Bellator targets Paul Daley retirement fight vs. Andrey Koreshkov in London
Paul Daley made it known he only has one more fight left in the tank.
Unenthused about originally-offered opponents, Daley (43-18-2 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) is now targeted to face a veteran in former Bellator welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov (25-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA), a promotion official Monday confirmed to MMA Junkie after an initial report by reporter Michael Morgan on Twitter. The welterweight bout is slated for May 13 at Bellator London, which takes place at OVO Arena Wembley.
Daley, 39, has been with Bellator for the past seven years. His losses in the promotion have been to Bellator’s elite-level welterweights: former Bellator champions Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald, former WSOF champ Jon Fitch and upcoming Bellator title challenger Michael Page, as well as Jason Jackson.
He’ll be 39 when he steps in the cage for the last time and said his retirement was supposed to be sooner.
“I’ve been planning for it for a long time,” Daley said. “I’ve had a lot of fights. Bellator has treated me well while I’ve been there, and I always knew it was going to be my last promotion. I’ve put things in place so that when I do call it a day, I can do so comfortably.”
As for Koreshkov, he competed Saturday at Bellator 274 when he ran through former UFC fighter Chance Rencountre. The win came 38 seconds into Round 1 via a spinning back kick to the body that punctured Rencountre’s lung and broke five ribs.
With the addition, the Bellator London lineup includes:
- Champ Yaroslav Amosov vs. Michael Page
- Jason Jackson vs. Douglas Lima
- Paul Daley vs. Andrey Koreshkov
- Denise Kielholtz vs. Kana Watanabe
- Simon Biyong vs. Luke Trainer
- Fabian Edwards vs. Lyoto Machida
- Daniel Weichel vs. Robert Whiteford
- Alfie Davis vs. Tim Wilde
- Kate Jackson vs. Elina Kallionidou