It’s been onwards on upwards for Ireland’s star of female MMA of late. JOE’s Fergus Ryan pays an in-gym visit to Dublin warrior Aisling Daly.
The last time JOE caught up with Ireland’s First Lady of fighting, Aisling Daly was on a train to Cork to fight at Cage Warriors 39. This time Daly was in the more familiar environment of her gym in Drimnagh.
The fight in Cork was Daly’s return to action after a loss against Lisa Ward. The Ward fight represented a number of firsts for Daly, first fight in the US, first fight down in the 115 pound weight category and first loss on her record that now reads 10-1.
“I know why I lost to Lisa Ward,” explains Daly. “I had a tough (weight) cut, I was over-trained and, no excuses, Lisa Ward is a good fighter and a better wrestler than me. But it’s not like she found a massive hole in my game and exploited that. She didn’t beat me in dominant, devastating fashion. She beat me fair and square but I didn’t go into my next fight thinking I’d started to slide.”
Daly began working with sports psychologist David Mullins in 2009 and credits his intervention with her new found mental toughness that now compliments her incredible level of physical talent. Prior to working with Mullins, small problems in training could turn into massive issues in Daly’s head to the point where, even as an undefeated fighter, she began to question whether she was cut out for the fight game.
Nearly two years on, Daly has developed a mental toughness that now allows her transcend the pressure of the win-loss column. “I’ve gotten back to training the way I trained at the start, doing it with a smile and loving every minute of it. I’m at a point where I’d fight whether I was winning or not,” said Daly.
Daly v Helsel round one and two:
In her latest win at Cage Warriors 39 last November, Daly beat gritty American veteran Molly Helsel. Helsel’s 21 fight record reads like a who’s who of women’s MMA and holds a victory over the only fighter to beat Daly so far.
If you needed to see evidence of how mentally tough Daly has become, the refusal to tap to Helsel’s triangle choke that lasted nearly three minutes should be evidence enough. “All I was thinking was ‘I’m not tapping to that’ and I just kept working to get out,” she recalls. “I know what I’m good at and even getting caught in the triangle in the first round didn’t put me off my game-plan for the rest of the fight, which was working for takedowns from the clinch and ground and pound from the top.”
The game-plan worked as Daly clocked another win and also bagged a Fight of the Night award for the battle with Helsel.
The return to winning ways continued beyond the cage with Daly being voted Female Fighter of the Year at the Fight.ie Irish MMA Awards.
Having signed with Bellator Fighting Championships during 2010, Daly was hopeful for more fights Stateside. However, having not signed any other female 125 pounders for their tournament format, Bellator may only require Daly’s services for a preliminary card bout.
Daly v Helsel round three:
A fight with Cat Albert, ranked one place above Daly (fifth) in her division of the Unified Women’s Mixed Martial Arts Rankings, has been tabled, but is yet to come to fruition despite Daly being willing to travel to Albert’s backyard to fight for the Colorado promotion Fight to Win.
Clearly impressed with their Irish experience in Cork last November, the Cage Warriors promotion is looking to provide an outlet for Daly. Cage Warriors 42 is returning to the Neptune Stadium on the second of April with match-maker Ian Dean hoping to fill the card with Irish and international talent. They’ll also be hopeful of another Fight of the Night performance from Daly but no opponent has been named as yet.
Conscious that a pro-fighter relies on support from different quarters, Daly would like to thank her sponsors Rival Boxing Gear, Nutrition X, Pro Gum Custom Gumshields, the Irish Strength Institute, all her coaches and training partners, Straight Blast Gym and David Mullins of Conquer Mental Skills.
Fergus Ryan
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