Josh Koscheck was forced to pull out of his second scheduled fight for his Bellator debut on Monday, and former foe Paul Daley will now face Douglas Lima at Bellator 158 in London next month.
Koscheck signed with Bellator in 2015 after a five fight losing streak in the UFC led to his release after a ten year run. He defeated Daley back in 2010 in a fight that led to his first and only shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship. Daley sucker-punched him after the bell, leading to his immediate release and a run in numerous organizations since then.
“Koscheck knew I would end him, made the obvious move, we all expected,” Daley wrote on Facebook in reacting to the switch. “He was shook, bottled it. [Let’s] not forget Lima has done this too, pulled out of our originally scheduled match for the title, which would of been my return bout to Bellator after some visa issues. [Let’s] hope he shows.”
Bellator 158 airs on Spike from the O2 Arena on July 16. The event was slated to be headlined by a rematch between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and James Thompson before Ferguson’s untimely death on Monday.
Penick’s Analysis: Daley-Lima’s a good fight in its own right, and it seems at this point as if Koscheck’s not going to wind up fighting at all in Bellator. He could still heal up and eventually make a debut, but this was the fight they wanted to book and now it’s not happening. It could still potentially come together, but it just seems unlikely at this point.
[Photo (c) Jason da Silva via USA Today Sports]
Attention iPhone/iPad and Android users, if you’ve enjoyed our app in the past and followed us there, or if you’ve never checked it out, make sure to update to the latest version in the Apple store and/or Google Play store. We’ve launched a new look for the app, in line with our recent desktop overhaul. Make sure to check it out!
For current App users, swipe right to view next article, swipe left to view previous article.
Leave a Reply