you know, we’re a team and we do everything together. We have a, you know, we have a life plan. We have life goals and we’re achieving.

56:44 Brian Rose: Are you a happy drunk? Are you a life at the party guy?

56:48 Paul Semtex Daley: I wouldn’t know. Cause most of the time I can’t remember what the fuck happened the night before. So I don’t know. No, I’m not really brawling maybe in my younger years, but now I’m kind of just the stupid guy who says stupid things and you know, I’m more of a happy drunk nowadays. Okay.

57:08 And I think that often relates to where you are in your life. I always, I always say that, that, that if you’re, if, if you’re, uh, if you’re happy with your life, then when you’re drunk, you’re continues to be happy. If you’re an angry person and you have some issues, then that will come out when, when you’re drunk as well. So I’m at, I’m in a good place. I’m happy.

57:30 Brian Rose: They say faim magnifies the same way that if you’re a douche, you get more of a douche. And if you’re a decent guy, I can magnify that.

57:37 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I can, I can see that. I can see that in some people.

57:41 Brian Rose: You have a military background. What does that play into your training, your mindset? Also, you don’t seem like a kind of guy that would be like to be told what to do.

57:50 Paul Semtex Daley: No. And that’s why, that’s why, uh, the military didn’t work out for me. You know, I was not that I’m proud of it, but I was dishonorably discharged. Disobeying direct order. And then after that, I went out and got into a fight and it is common knowledge. And then I was, uh, then I was disowned and discharged from the army. But my time in the army, what, what I learned, um, uh, which I’m thankful is time management.

58:17 And, and even now I disobeyed these direct orders is discipline. Um, anyone that comes into camp with me, coaches, I bring different coaches and fighters will know that I’m, I’m always there 10 minutes early. If I say I’m going to run people, what time of training in the morning, I will do a run. I’m going to do it half past five. Half past five. It’s not going to get up half past five. I’m up at five 20 ready, ready to go on my run. And if I’m saying we’re going to train this time, we’ll train this time. We’re going to do this many rounds. We’re going to do this many rounds.

58:47 Whether, whether I’m tired, whether I can, you know, barely throw a punch. If we set out to do five fives on that day, we’re going to do five fives at sparring. And I get, I feel like I get that from the army. In fact, I know it is time management, um, in training camp. I feel it was very important, especially for me when I’ve got so much to juggle, you know, I run a gym, I’ve got my family, um, and I’ve got my training as well. So I have to do all these things. My days consist of all these dropping the kids off the nursery, picking them up, training, teaching class, um, bringing the kids to their grandma.

59:17 I was going back to my training, teaching class, you know, I have to be strict with my time management. Oh, I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in.

59:25 Brian Rose: Do you have like a spreadsheet calendar?

59:27 Paul Semtex Daley: My spreadsheet is here. My spreadsheet is here. But it’s all there to the letter. It happens. Yeah, it happens when I say whenever I say I’m going to do something with do it and not giving time, I’ll do it.

59:37 Brian Rose: I believe you. Tell me about being a parent. You got a one year old and a four year old. We were talking before, you know, off camera. Yeah. You take this parenting thing very seriously.

59:47 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I think you should. Um, uh, you know, I’m very aware as a parent from outside influences, you know, I like to feel like I can give my children the correct attention and the correct guidance for what might lay ahead. And I feel I’ve experienced a lot in life and I feel like sometimes I could have been better prepared. And so I want to make sure my children as well prepared for as much as I can as possible. And I realize also at certain stages, I may lose some control of that situation. So I want them to know the correct way to handle themselves and, you know, have the correct morals so that they can make the right choices at the right time.

1:00:37 Brian Rose: So the way they speak, the way they behave, everything, you know, they consume media.

1:00:44 Paul Semtex Daley: Exactly. Yeah. For example, you know, my son, you know, pronounces some things as a child would, you know, some parents will mock and say, he said, I don’t know, stop, Ted is one of the things he said rather than stop. OK, so I will correct him whereas, you know, other people will mock him. And I think that’s just one example, a very simple example of the control that I like to have over my children.

1:01:17 Brian Rose: What were your mom and dad like?

