Paul Daley on knocking out friend Brennan Ward: “It was hard, I just hope he’s ok”

On Saturday night, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 170, a stacked card that emanated from Los Angeles, California.

Though the card had several exciting moments, the undeniable highlight in terms of spectacle was Paul Daley’s defeat of Brennan Ward. The British knockout artist put his foe down with an incredible flying knee to the temple in the very first round of their fight.

While Daley’s win was a thrill for the fans, however, it was not such a thrill for the man himself, as he considers Ward a friend. Daley explained his relationship with Ward – as well as Ward’s friends and family – during the event’s post-fight presser. His words (via MMAJunkie.com).

“Me and Brennan, we were hanging out a lot prior to this fight at all of the other events. His last victory, over Saad Awad [at Bellator 163], I sat ringside with girlfriend and his family and coaches, and I was celebrating with them. So it was a difficult situation for me at first to fight him.”

Daley, of course, did more than just fight his friend. He knocked him out with such severity that he had to be shuttled from the cage in a stretcher. When Daley saw this – and Ward’s girlfriend crying – he said things got even harder for him.

“To get a victory, it was kind of mixed emotions,” he explained. “The first two minutes was running around like a headless chicken and going crazy. And then I look across, and I see his girlfriend, and she’s crying. It was hard. I just hope he’s OK.”

With this win, Daley rebounded from a decision loss to Douglas Lima, who now wears Bellator welterweight gold. The British striker is now 39-14-2 overall.

What did you think of Paul Daley’s wild knockout of Brennan Ward? Sound off in the comments section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/22/2017.