Bellator MMA matchmakers knew their decision to pit Paul Daley against Derek Anderson in the Bellator 247 main event on Thursday in Milan, Italy, enhanced their chances for violence—the kind over which people keep talking long after it has subsided.
Long established as one of the sport’s premier knockout artists, Daley enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories over Erick Silva and Saad Awad. The well-traveled former Cage Rage champion has compiled a respectable 8-4 record in 12 assignments under the Bellator flag, his tenure with the Scott Coker-led promotion highlighted by sensational knockouts of Lorenz Larkin and Brennan Ward.