1:01:20 Paul Semtex Daley: My mom was she’s she’s she’s great. She’s very laid back, very, very funny, very hardworking. You know, my mom, by the time she was 20, 21, she had three kids already and and, you know, and the house and the mortgage and all of that to deal with. And for me, that’s crazy. And I remember I was sat there one day and I really thought about it and I just I just I just started crying.

1:01:53 She was like, oh, what’s wrong with you? And I just couldn’t think of her being in that position at that time and dealing with all the pressures and everything that she had to deal with by herself. You know, for the most part, my dad was there, but he didn’t really have a major influence on me. You know, he was gone from from an early age now. Now it’s back in my life. And, you know, he’s doing his part and he likes to advise me on certain things.

1:02:20 And I take that on board. But for my mom to handle everything that she did, it’s crazy. It’s really crazy. And I feel very fortunate to be in the position that I am as an athlete to earn the money that I earn and to give my children the life that they have. I feel very fortunate

1:02:39 Brian Rose: because you didn’t have that opportunity.

1:02:41 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah. I think women are stronger than men when it comes to that stuff.

1:02:46 Brian Rose: Yeah. Crazy. Seriously. Seriously. Seriously. I think it’s a mental game.

1:02:51 Paul Semtex Daley: But definitely.

1:02:52 Brian Rose: It’s probably not unlike you preparing for fights. I mean, you have to be in it mentally. Physically, you have to have a plan. You have to make this happen. And you’ve got three kids looking for you to show cracks in the armor. Yeah.

1:03:03 And so you’ve got to be strong. Yeah. Project power.

1:03:06 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And she did that as well. She did project power.

1:03:11 You know, I was never with all this now. I’m just one thing.

1:03:16 Brian Rose: You’re a bad guy.

1:03:17 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, I was disciplined. We’ll say that.

1:03:20 Paul Semtex Daley: And obviously, she was she was a she was a great mom to have me being crazy. I was very energetic, much like my son is now always running. Doing crazy shit that I thought was funny. But yeah, she was a she she was very, very good at disciplining me. Not so supportive when I told her I want to be a professional ninja. But but now she’s now she’s happy. I stuck to stuck to the dream.

1:03:46 Brian Rose: OK, she wanted you to become a doctor.

1:03:49 Paul Semtex Daley: I guess something like that. Yeah.

1:03:51 Brian Rose: Fair enough. Talk to me about Michael Van and Paige.

1:03:55 Paul Semtex Daley: Michael Van and Paige. Right. Yeah, this guy. Oh, shit. All right.

1:04:00 Then and Paige. I don’t know what’s wrong with a guy. You know, we were we had a I met my hours. I heard about him being at Bellator, getting some great wins. Fantastic. Flushy wins. Go over meet him in America.

1:04:15 We got very well with drinking, you know, free bar, thanks, Bellator. So all the British guys sat there as part of the British invasion promotion. We got well, we continue to meet up at shows and events and then we’re getting on. We’re all right. You know, I would call him not really a friend, but a friend as far as in the working environment.

1:04:36 You know, I didn’t call him on the weekend and shit like that. But when we’d meet up, it was all friendly. We’d hang out, whatever. And then out of the blue, he wants to fight me. And I’m like, shit.

1:04:49 So I try not to respond to all of this because he’s good at what he does. He is making his, you know, his memes, whatever you call them. I’m not up on my social media terms, but whatever he’s doing, it’s all very comical. And then, you know, he’s desperately trying to fight me. And I’m just kicking back because, you know, I’ve seen this before.

1:05:11 Brian Rose: And then we’ve got young guys coming up.

1:05:14 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I’ve done that. So I still think it’s funny. Like, I don’t even think the guy should even be his name, shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as mine when it comes to achievement in the sport or reputation within the sport.

1:05:29 So I made a comment, which I’d made previously. I made it on some media outlet. I said, I’m Floyd Mayweather. Michael Vennon, Page’s Aiden Broner. Just a comment like that. And he took offense to this.

1:05:45 So then he, you know, it’s escalated. But now, unfortunately for him, it’s out there. So it’s the fight’s going to happen. The fight’s going to happen. So that’s all I’ll say. The fight will happen. And when it happens, I hope he’s happy.

1:06:03 That’s it. He wanted the fight. He’s got a fight. I’m a real fighter. I’m not going to dodge a fight.

