Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley Signs with Bellator

It didn’t take Paul “Semtex” Daley long to find a new home following his release from Strikeforce just a few days ago.

The British heavy hitter has signed on with Bellator Fighting Championships and will debut for the promotion on July 20 at Bellator 72.

“I’ve been a Semtex fan for years,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He’s an incredibly explosive fighter who is magic to watch inside the cage. So when the opportunity presented itself to join forces with Paul, it was a simple decision to make. Paul’s one of those fighters I’ve always intentionally stayed home to watch and now I can watch him cageside at Bellator.”

Daley closed out his Strikeforce career by going 2-3 overall, but faced some of the stiffest competition the promotion could present to him while fighting there.

In 2011, Daley lost to current UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, but the pair put on one of the most exciting fights of the year despite it lasting less than a single round.

Now Daley brings his power and brash attitude to the Bellator cage where he will begin fighting in just over a month.

“I’ve been a fan of Bellator for a long while,” Daley said. “When this chance came up, I was absolutely ready to make a long term commitment to Bellator. I have my sights set on winning the tournament and winning that Bellator title.”

Daley’s opponent at Bellator 72 should be announced in the coming days.

Nice.

good for him, he wasn't active at SF at all. at least here he can get some decent matchups

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29660/bellator-72-card-finalized-paul-daley-vs-rudy-bears-added.mma
The fight card is set for next week's Bellator 72 event, the second of three "Summer Series" events for the organization.

As previously announced, the headliner features the season-six lightweight-tournament finale between Bryan Baker (18-3 MMA, 8-2 BFC) and Karl Amoussou (15-4-2 MMA, 3-1 BFC).

And as officials announced today, recent signee and big-show vet Paul Daley (29-12-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) will meet Rudy Bears (14-10 MMA, 2-4 BFC) in the welterweight co-headliner.

Bellator 72 takes place July 20 at USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. The night's main card airs on MTV2 following prelims on Spike.com.

Previously announced bouts for the main card include Emanuel Newton (18-6-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Attila Vegh (26-4-2 MMA, 2-0 BFC) and Tim Carpenter (9-1 MMA, 4-1 BFC) vs. Travis Wiuff (67-14 MMA, 3-0 BFC), which are the semifinal matchups of the organization's "Summer Series" light-heavyweight tournament. Additionally, welterweights Waachiim Spiritwolf (9-10-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC) and Marius Zaromskis (17-6 MMA, 1-0 BFC) meet for a third time following controversial endings to their first two fights.

The prelims feature six bouts. In the featured attraction, Ben Saunders (13-5-2 MMA, 4-2 BFC) takes a break from tournament competition to fight promotional newcomer Brian Warren (18-15-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) at a catchweight of 178 pounds.

Other bouts include heavyweights Chris Barnett (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Tom Sauer (25-12 MMA, 0-0 BFC), welterweights Kenny Moss (5-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Raul Amaya (9-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC), featherweights Matt McCook (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Shanon Slack (4-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC), 150-pounders Jason Carapelluci (6-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Paul Barrow (4-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC), and welterweights Julien Williams (2-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Ryan DeRocher (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC).

The full Bellator 72 card includes:

MAIN CARD (MTV2)

Karl Amoussou vs. Bryan Baker - welterweight-tournament final
Rudy Bears vs. Paul Daley
Emanuel Newton vs. Attila Vegh - light-heavyweight tourney semifinal
Tim Carpenter vs. Travis Wiuff - light-heavyweight tourney semifinal
Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marius Zaromskis

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com)

Ben Saunders vs. Brian Warren
Chris Barnett vs. Tom Sauer
Raul Amaya vs. Kenny Moss
Matt McCook vs. Shanon Slack
Paul Barrow vs. Jason Carapelluci
Ryan DeRocher vs. Julien Williams

Dang, Saunders and Sauer on the undercard. Thick Bellator.

GDPofDRC wrote:

Dang, Saunders and Sauer on the undercard. Thick Bellator.

Looks like an exciting lineup as well.