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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Paul Daley has been extremely active since getting himself banned from the UFC in May of last year, and as he prepares for a fight with UFC veteran Luigi Fiorivanti this month, he's employing the services of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and Firas Zihabi's Tristar gym in Montreal.
"I go to Amsterdam next week to finish up my sparring," Daley said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "Then me and Andre Winner will be linking up with the champion himself, Georges St-Pierre, who's a good friend of Andre Winner's now, and I'll be doing the last bit of prep at Tristar."
Though UFC President Dana White has said multiple times that Daley will never fight in the UFC again, Daley's hoping that he will eventually be able to make a return to the Octagon, and he knows who he'd like to fight as well.
"I've spoken to a lot of people," Daley said. "A rematch with Nick Diaz, with the UFC's marketing power – with FOX and everything now – I think they can market the rematch with Nick Diaz if he falls against B.J. Penn really, really well.
Penick's Analysis: I don't know how likely it is that Daley would be able to make a return to the UFC with how adamant White has been on the subject, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the prospects of a Daley-Diaz rematch taking place inside the Octagon. They had a fantastic one round fight in Strikeforce in April, and a second bout between the two would be guaranteed fireworks. All he can do is win and keep winning, and hope that things can be reconciled with the UFC at some point to make his way back.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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