1:06:08 If you call my name out, you better be prepared to fight. So we’re going to fight. But first, we’ve got to deal with Rory McDonald.

1:06:15 Brian Rose: And he shouldn’t have called your name out. Too early for that is what you’re saying.

1:06:19 Paul Semtex Daley: I’m just saying that we’re going to fight. So whatever, you know, it’s going to happen. You know, you just like when you when you’re I don’t know when you you’re a kid or whatever, you’re at school and you’re talking to your friend, the hardest guy, the toughest guy in the school, is outside of the fence. You know, he’s under tension or whatever. And you’re talking, yeah, that guy is a twat. You know, I knock him out. No problem.

1:06:48 But he gets out of detention early and then he stood in front of you. That’s what that’s what this is. So now he’s aspirate and now he’s going to get it.

1:06:56 Brian Rose: What do you make of his fighting style? His fight?

1:06:59 Paul Semtex Daley: He wins. He’s a fantastic fighter. He’s got some very good wins. But I just feel they’re against sub-par opponents. He’s not had a real test. The toughest, most experienced guy I feel is for of age because we’ll ignore Cyborg because, you know, that guy should be, you know, wheeling a Zimmer frame around or something like that.

1:07:24 Brian Rose: He’d been around for a while.

1:07:25 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, yeah, we’ll ignore that guy. But was Gonzalez and Fernando Gonzalez. So I fought in a kickboxing match. We saw how that fight went. It wasn’t the most entertaining. Michael won.

1:07:34 But even in that fight, he was put in some compromising situations. We’ll see how he fights. I like Derek because it is a good fighter. I was allowed to fight him as a tough kid coming up from 155. And although I give the edge to Michael Venen-Page, I think we’re going to see a little bit more vulnerability in Venen-Page’s style.

1:07:59 And then, yeah, and that’s it. And then we’ll fight.

1:08:02 Brian Rose: And what about his media outlets? He’s always stirring things up a little bit, right?

1:08:08 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, you know, the guy likes social media. I’m not a massive social media fan, you know, but this guy, even though the guy’s 30 years old, I will say he’s like a social media kid.

1:08:19 A bit of a… I refer to him as a Justin Bieber at the last press conference. Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube or whatever. And I feel like that about Mike, you know, he’s a bit of a social media-created character, you know. People sponsoring his spinning back kick to get extra hits and paid advertising and, you know, fucking fake hits from, you know, creating catfish accounts or whatever.

1:08:50 I don’t know. I don’t know how the whole social media thing works, but yeah, it is what it is. I’m not… As far as fighting is concerned, it’s a great fighter. But I just feel we’re… Even though we’re of similar ages, I think we’re of different eras, you know.

1:09:10 Social media wasn’t as heavy or hard as it is now when I was coming up. But even up to years ago, people still knew who I was.

1:09:19 Brian Rose: Well, you guys make entertaining press conferences, that’s for sure, as of lately.

1:09:25 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, yeah. It’s good fun. It’s good fun. But now that… You know, I say it’s good fun, as in I enjoyed the press conference, you know.

1:09:34 I think Michael didn’t enjoy it as much. But I’m just happy the fight’s out there and the fight is gonna happen. That’s the main thing. You know, he asked for the fight. I never said no. I let him do his social media bit, build the fight up.

1:09:48 Who was daily gonna fight in London? No one really knew. I knew who I was gonna fight all along because the contract was already signed. But, you know, I let him do his bit, pump the fight up. So now the fight’s out there and the fight will happen.

1:10:00 So as a veteran, I made a veteran move and let him make a big fight for me after I defeat Rory.

1:10:06 Brian Rose: Okay. And that will be a big fight for London.

1:10:09 Paul Semtex Daley: Oh, it’s gonna be massive.

1:10:10 Brian Rose: Yeah, that should be a nice… another hopefully great payday for you, I hope. So what does foams mean? Faith of a mustard seed?

1:10:18 Paul Semtex Daley: Foams is… Yeah, it’s the faith in yourself, the perseverance that I talked about.

1:10:23 Brian Rose: Is this something you’d say in your gym and talk about?

1:10:26 Paul Semtex Daley: This is not something we say in my gym or talk about, but it’s something I’ve learned through life from, you know, seeing the struggles that my mum had, from seeing the… from having the struggles that I’ve had, you know, it’s about believing in yourself.

