[B]A Statement by Warrior Promotions concerning the withdrawal of Paul "Semtex" Daley from Cage Warriors: Enter the Rough House[/B]
[B]Paul Daley Out of Cage Warriors: Enter the Rough House [/B]
Warrior Promotions are sad to announce that Paul "Semtex" Daley has withdrawn from Cage Warriors: Enter the Rough House due to a contract dispute with the Cage Rage Championships.
Warrior Promotions was contacted this afternoon by Daley's manager Daniel Cox, who said Paul Daley had decided not to fight on Cage Warriors: Enter the Rough House due to interference by the Cage Rage Championships, who have stated they have an exclusive contract with the Mr Daley (This being after Mr Daley and his management team had assured CW that this was not the case.)
This situation has left Warrior Promotions considerably frustrated as they have spent considerable time, money and effort since late August, when Mr Daley approached the Warrior Promotions President Mr Andy Lillis asking if he could fight on December 9th for Cage Warriors in his home town of Nottingham. Mr Daley requested that a top European fighter be found for this bout and as a result Warrior Promotions approached their friends at Fightsport and asked about the availability of Pride Bushido 12 veteran David baron. .
After considerable effort the all clear was given from both Mr Daley's and Mr Baron's teams, which led to Warrior Promotions announcing this match-up. Due to the nature of this bout and the fact that the Cage Rage Championships have vetoed two previous attempts by Warrior Promotions to have Paul Daley fight on their Strike Force shows; Warrior Promotions dealt with Daniel Cox, and terms and conditions were agreed and as a result on the 16th September at CW Showdown, Mr Daley was presented with a contract and he announced to the crowd that he would be fighting at Cage Warriors Enter the Rough House on December 9th.
Warrior Promotions then released a press release stating that Paul Daley would be fighting in Nottingham on December 9th, as he had given us his word and had a contact which he would be signing when he met his manager. However on the 21st of September, Warrior Promotions was alerted to a message on the cagewarriors.com forum by a Cage Rage member of staff which stated that Paul Daley would be fighting on Cage Rage on December 9th against Duane "Bang" Ludwig.
Immediately Warrior Promotions contacted Daniel Cox who said that he had not heard of any such thing. When questioned on the forum the Cage Rage representative said that the fight was not confirmed but there was "no smoke without fire." Warrior promotions then contacted Mr Ludwig's manager who stated that "There was an offer made, but that is about it...We do not have a contract for that match at this time".
Warrior Promotions then continued to work with Mr Daley's management to make sure this fight would go ahead and despite numerous reassurances and dealings which seemed to lead to a resolution on this issue, Warrior Promotions were informed today that the fight would not take place, and that Mr Daley had chosen to fight for Cage Rage, and because of his contract with Cage Rage, Mr Daley will not be allowed to fight for any other UK MMA promotion.
This has left Warrior Promotions stunned as they had been in contact with Cage Rage Championship Matchmaker Dave O'Donnell and was not informed that they would be taking this action.
So as a result Warrior Promotions are left in no doubt that this petty action by the Cage Rage Championships is nothing more than another blatant act of sabotage, as on 3 separate occasions they have waited for Warrior Promotions/Cage Warriors to announce that Mr Daley is fighting on their show (Strike Force 5, Strike Force 6 and today) before forcing Mr Daley to pull out.
This has left Warrior Promotions no choice but to cease any further talks with the Cage Rage Championships on matters concerning unity in the UK MMA scene due to their continued reprehensible actions. Their dishonest and disreputable way of doing business shows they are not interested in promoting UK MMA for the greater good, but are instead looking to monopolise the scene for their own means.
As many of you are aware Warrior Promotions have tried to be as amicable as possible with regards to building bridges with Cage Rage, and even changed two dates earlier this year, due to potential clashes. However Warrior Promotions were rewarded with Cage Rage altering their dates to clash with the original Strike Force 7 date on 30th September (Coventry) and now 9th December (Nottingham) as well as Cage Rage contender clashing with Strike Force 6, which meant the withdrawl of Dave Lee from that show, which caused more problems. Unfortunately the 30th September, Coventry show had to be cancelled because of local council issues, but because of Cage Rage's behaviour, Warrior Promotions will no longer accommodate Cage Rage when it comes to the 2007 calendar and beyond.
Warrior Promotions are also sad to announce that because of his actions Paul Daley will be indefinitely suspended from all Warrior Promotions shows and associated events, as a fighter, spectator and cornerman. Warrior Promotions has been left with no choice but to take such drastic action because this is the 3rd time in less than 9 months, which Mr Daley has backed out of an agreement with Warrior Promotions/Cage Warriors. Warrior Promotions would also like to take this opportunity to remind all UK fighters that they will now face sanctions if they pull out of Warrior Promotion events without adequate notice and medical evidence to state they are unable to fight.
On personal level Warrior Promotions do wish Mr Daley all the best in his future career, as he is a talented fighter and a likeable person, but he must learn to realise the consequences of his actions and that his naivety can cause promotions, managers and fans a lot of wasted time and money. Warrior Promotions also wish to remind Mr Daley that he can appeal against this suspension by writing to the Warrior Promotions team within 14 days and that his suspension will be reviewed at Warrior Promotions next quarterly board meeting any further infractions will be dealt severely.
Nevertheless Warrior Promotions still look forward to delivering a top notch night of Mixed Martial Arts action in Nottingham on December 9th, featuring a range of top European and home grown talent including the likes of David Baron, Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy and Jim Wallhead. And Warrior Promotions would also like to remind their loyal fans they will continue to deliver there exciting brand of MMA action during 2007 despite the actions of others who try to continually sabotage our events.