Jon Fitch talks Paul Daley’s in-cage outburst, thinks crowd was booing him

This past weekend at Bellator 199, welterweight slugger Paul Daley made the rounds when he began insulting the broadcast team while he was being pummeled against the cage by Jon Fitch.

Daley, who is known for his devastating left hook, was unable to land any significant strikes against Fitch and was repeatedly taken down and out-wrestled on the canvas.

‘Semtex’ grew increasingly frustrated as the bout wore on and eventually yelled ‘f-ck Bellator’ to the commentary team as he was being smothered by Fitch in the third and final round.

The fight elicited boos from the crowd, and Daley even joined in while being wrestled against his will.

Fitch, however, who is renown for his grappling-heavy style, believes the fans were booing Daley for ‘doing nothing’ on the ground and making no real effort to get back to his feet.

“To me, they’re booing him, because he’s not doing anything,” Fitch told reporters backstage, perMMA Junkie’s Steven Marrocco and Simon Samano. “I’m slugging away. I’m trying to do work, and this guy’s just holding on to my wrist and asking the ref to stand him up. Do something. Sweep me. Stand up. Do something. Don’t scream to the referee to stand you up. Do it yourself – it’s a fight.

“If guys don’t open up, they don’t open themselves up to getting hit, or submitted, or anything. If they don’t commit to getting away, openings don’t come. If we were standing up and I just ran away from him the whole time, you’re not going to get any openings to finish. Is the crowd booing him because I ran away from him the whole time? I see that as the same thing. Do work. Try to do something.”

Fitch started chatting back to Daley during his in-cage outburst, telling the Brit to ‘do something’ and ‘fight’ back instead holding onto his wrist for dear life.

“I told him to do something,” Fitch said. “Fight. Quit holding on to my wrist. He’s going to yell at the crowd and yell to the refs. He’s got enough energy to yell and ask for help, but he doesn’t have enough energy to fight and do something?”

Fitch, a former UFC title challenger, extended his win streak to five at Bellator 199 and is looking forward to challenging Rory MacDonald for the Bellator welterweight title, although the bout hasn’t been made official.

“I know Rory’s really tough,” he said. “But I have to be honest: I’ve never watched him fight. I don’t watch fights anymore, really. I just am in them.”