Once banned by the UFC, welterweight Paul Daley is now working behind the scenes to make a return to the promotion.

“I don’t know why the UFC isn’t jumping on it, if what I did was really, really that bad for them to not want to capitalize on all these great fights,” he told MMAjunkie Radio.

Despite his checkered past with the industry-leader, Daley (33-12-2), who was banned by the promotion for his post-fight suckerpunch of Josh Koscheck at UFC 113, sees himself as the perfect addition to a red-hot welterweight division.

The heavy-handed Brit would like to be among a handful of fighters who are now vying to unseat new champ Johny Hendricks, including Tyron Woodley, Rory MacDonald, Dong Hyun Kim and the man Hendricks beat to win the belt, Robbie Lawler.

“I’m seeing so many opportunities, and guys are getting a lot of hype,” Daley said. “I think I stand a great chance with them [to] knock them out. Matt Brown – great fighter, great standup fighter, always putting on a great fight. Seems like a nice guy. But put him in there with me, and I think I take him out pretty easily.

“Tyron Woodley, I feel that my game’s developed a lot. I still feel Tyron’s conditioning is lacking. He still has that right hand that he hit me with in the opening stages (of our fight in Strikeforce), but I don’t see his chances are any better given a second opportunity.

“Nick Diaz is a massive pay-per-view (draw).”

Daley stopped himself before rattling off additional names.

“You can see I’ve been thinking about this,” he said. “There’s so many big fights as a fighter and as a fight fan that people would love to see.”

Now, Daley just has to convince the industry-leader to rehire him. UFC President Dana White revealed this past month that the fighter’s manager recently sent him a letter asking to reconsider the ban. Pressed for his immediate reaction to the move, the executive was still cold on the idea of a second chance for “Semtex.”

Daley, however, said his standing with the promotion may be improving. He said he’s recently communicated directly with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta through a well-known MMA manager, Authentic Sports Management’s Glenn Robinson.

“I don’t want to say too much because I’ve gotten more feedback behind the scenes, and I know there’s still certain stuff that I have to do first before going back to the UFC, or before we can take any further (steps),” Daley said. “Those are things I’m going to concentrate on first.”

First on Daley’s list is getting permission to fight in the U.S. It’s unclear exactly why he’s been unable to obtain a visa to fight in the U.S. – he shot down reports that his involvement in a U.K. bar brawl kept him from traveling to compete – but he said the issue is a major impediment to a UFC contract.

Visa troubles also kept Daley from competing for Bellator MMA and prompted the Viacom-owned promotion to release the fighter this past summer. But he is optimistic that with the UFC’s support, his status will change.

“I know with the right legal team that I could get back into the U.S. pretty quick,” he said. “It’s whether the UFC wants to spend their time.”

Another potential roadblock is Daley’s obligations to other promoters. He said he is contracted to several other shows that could stake claim to his services, including a deal with the U.K.-based BAMMA that he believes will run out in December.

“I have one (contract) with K-1, but they’re pretty cool to deal with and I’m sure they’d allow me to fight for the UFC if we can come to some kind of agreement, and also with FFC, which is run by Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ (Filipovic)’s former management,” he said. “I’m sure they would let me out of a contract if something could be worked out.

“In a perfect world, [kickboxing] would be something I’d like to continue. But I wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity of fighting for the UFC. I’m 31 years old, (and) MMA is my first and foremost passion.”

As for the greatest hurdle to overcome, Daley said he has yet to re-establish contact with White. He said he saw the UFC president while at a fighter summit for Zuffa contractees during his time in the now-defunct Strikeforce, but he felt a direct approach wasn’t possible.

Daley said the letter to White was actually written by a group of U.K.-based industry vets lobbying on his behalf, as he is without a formal manager. Robinson could step in if a UFC deal was struck, however.

“There is interest elsewhere,” Daley added. “I’ve not really been speaking with Matt Hume, but we’ve had a few Facebook conversations, and ONE FC would allow me to continue kickboxing. But ONE FC ain’t really getting the kind of attention that I want to close out my career with.”

The possibility of re-signing with the UFC would prompt Daley to make his second stint with the promotion his final run in MMA.

“If I was to head back to the UFC, I would say I would be (close to retiring), because I can’t see myself doing much else after that,” he said. “But if I don’t go back to the UFC, I’m going to fight for a few good more years because I’m having great success with kickboxing, defeating some highly ranked guys, and I see the career path there in my later years.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.