‘Another head hangs lowly… Child is slowly taken… And the violence caused such silence… Who are we mistaken.’
Cue the hooded figure of Aisling Daly balefully sauntering into the arena, flanked by four security officials, before the 8,000+ in attendance were enveloped by distorted power chords and the haunting pulse of Dolores O’Riordan’s voice.
UFC Fight Night 76, fought on the banks of the Liffey, took place almost nine months ago and Aisling Daly has yet to be given her fourth assignment in the Octagon.
Boasting a 2-1 UFC record, the most recent triumph of which arrived that night in Dublin with a gritty decision victory over highly-touted Ericka Almeida, Daly is ready to push on from her latest win which was preceded by arguably the most hair-raising walkout in the history of the UFC.
“People keep telling me about their goosebumps,” Daly told SportsJOE.
“I have a very passionate and loyal fanbase in MMA. My following has been supporting me ever since 2007, when I made my debut. They’ve been there for me in tiny GAA halls then and they’re there for me in arenas now.
“I like giving them the chance to see me and I want to do it all over again in Hamburg. Obviously when I’m fighting in the States or Canada, it’s more of a hassle for Irish fans to get over to see me.
“The last fight was a surreal experience and sometimes I need to be reminded that it was me walking out because it felt like it was someone else. I have an alter-ego and it felt like it was ‘Ais the Bash’ coming out rather than me. I don’t walk around with that face I had in the second and third round. It was a great night but it was just one night, I have to concentrate on moving forward now.
“It means a lot to me to have family and friends there and it’s definitely easier when I’m fighting in Europe. That’s why I asked to be put on the London card in February and why I asked to be on the Zagreb card in April.”
If you guys would like to see me on the @UFCEurope Hamburg card September 3rd let @seanshelby and the @UFC know!! 😀 #ThebashforHamburg
— Aisling Daly (@aisydaly) May 15, 2016
After failing to get a bout on either event, the 28-year-old has been vocally campaigning to make it third time lucky in 2016 as her Twitter feed is awash with talk of a fight in Hamburg this September, on the undercard of Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett.
Why Hamburg?
“There are cheap flights from Ryanair,” Daly laughed.
“The timing just works for me. I’ve had a few niggles and injuries bothering me so I figured that the extended break would be enough time for me to get back to my best.
“I’ve been talking to doctors and they told me that I’d be healed in time for a fight in late August, early September.
“Hamburg is nowhere near confirmed for me but I’ve spoken to (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby and he told me that it’s a possibility.”
While the timing might be right in terms of recovery, one little issue with the September 3 date comes with the fact that it arrives just a fortnight after UFC 202.
For those residing under rocks, that’s the date that SBG’s biggest star returns to action as Conor McGregor aims to avenge his only UFC loss when he meets Nate Diaz on August 20 in Las Vegas.
That means that the vast majority of SBG head coach John Kavanagh’s time will be spent focused on ‘The Notorious’ with a lengthy training camp in the U.S.A. expected from mid-July to fight night.
“It can be tricky but sometimes decisions have to be made,” Daly said.
“My main MMA coach will be away from the gym for four or five weeks but if I wait beyond September to fight then that means I’ll have been on the sidelines for a year.
“While it’s not ideal that John won’t be around, I just feel like this is a situation where I want to fight so much that my coach’s absence will have to just be a minor issue, not a major one.”
So the date has been targeted and the scheduling is not thought to be a problem so the only other aspect to consider is the little matter of an opponent.
Daly is currently unranked in the official strawweight rankings but she’s aware that a couple of big names have cropped up in the ether.
“I’m open for anyone,” Daly continued. “I wanted to fight Karolina Kowalkiewicz but I doubt that fight would happen now because she’s booked against Rose Namajunas at the end of July so I don’t think the turnaround would be enough.
“And if she wins, she’ll go up the rankings so I can’t see why they’d give it to me. Sometimes they throw a spanner in the works and give a lower-ranked opponent the shot at a ranked one but I can’t foresee it with Karolina.
“People have mentioned Bec Rawlings and Jessica Andrade. Andrade had a great win last weekend and I think our styles would make for a barn-burner.
“Honestly I just want to compete again. I’m training as if I have a fight on September 3 because I need something to focus on to stay motivated. That’s where we’re at right now.”