1:10:42 It’s about a certain stubbornness, you know, I’ve had voices, the previous managers and maybe coaches, or especially after you’re saying your thing or what you’ve done, you’ve ruined this, you’ve ruined that, you know, say this, say that. And I’m saying… I ain’t saying shit, I’m gonna keep doing my thing. I believe, truly, I believe in myself and my capabilities. And I know what I can achieve, you know, I’m not a dumb kid, I’m a well-educated man who gives thought to things and has a 100% belief in himself, even when others doubt. And I feel like faith of a mustard seed, it sort of rang true to me. I heard it in a…

1:11:31 Brian Rose: It’s a quote from a Bible, right?

1:11:33 Paul Semtex Daley: It’s a quote from a Bible, but I actually heard it in a rap song. Oh, nice. I heard it in a rap song. It’s just… it just means with a little bit of faith, you can achieve great things.

1:11:42 And I feel for me, that’s the story of my career from the story of my life, you know, I’m not from a privileged background, but I haven’t done too bad. And I feel like there’s been many of other doors open for me that could have led me in completely different directions. But I was stubborn in where I wanted to go and I had faith that I would get there. And that’s what it is.

1:12:07 Brian Rose: Right. So you don’t say at the gym, but that’s something that’s always on your mind.

1:12:12 Paul Semtex Daley: No, this is all for me. This is my own self-belief. And whether people choose to adopt that or not, it’s not like a motto for me. But I think it’s something that people should adopt. There will always be a time where people will doubt you and weaker people will doubt themselves and then they’ll never know.

1:12:34 But you’ve got to have faith in yourself and say, yeah, I can do this and you’ll go on and you’ll do it.

1:12:39 Brian Rose: I looked the quote up and was reading the passage from the Bible. And I think there’s a point where someone’s talking to someone else and they’re not believing in themselves. And the guy said, if you even had the faith of a mustard seed, you could move that mountain. And you don’t even have that.

1:12:53 So they’re saying it doesn’t take much to accomplish great things.

1:12:58 Paul Semtex Daley: Right. Exactly. And that’s what it is, you know. You just said it. You just got to believe. Just have a little bit of belief in yourself. And that’s enough. That is enough.

1:13:10 Especially when there’s doubters. And I love a doubt. I love to be. I love for people to doubt me because I know with this faith that I can achieve anything.

1:13:20 Brian Rose: Tell me a few more things about Paul himself. You know, I’ll ask you a few things. Like when you think of the word successful, who comes to mind?

1:13:30 Is it a fighter? Is it someone from the past, from the current or someone that has nothing to do with the sport?

1:13:39 London Real promo: These success secrets are only available on the London Real Academy. Become a member and get access to live shows, exclusive courses, my webinars, bonus content, meetups, live events, an amazing community and much, much more.

1:13:57 Now back to the rest of the show.

1:14:00 Paul Semtex Daley: I also believe that you should always remain humble. If you speak too much about something, it can always go away. That is what I’ve been told by people ahead of me. So it’s not good to brag or anything like that. Just keep working hard.

1:14:18 Stay humble and you’ll have those things forever.

1:14:25 Brian Rose: What scares you?

1:14:27 Paul Semtex Daley: Apart from the obvious, you know, self-injury, you know, or injuring yourself, whatever. I’m fearless. You know, I’m not really fearful of anything. I enjoy life. And for me, that is for life to be taken away from me as I live it is probably the most the thing I fear most.

1:14:49 It’s not anything else. I see everything else as a challenge. But to be in a position where I can’t enjoy life, however that may be, is what I fear most.

1:15:01 Brian Rose: I had a guest in here named Kevin Kelly. He founded Wired magazine and he said, Brian, you’re only as old as the last time you changed your mind.

1:15:13 And I was wondering, is there something you’ve changed your mind about in the last six months or a year where you’re like, I used to think this, but actually now I think this.

1:15:31 Paul Semtex Daley: Not really. Well, probably, but not something that I could think of the top of my head.

1:15:40 I like to think I’m open-minded. So, you know, I have an open view and outlook on everything. I don’t try and be too opinionated. So, yeah, there will be things that have changed my mind. You know, I’ve had a different outlook on a few things, but nothing that I can really isolate.

