Det var först tänkt att Aisling Daly (15-5) skulle möta Claudia Gadelha (12-1), men Gadelha var tvungen att dra sig ur på grund av en skada och nu har Daly bokats om för att möta Randa Markos (4-2) på UFC 186 i en match som enligt Daly inte ger henne så mycket vid vinst.
Daly känner att hennes väg till en titelchans nu har blivit ännu längre och att en vinst över Markos inte kommer att ge henne så mycket rankingmässigt.
“In honesty, yeah I do think it will cause a problem (in my path the title),” sa Daly. “It was one of the reasons I was so disappointed that Claudia pulled out, especially in the manner she did pull out. It’ll end up being an extra fight along the road. They need a title contender, so the fight against Randa – a win against Randa doesn’t do much for me in terms of title contention. I think (I’ll need) one more (win after that).”
Daly känner sig självsäker och bättre på alla områden än sin motståndare. Både hon och Markos tränade i samma lag på TUF-20.
“I’m feeling super confident in this fight, to be honest,” sa Daly. “Obviously, Randa was a teammate on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and I got to train with her a lot. To be honest, in training I was just better than her in every range. I know I have that going for me going into the fight. She’s tough, she has good heart, but you’ll never beat the Irish on heart.”
Daly menar att hon inte tränar inför en specifik motståndare, utan fokuserar mer på det som hon är bra på.
“The game plan that I had transitioned over quite well for this,” Daly said. “A lot of the time I don’t plan specifically for an opponent; I just try to focus on what I’m good at. My game has evolved so much lately. I used to be predominantly a wrestler and grappler. Now I can strike pretty good too. I’ve got a good, unorthodox style. I’m just being super confident in this one. You’re going to see another win.”
Daly vill gärna ha en rematch mot Jessica Penne (12-2) då hon känner att deras första match i TUF-huset var väldigt jämn.
“I’d be delighted with that rematch (against Penne) because I’m still not convinced I lost the last one,” Daly said. “I would definitely be up for that. I would finish her in this one.”
