The first lady of Irish MMA Ais “The Bash” Daly recently did an AMA (ask me anything) over on TheMMACommunity.com forum. Here we bring you excerpts and highlights of that session (the questions are in bold):
Question- Aisling, will April 11th be your first time fighting in Poland? What do you expect the event/crowd to be like there, and what do you expect from your opponent, Claudia Gadelha?
Answer- This will be my very first time to fight in Poland. I find Polish people to have a lot of similarities to Irish people. They are very passionate towards sport and with this being the first UFC event held there I expect it to be amazing. I think I will be well received by the Polish fans.
I think Claudia is a very skilled opponent and I anticipate a stormy first round from her. She has quite a poor gas tank whereas as my cardio is one of my greatest strengths, I see this fight being a war!
Who would you like to fight after Gadhela?
After Gadelha I would like to fight whoever has the belt. Be it Carla or Joanna. I think I will have earned it after this one.
How do you know RVD and thanks a lot for for taking the time to do this.
I know RVD through facebook. He’s always been a fan and supporter of mine since early on so I’ve always kept in touch with him. No problem at all. I am happy to be here!
What was your experience in the TUF house like?
In honesty my time in the TUF house wasn’t very enjoyable. The whole experience I found very mentally and physically gruelling. Being surrounded by negative people and cameras constantly while being removed from my support network was awful, not to mention how badly my body reacted to the Las Vegas weather. I was in a bad way for those 6 weeks.
I think the majority of the girls in the house apart from the mean girls seemed to be frustrated by the whole experience. Those who thrived on drama were in their element in the house.
What are your thoughts on the Reebok sponsorship deal and how will it affect you?
I think the reeebok deal will work well. There aren’t many sponsorship opportunities at the moment especially if your fight is not on the main card even if you are ranked top 15. This is a guaranteed income now which seems like a good idea for lower level fighters. More established fighters maybe actually be the ones to lose out.
You’ve fought for a lot of promotions throughout your career, what is the craziest story you can share?
I actually don’t have any crazy stories, except that Bellator had a rule where our US visa was to be taken out of our purse, it cost close to 4000$. I was only due to receive only $3000 to show and another $3000 if I won. I lost so by the end of the fight I owed them money, which they did let slide, but basically I fought for free!
If you could only listen to one singer/band for the rest of your life (just one), who would it be?
Oh that is a difficult one! It would probably be someone like that cranberries or U2, not because they are Irish but because they have a really diverse range of music. I would need tunes for all my moods!
You can read the full AMA here.