1:16:01 I like to think of myself as just an easygoing guy. I hate, which is going to sound funny because I’m a fighter. I hate confrontation. I’d rather debate something and always try and pick something up. I don’t like to say this way is right and this way is wrong.

1:16:20 I don’t like to have that sort of friction. I’m always someone that will try and debate something and listen to someone else’s point of view. And that’s my way of thinking. I’m kind of just like easygoing, open-minded. I don’t take things too seriously.

1:16:38 Brian Rose: It’s always a contrast, right? And a contradiction. Fighters are to most people, right?

1:16:44 Paul Semtex Daley: Yeah, definitely. When people meet me, they always say that as well. Like, you know, I have this bad boy image, swinging after Cossack after the bell, dropping F bombs, saying I’m going to knock people out, which is my job to do. But then people meet me and I’m more mellow, funny, and just a kind of laid-back guy. I don’t like confrontation too much. I’d much rather sell through life happy and making the people around me happy. And that’s just how I am.

1:17:14 Brian Rose: And you call your gym Spirit Dojo. Spirit Dojo. Why? Because that’s not a tough guy gym name.

1:17:20 Paul Semtex Daley: No, that’s not. Because that’s me. It’s like homage to… When I got into this, like I said, I wanted to be a professional ninja. And I actually did… There’s a school of ninjitsu called the Bujinken, which is a lineage of martial arts of, I think it’s 11, maybe 13 different traditional martial arts, traditional jiu-jitsu and ninpo schools. And it’s very closely related to Buddhism.

1:17:44 So I think I started this when I was like 14. So I’ve heavily been influenced by Buddhist teachings and readings and stuff like this. And all my tattoos are Japanese and mean things that people wouldn’t relate to me and stuff like that. And that is why my gym is called Spirit Dojo. Because I am, as a person to this day, I’m still influenced a lot by the things that I read and learned coming up in martial arts in the school of martial arts, which was heavily influenced by Buddhism.

1:18:22 Brian Rose: You meditate?

1:18:23 Paul Semtex Daley: I did meditate, but I wasn’t very good at it because I found I kept falling asleep. I actually went to a Buddhist school in Nottingham. They’ve got this Buddhist school. They hold daily meditation meetings where you’re led through a series of different types of meditation. And I just kept falling asleep because I used to do it directly after sparring training to try and do that for about nine months. But I don’t think I made it through through one meditation practice without falling asleep. So it’s something I’ve tried, but I don’t do anymore.

1:18:53 Brian Rose: Try it again. You might like it.

1:18:55 Paul Semtex Daley: I might fall asleep. That’s true.

1:18:57 Brian Rose: Paul, I always ask everyone that comes here a couple questions at the end. I’m going to ask you these. If you could make a phone call to the 20-year-old Paul Daley, give that young man a bit of advice. What would you tell him?

1:19:11 Paul Semtex Daley: Where was he? You don’t want to know. Really? Yeah. The conversation will last for a very, very long time.

1:19:18 Paul Semtex Daley: I made a hell of a lot of mistakes and stuff that I like to not put out there.

1:19:23 Brian Rose: Okay. Were you still in the military at 20?

1:19:25 Paul Semtex Daley: I was just coming out of college. I joined the military at 21, so I was just coming out of college.

1:19:31 Brian Rose: What was Paul doing back then?

1:19:33 Paul Semtex Daley: Ah, here’s one that I would tell myself as a young man is don’t get a credit card because I got a credit card as soon as I went into college, ran up a lot of debt, and spent the first year in the army paying that debt off.

1:19:46 There’s one simple one that is not too crazy.

1:19:49 Brian Rose: Okay, that’s cool. On that same note, best advice you’ve ever received in your life could be coming from your mom, from a trainer, from another fighter, from a book you read or a documentary, something that you remember.

1:20:05 Paul Semtex Daley: I don’t know if I’m going to say this the right way around, but it is from, like I say, from the traditional martial arts school that I used to practice in. I think it is walk quietly, talk softly, and consider all of life’s potential. Or it might be walk softly, talk quietly, and consider all of life’s potential. I don’t know which way it goes around, but either way I say it to myself, it always makes sense.

1:20:35 And that’s one that I go by.

