Warrior Daly retains cage title

A DUBLIN woman retained her world title in cage fighting.

The 5ft 2ins cage warrior Aisling Daly, nicknamed ‘Ash the Bash’, successfully defended her Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) belt against US contender Kelly Warren in front of a packed house in Medina, Ohio.

Daly, 23, had little more than a nosebleed after winning her fight towards the end of the second round by armbar, a lock on her opponent’s arm forcing a submission.

But perfectionist Aisling, who has mastered karate, Thai boxing and jiu-jitsu, admitted she was unhappy with her performance, despite confirming her reputation as Ireland’s most successful MMA fighter ever.

The pink-haired cage-fighter, who won the world title for the first time last June, said: “I was disappointed with my performance, but happy with the win.”

Aisling is now hoping her win will raise the profile of the sport and help her gain some of the recognition enjoyed by boxer Katie Taylor. Her friend Anne Mulligan, who runs Dublin’s Straight Blast Gym where Aisling trains, said: “Aisling’s one of our most successful ever sporting stars, but she’s not as well known yet as she deserves to be.

“Part of the problem is that MMA is not yet recognised as an Olympic sport. If it had the profile of women’s boxing, she’d be as famous in this country as Katie Taylor.”

However, Aisling can expect a hero’s welcome when she returns home to Drimnagh on Monday morning.

True to form, the focused fighter will only allow herself a few days’ rest before she resumes her gruelling training regime, under the watch of coach, John Kavanagh.

“I worked very hard to get this title and I’m not ready to give it away yet,” she said.

“There’ll always be other girls coming through who’ll want to take what I have. I’ll be back to defend my title next year and I want to improve and become a better fighter.”