Paul Daley Delivers an Apology to the UFC and Josh Koscheck

From Gareth Davies at the Telegraph.co.uk:

Daley said: “I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologise to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.”

“I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw.  He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation.”

“There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional.  I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.”

“Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight.  I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I knee’d him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw.”

“Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.”

“This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision.  I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.”

“I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.”

I think cutting Paul Daley for his actions Pot Shot at Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 was excessive by Dana White. The UFC still employs Phil Baroni and Gilbert Yvel, both men have punched referees (which in my opinion is a worse offence that what Daley did). It seems after the Strikeforce brawl and Dana's negative comments towards Strikeforce afterwords, he backed himself into a corner and was left no choice and had to cut Daley. With Dana cutting Daley it gives the public appearance that the UFC is not a circus and those actions will not be tolerated in such a professional company. To cut someones career short to improve public perception seems a little harsh, but Zuffa has done much worse in the past. I like Daley and I honestly believe it was a momentary lapse in judgement. What do you think? To harsh of a punishment, or good riddance?