1:20:37 Brian Rose: So that goes back to what you’re saying, as in leave the ego behind. Exactly. You don’t always have to say something to the people, the naysayers.

1:20:47 Paul Semtex Daley: Exactly. And just consider everything.

1:20:50 Brian Rose: Right, you don’t have to confront people or disagree. You want to listen to everybody’s point of view.

1:20:56 Paul Semtex Daley: Exactly. And that is something that I always remind myself, especially in this sport. People want to be that loud person. They want to be heard. They want to be seen. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it pays off. And sometimes it’s good when you’re in that sport and environment because you’ll be in the sports entertainer. But in life I don’t have to be that person. And I’m far from that person. And people around me would say that. I’m very, very normal. I’m away from all of the success that I’ve achieved in this sport. I just want to stick true to that quote and just be easy.

1:21:36 Brian Rose: Sounds like something that they would say. And remember that TV show Kung Fu where Kane was traveling? Yes. And they flashed back to the rice paper and his wine Chinese teacher?

1:21:48 Paul Semtex Daley: It is something like that. It is. But I can say even this interview we’re doing now is probably going to be more revealing than people that don’t know me have seen. But people close to me will know that this truly is me. This is just how I am.

1:22:04 This is how I like to look at life. I just want to be quiet and try and go through life without too many disturbances and just consider everything.

1:22:15 Brian Rose: Last part of that question, to that 20 year old that’s out there watching us now live in China or Brazil or America, who wants to grow up one day and be Bellator champion like Paul is going to be. What advice do you give to them?

1:22:33 Paul Semtex Daley: Walk softly, talk quietly and consider all of life’s potential. That’s it.

1:22:39 Keep going as well. Always keep going.

1:22:42 Brian Rose: Have that faith, huh?

1:22:43 Paul Semtex Daley: That’s it. Faith of a mustard seed.

1:22:46 That’s it. Simple. It seems simple, but I’m telling you to wherever you are that there will be challenges and there will be people that try to pull you in different directions. You have to recognize a friend from an enemy which can be very difficult sometimes. That’s another thing I’ve had to recognize a friend from an enemy.

1:23:06 Brian Rose: Paul, I think a lot of people are going to see a new side of you here.

1:23:10 Paul Semtex Daley: I hope so.

1:23:11 Brian Rose: Thanks for coming on. Thanks for being honest and sharing with us.

1:23:15 Paul Semtex Daley: No problem.

1:23:16 Brian Rose: Really look forward to this fight even more than ever now. Now I’ve sat across from Rory and now you and now I have to see this fight even more.

1:23:25 Paul Semtex Daley: Now I’m going to get some shots of Sambalandka. After the way in.

1:23:29 Brian Rose: We will have to have a drink after you win, perhaps.

1:23:32 Paul Semtex Daley: No, it’s going to be a great fight.

1:23:34 Brian Rose: This is a huge fight for you, for Bellator, for London. I love that all eyes are going to be on London, you know? Yeah. And I believe it’s going to be an amazing stand-up war and I can’t wait to watch every second. So I’m looking forward to it. I really am.

1:23:50 Paul Semtex Daley: It’s going to be a good fight. Trust me. Whoever you favor, just tune in. It’s going to be a good fight. That’s the main thing.

1:23:58 Brian Rose: I love it. On London Real, we say it’s about the journey.

1:24:01 I wish you well on yours, Paul.

1:24:15 Paul Semtex Daley: Thank you very much. I appreciate you having me.

1:24:38 Brian Rose: We’ll see you the 19th of May.

1:24:51 Paul Semtex Daley: Thank you.

1:24:56 London Real promo: It’s Chris Eubank, Jr. How do you explain is prowess in the ring? Junior has that obsession, that genius, that magic. Genius is obsession, but it’s in one area. You studied the sweet science for so much of your life. How do you walk away from it?

1:25:20 Do you miss it? You can’t walk away from it. I am it. And even when I dance, really, I’m boxing.

1:25:32 The credit belongs to the man who’s actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, the one who strives valiantly. What was the worst day of your life and how has it shaped you as a human being? When I fought Nigel Ben, I stood like this. It was the mask this. The risk must be taken.

1:26:03 That’s why you are London Realist. That’s why we’re here. We’re tired of sitting still, watching it happen, happening for others. Let’s do it.