Because Bellator MMA holds events in many areas without a government commission, the promotion secures the services of the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation to regulate international events. At Bellator MMA 247 in Milan, Italy, chief inspector Brandon Morris, made the decision to pull Paul Daley from his main event bout vs. Derek Anderson, after “Semtex” was transported to the hospital during a failed weight cut.
Later, on an Instagram live video, later deleted, Daley complained and said he had wanted to fight, noting he was not given an IV, which would have been an immediate disqualification, due to the ban on the use of an IV for rehydration.
This is not unusual for us professional fighters, said Daley. It just normally takes place in our room with our team. It’s just unfortunate it took place downstairs and Bellator, CBS, and Sky Sports, even though I’m fit, I’m healthy, I’m 100 percent, no hospital treatment, ready to go right now, don’t want to put the fight on, so I apologize.
Daley offered further clarification in a second Instagram video. He had been unable to walk due to the cut, and requested transportation to the hospital. Daley says that for 90 minutes at the hospital he was not treated, slept, and when he awoke, felt better, and hoped, since no IV had been administered, he could Uber back to the venue and fight on.
Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation director Michael Mazzulli determined that Daley was not, in fact, going to fight. In a sign both of the ubiquity of dangerous weight cutting in general, and by Paul Daley in particular, this was the second time Mazzulli had to pull Daley from a fight vs. Anderson due to a failed weight cut. The same thing happened at Bellator 163 in November of 2016 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Mazzulli, along with California State Athletic Commission head Andy Foster, has been one of the leading voices trying to address the dangers of weight cutting in MMA. Mazzulli spoke with Steven Marrocco for MMA Fighting, and said he was thoroughly disgusted that the greater understanding of the dangers of extreme weight cutting has apparently had such a little impact on many fighters.
What he’s doing right now is not good for his body, plain and simple, and he needs to understand that he shouldn’t be doing this, said Mazzulli. He’s going to have to go up in weight. It amazes me that he thinks it’s OK what he’s doing with his body at his age.
These guys just ignore it, ignore it, and ignore it. Until somebody dies, nothing’s going to be done.
Equally baffling is the lack of steps that promoters take to address the issue. Bellator 247 is the promotion’s debut on CBS Sports Network, and it’s now headlined by women flyweight’s Denise Kielholtz (5-2) vs. Kate Jackson (11-4-1).
