Paul “Semtex” Daley’s strategy against STRIKEFORCE Welterweight champion Nick Diaz is simple. Hit him. Hit him hard. And hit him early.
Diaz also has a game plan. Take him down. Control his body. And tap him out.
These two brash brawlers will collide this Saturday, April 9 at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego for the STRIKEFORCE Welterweight crown live on SHOWTIME®, in a highly anticipated matchup featuring two of the sport’s top fighters.
The battle features two premiere athletes in their primes, in an epic encounter that is as much about pride, personal triumph and redemption as it is about wearing STRIKEFORCE gold.
Daley wants to be the first Englishman to win a major world title. And after a notable moment of unsportsmanlike conduct in a fight more than a year ago, Daley badly thirsts for respect and forgiveness from the fans and the MMA community. A victory will earn him that.
Diaz too has a lot on the line. Although Diaz downplays the significance of the Daley fight in interviews, saying he just wants “to get paid,” the fight represents a major moment for the Stockton, California native.
Diaz needs to beat Daley convincingly to prove to the world that his recent winning streak is no fluke. A victory would silence his critics who say that even though Diaz is champion, he can’t beat a top-ranked fighter such Daley.
Diaz is on a remarkable tear. He hasn’t lost in four years and has looked practically unbeatable. One of the sport’s most unique personalities, Diaz is blunt both with his words and his punches. Known as the Stockton “Bad Boy,” Diaz also has black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and was trained by the iconic Cesar Gracie.
In interviews leading up to the fight, Diaz has said he’s not impressed with Daley’s ground game. In fact, he’s not too impressed with Daley at all.
“He’s not well-rounded as a full MMA fighter,” Diaz said at a recent STRIKEFORCE media call.
Daley admits that he doesn’t bring a remarkable ground game into the fight. With a record of 27 wins and 9 losses, Daley has tapped out five times in his career. Of his 27 victories, Daley has only won two by submission.
Daley is the proverbial turtle on his back. But he brings something else into the cage – the most powerful hands in the Welterweight division. Daley has won 20 of his fights by thrilling knockout. In his STRIKEFORCE debut, Daley destroyed the tough Scott Smith, knocking him cold.
It doesn’t matter who you are. When Daley connects, bad things happen to his opponents.
So the 28-year-old from Nottingham, England is shy about his strategy going into the Diaz fight.
He’s looking for a first round knockout.
“I just want to fight and bring the belt back to the UK,” Daley said. A victory would also bring a form of personal redemption. Last year, Daley lost a decision to American Kickboxing Academy’s Josh Koscheck. After the fight, a frustrated Daley threw a punch several seconds after the bell rung. He was fired from the UFC for his display.
Knocking out Diaz and winning the championship would help erase the memory of Daley’s momentary judgment lapse.
Despite his heavy hands, beating Diaz will be no easy task. Not only is Diaz skilled on the ground, but he’s also great on his feet. With his long reach, Diaz likes to jab and paw and his opponents. He usually uses flurries of punches to pressure and overwhelm his opponents, then goes for the takedown.
Diaz fought toe-to-toe with master striker KJ Noons. The first fight he lost by TKO; the second fight he won by decision.
“As a striker I think Nick is one of the best punchers in MMA,” Daley said. “He doesn’t have the one-two punch knockout power that I have, but he’s a fantastic puncher.”
If Diaz is able to take Daley down, it would be a small miracle for Daley to get up or be able to submit Diaz. Daley has not proven that he can wrestle on the ground and has shown vulnerability when facing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters.
Diaz, 27-7, has hinted that he may try to keep the fight on the ground to prove to Daley that he’s not afraid of his punching power. Diaz, who at times has let his ego supersede his smarts, stood with KJ Noons for most of the rematch to prove that he wasn’t afraid of Noons’ punching power. He slugged it out with Frank Shamrock for the same reasons.
“A lot of time you don’t see a lot of strikers go against each other,” Diaz said.
Daley seems to be using a psychological battle to bait Diaz into keeping the fight standing up.
“Nick is a fighter who fights,” Daley said. “I hate wrestlers who are just going to lay and pray.”
Diaz will have to be careful not to let his pride get in the way of his fighting the best fight.
Noons knocked Diaz down before cutting his eyes so badly that the doctor stopped the fight. In 2002, Jeremy Jackson knocked Diaz out. Diaz is of course a better fighter today, but developing a stronger chin isn’t as simple as developing Jiu-Jitsu skills.
Look for Daley to come out swinging. “Diaz does have the option to take it to the ground and use his Jiu-Jitsu, but my goal is to take his options away,” Daley said.
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