Paul Daley's fists did plenty to entertain the fans at Bellator 148 in Fresno, California, on Friday night, but his mouth added more fuel to the fire of a nearly 6-year-old feud.
Daley (38-13-2) knocked out Andy Uhrich (11-6) with a brutal uppercut 2:00 into Round 1 at the Save Mart Center. Next, Daley set his eyes on former foe and fellow UFC veteran Josh Koscheck, who was sitting cageside.
A longtime resident of Fresno, Koscheck, 38, was originally set to headline Friday's card in his Bellator debut against Matt Secor. But he pulled out earlier this month with an undisclosed injury, drawing criticism from Daley.
"He wouldn't have been able to do what I did today," Daley said. "You guys would be sleeping in your seats right now, but luckily the British boy came to the cage, entertained and knocked people out like I always do."
Daley trash-talked Koscheck all week, including right up to the start of Friday's fight, when a video of Daley riled up the crowd.
"People of Fresno, I came here to entertain you all," Daley said on the video. "Your hometown boy, Josh 'Crotch Check,' is nowhere to be found. I'm gonna show you real entertainment and how a real fighter fights. This is a preview of the ass-whooping your hometown boy is gonna get."
The bad blood between these two reached a boiling point at UFC 113 in May 2010, when Koscheck defeated Daley via unanimous decision. After the final bell, Daley punched Koscheck in the face, an incident that led to Daley's departure from the UFC.
Against Uhrich on Friday, Daley's striking was crisper, and he set his opponent up by throwing several straight right hands and left hooks. Daley, nicknamed "Semtex," then threw the fateful right uppercut that ended the bout.
Daley, 32, a native of London, England, improved to 3-0 under the Bellator banner and recorded the 28th knockout of his career.
Bradley makes statement in rematch
Seven months after their first fight ended in a no contest, Paul Bradley left no doubt in the minds of the fans supporting Chris Honeycutt.
Bradley (23-6), nicknamed "The Gentleman," landed a wild right hand that dropped Honeycutt (6-1). As soon as Honeycutt got back to his feet, he was met with another powerful right hand. Bradley then jumped on his opponent, landing several heavy punches before referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight 40 seconds into the first round.
"I told you guys I was gonna come and make a statement," Bradley said. "If you're gonna doubt me, that's gonna happen."
Their first fight last July ended when an accidental head butt opened a cut on top of Bradley's head. Now, Bradley looks to join the conversation as a potential challenger for welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov's title.
"I hope I'm in range of a title shot," Bradley said. "That's why I came here. I came to Bellator to be a world champion. I'll accept nothing less."
Freire scores highlight-reel knockout
Patricky "Pitbull" Freire leveled Ryan Couture with a left hook that put a stop to their lightweight bout at 3:00 of the first round.
Freire (15-7) took the fight on short notice but wanted to get the bitter taste of a split-decision loss to Derek Anderson 55 days ago out of his mouth.
"I was under serious stress at home," Freire said through a translator. "I'm never gonna let judges ruin it again."
Couture (10-4), the son of former UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, had success in his two previous fights in Bellator on the mat, but he didn't fare as well against Freire on his feet. "Pitbull" staggered Couture with an elbow to the nose that opened him up. The highlight-reel knockout from Freire, an absolute no-doubter that sent Couture to the mat face first, was his sixth knockout victory inside a Bellator cage.
Johnson earns stoppage of Butler
Heavyweight Tony Johnson (10-2) grinded out a third-round TKO victory over Raphael Butler (9-2-1) to pick up his 10th career win.
Johnson used his superior grappling skills to overcome the striking of Butler, a former pro boxer, and referee Mike Beltran called the fight off at 4:24 of the final frame.
Johnson dictated where the fight took place from the get-go, charging in for takedowns when the opportunities presented themselves.
The victory was the second inside the Bellator cage for Johnson, who defeated former heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov by split decision last April.