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Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley

  • Keith Jardine prepares for his fight against Matt Hammil during The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Finale at the Pearl inside the Palms in this file photo.

    Strikeforce Notebook: Nick Diaz explains showmanship toward Paul Daley

    April 10, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — A lot of Nick Diaz’s supporters stressed the importance of fighting “smart” against British knockout king Paul Daley heading into their Saturday bout. Dropping his hands, sticking out his chin and shouting at Daley at the beginning of the fight probably wasn’t what they had in mind for the champion. “It could have been a little cleaner for me,” Diaz said. “I think I was still pumped up from the weigh-in. It could have been working with me or against me.”

  • Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz administers a ground and pound attack on K.J. Noons in a title fight last September. Diaz won a unanimous decision and next defends his belt Saturday against Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos.

    Strikeforce live results: Nick Diaz scores first-round TKO over Paul Daley

    April 9, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — People have thrown around adjectives like stunning, historic and game changing to describe Zuffa’s recent purchase of Strikeforce. Time to add one more — well-timed. Strikeforce already had tonight’s Diaz vs. Daley card at Valley View Casino Center planned under its old ownership, but its Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, that gets to reap the benefits of a stacked event.

  • In this file photo, Paul Daley talks to UFC President Dana White, right, while weighing in for his welterweight bout in UFC 108 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Daley came in overweight and forfeited 10 percent of his purse.

    Strikeforce weigh-in blog: Paul Daley starts brief yelling match after making weight

    April 8, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — Weigh-ins always take on suspense when Paul Daley is involved. Daley, who challenges Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight championship in the headlining fight of Saturday’s card at Valley View Casino Center, had missed the 171-pound cutoff in two of his last three bouts. But Daley stepped on the scale at the Crowne Plaza without any issues Friday, coming in at 169.5 pounds. Diaz, the champion, also made weight, along with the other six fighters on the main card, which Showtime will televise via tape delay on the west coast at 10 p.m.

  • A bloodied Keith Jardine takes a break during a stop in the action during his fight against Matt Hamill in the Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Finale at the Pearl inside the Palms last June. Jardine lost a split decision and the UFC released him shortly after.

    Keith Jardine returns to big stage as late replacement on Strikeforce card

    April 8, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — The personalities of veteran fighter Keith Jardine and his high-profile coach Greg Jackson can be accurately summed up with one anecdote from last week. Jardine (17-9-1) accepted a late-notice light heavyweight bout against Dutch striker Gegard Mousasi (30-3-1) on Saturday’s Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley card last Thursday and called Jackson to talk about it. Although Jackson was happy for him, he immediately started lamenting that they didn’t have much time to prepare for a fighter of Mousasi’s caliber. Jardine heard enough.

  • Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz celebrates after defeating K.J. Noons via unanimous decision last September.

    UFC/Strikeforce Notebook: Diaz and Daley keeping abnormally quiet

    April 7, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — Nick Diaz and Paul Daley are two of the biggest trash talkers in mixed martial arts — or at least they used to be. To the surprise of many, Diaz (24-7, 1 NC) and Daley (27-9-2) haven’t engaged in one heated exchange during their media availability leading up to Saturday’s welterweight title fight at Valley View Casino Center. When asked to explain the silence at Thursday’s press conference at the Crowne Plaza, Diaz answered appropriately.

  • Gilbert Melendez Jr., left, and Shinya Aoki pose for a photo to promote their lightweight championship bout last year, which Melendez won by unanimous decision.

    Strikeforce lightweight champion excited by possibilities after UFC purchase

    April 8, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    SAN DIEGO — Gilbert Melendez Sr. used to have a hard time believing just how good of a fighter his son was. Even after Gilbert Melendez Jr. started his professional career 11-0 and captured the Strikeforce lightweight championship in the process five years ago, his father tried to temper his enthusiasm. Then came a unanimous decision victory over Tatsuya Kawajiri in a PRIDE event on New Year’s Eve 2006, which made it tough for Melendez Sr. to deny his son’s prowess any longer.

  • Paul Daley is pulled away from Dustin Hazelett's corner by Herb Dean at UFC 108 on Jan. 2, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena . Daley won by knockout in the first round.

    First major Strikeforce card with new ownership features UFC castoffs

    April 6, 2011

    By Case Keefer

    Even though his company now owns Strikeforce, UFC President Dana White has vowed not to attend the fight promotion’s events for a while. White notes that he doesn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Strikeforce had long served as the landing ground for fighters who clashed with White and lost their opportunity to fight in the UFC. Two of the better-known examples meet in the main event of Saturday’s San Diego card, the first major Strikeforce show under UFC ownership, when British standout Paul Daley challenges Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title.

UFC 158
Nick Diaz fails to back up years worth of talk

UFC 158 A welterweight title fight that felt incredibly different wound up remarkably the same. Georges St. Pierre manhandled nemesis Nick Diaz with his wrestling. St. Pierre won every round on every judges' scorecard in Montreal for his sixth straight unanimous-decision victory. Diaz had preached his superiority over St. Pierre for years, but when he finally got his chance, he looked as helpless as all the other challengers to the 170-pound division's throne in the last six years. St. Pierre's consistency continued to amaze. Now it's on to Johny Hendricks, who defeated Carlos Condit in the evening's co-main event. Could he be the one to finally threaten St. Pierre?

Main Card Results
WinnerLoserMethod
Georges St. PierreNick DiazUnanimous Decision
Johny HendricksCarlos ConditUnanimous Decision
Jake EllenbergerNate MarquardtKnockout
Chris CamozziNick RingSplit Decision
Mike RicciColin FletcherUnanimous Decision

Fight Schedule
DateEventHeadlining MatchLocation
May 25 UFC 160 Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 8 UFC on FUEL TV 10 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum Fortaleza, Brazil
June 15 UFC 161 Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 22 WBA Welterweight Title Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner Brooklyn, N.Y.
July 6 UFC 162 Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 27 UFC on Fox 8 Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga Seattle
August 3 UFC 163 Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis Rio de Janeiro

Complete Schedule »

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