Interview with Bellator's Aisling Daly

Aisling Daly ("Ais" is pronounced like "Ash") hails from Ireland and is one of the fastest rising stars in womens mixed martial arts.  She is currently undefeated with a perfect 9-0 career record.  She earned his nickname "Ais the Bash" for beating on both boys and girls in her karate sparring sessions growing up.  Ais is currently ranked as the number 3 in the world in the 125 lb divions but she'll be dropping down to 115 to compete in Bellator's women's flyweight tournament.  Aisling's first round opponent will be  Lisa Ward and the bout is taking place on August 26th in Kansas City for Bellator 26.  I tried to set up an interview with Ais over the phone but unfortunately discovered my plan didn't cover international calls to Ireland.  Ais was kind enough to answer my questions via e-mail.

Brian Hemminger: You started in martial arts at a very young age, when did you decide to be a mixed martial arts fighter?

Aisling Daly: I decided when I was about 16 I wanted to give MMA a go, I had been training MMA for a few years already but when I was 16 I realised that girls were participating in it and that I would have other girls to compete against.  Before that I thought MMA was another one of those things just for the guys and I'd be able to train but never compete.

BH: What are you thoughts on Bellator's 115 lb women's tournament and how did it feel to get invited?

AD: I feel the Bellator 115 lbs tournament is definitely the biggest tournament in Female MMA history it has the best talent pool ever put together and Bellator is going the right way about doing it with 3 x 5 minutes rounds and full rules for the ladies.  There's no
discrimmination which I love.  I was so happy to be invited to compete in the tournament.  It's the biggest achievement in my short life so far and I can't wait to showcase what I can do.  It's only finally starting to sink in for me now that's it's real. I was almost believing it wasn't going to happen until my flight booking arrived.  Now it's on!!

BH: Are you planning on coming over to the US early since you've never fought here before?

AD: I'm coming over just a couple of days early I arrive on the 21st before fighting on the 26th.  The adjustment should be no problem as the conditions I've been training in the gym are suprisingly similar to Kasas City temperature and humidity-wise so I'll be good to go! :)

BH: Do you still train with only men at your gym?

AD: For this training camp I've actually had a good mix of girls and guys to train with.  There are very few female MMA fighters in this country but I managed to round them all together for sparring and also I've had training partners who are very good at specific disciplines such as Boxing and BJJ

BH: Do you think that gives you an advantage?

AD: I think training with men does give you a certain advantage but then again most girls are in the same situation as myself where there are very few female training partners for them. I think it's more to do with the standard of your male training partners.  It's very important that your training partners give you the right pressure and pace so you find you are under pressure but also improving.  I'm very fortunate in that I have a group of highly skilled male 135 lbers at my gym and they kick my ass regularly so no 115lb girl is gonna be able to throw me around like they do!

BH: You've only had 3 fights in the last 2 years, are you concerned at all about the quick turnaround in Bellator's tournament format?

AD: I've had 3 fights in 2 years but certainly not from not wanting to fight!  The tournament format doesn't phase me at all.  I look forward to getting some fights under my belt.  When I started fighting I had quite a few fights in quick sucession and then with the lack of opponents the time in between grew.

BH: What are your thoughts on your first round opponent Lisa Ward?

AD: I think Lisa Ward is a great opponent.  She's highly skilled, has a great reputation & has been around this game longer than me.  I really can't wait to fight her.  It's the perfect opportunity to display my skills and show the world what Ais the Bash is capable of!

BH: Do you have a prediction for the fight?

AD: I predict a second round TKO.  I have to give the fans their moneys worth ha ha!

BH: Lisa Ward will be your 10th opponent from ten different countries.  Was that just a coincidence or are you always looking for new challenges from different places?

AD: That really is a coincidence.  I found it is so hard to find opponents in Europe that I really just had to look into every country and see what female fighters there were active and ask if they wanted a match.   Those unfortunate 9 were the ones who said yes lol.

BH: You've said in the past that you'd love to face Megumi Fujii, would beating her in the finals be the perfect fairy tale ending for you?

AD: I think it would be a fairy tale ending to the tournament.  Megumi is the number one, she's the one people talk about.  She's the woman to beat.  Beating her would make me the undisputed number 1.  Obivously it wouldn't be a fairy tale ending to my plans in the fight game.  I've just arrived and I plan to make some waves so that'll just be the beginning.

BH: Do you think your pink hair psychs your opponents out?  What's the backstory on that?

AD: I doubt the pink hair psychs anyone out, pink is a friendly and positive colour :)  I've been dying my hair all sorts of crazy colours since  I was about 14 years old so it was nothing new for me with the pink.  The first time I fought in Denmark I had my hair pink and then I done some TV interviews in Ireland with my hair pink and it just kind of stuck.  It became a trademark "you're the chick with the pink hair that fights" so I decided it was working for me so stick with it!

BH: Do you have any shoutouts or anyone out there you want to thank?

AD:  I'd like to thank my MMA coach John Kavanagh, he's awesome, I wouldn't be here without him.  He puts up with my mini diva fits in training ha ha. My strength and conditioning coach/nutrtionist Eoin Lacey in the Irish Strength Institute.  My sports psychologist David Mullens, he keeps me positive.  Owen Roddy and Conor McGregor for making my stand up sharper than it's ever been and also to all the guys in Straight Blast Gym Dublin for making the gym such a positive place to grow and improve. Thank you all.  I promise I'll do you guys proud!

You can follow Aisling Daly on twitter here