Paul Daley demonstrated extremely poor sportsmanship when he sucker punched Josh Kosheck less than 30 seconds after their UFC 113 bout had ended. It was absolutely uncalled for and deserving of some form of censure. But maybe banning Daley from the UFC forever is a bit much.

We’re talking about a fighter, right? Fighters have a tendency to hit people. I know, the line between thug and legitimate professional mixed martial artist must be held sacrosanct and perhaps we could say that Daley’s real crime is that he’s blurred that line for a sport that is still viewed suspiciously by the mainstream establishment, a sport that is still illegal in several states. But banned forever seems a bit much; forever is a very, very, long time.

Furthermore, Daley manned up and was seemingly sincerely in acknowledging that he was completely out of line. While it seems strange to applaud contrition, it’s not something that we see too often.

Compare Daley’s actions to Babalu Sobral’s extended anaconda choke of David Heath at UFC 74. Babalu not only held on to the choke for at least four seconds after Heath clearly tapped, he did so even as referee Steven Mazagatti was attempting to pull Babalu away from his opponent. Worse, he stated in an interview immediately after the fight that Heath deserved it. Yet Dana White did not ban Babalu for life.

Or consider the Jake Shields/ Nick Diaz/ Nate Diaz/Gilbert Melendez-vs-Mayhem Strikeforce brawl that broke out shortly after Shield’s victory over Dan Henderson. Shields actually initiated the chaos by shoving Mayhem – who had clearly been sent into the cage to fish for a rematch by the promotion. Dana White made it abundantly clear that he was still interested in Shields despite his role in that fiasco. White has also shrugged off calls that Nate Diaz be punished for something that happened within another organization.

Here’s what it boils down to: a gifted fighter who still needs to work on his takedown defense but otherwise has a solid game made a mistake. Not only is Daley a gifted fighter, he’s also a gifted promoter – holding a Photoshop contest to make fun of Kosheck was hilarious. Plus, he’s really a nice guy – unless you’re someone he’s fighting.

Surely MMA fans lose more than they have to gain by such an empty token punishment. So I encourage everyone to ask the UFC to bring back Paul Daley. Hit Dana White and the UFC up on twitter, facebook, clog their emails, and hold up signs at events. It’s rare that fans can actually help a fighter – this time perhaps they can.