Strikeforce: Breaking Down Diaz Vs Daley

Added on Apr 08, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Last Friday was the first time Strikeforce had an event under the Zuffa banner, but Diaz versus Daley is the first big event that will happen with them at the helm. Personally, Nick Diaz Vs. Paul Daley is one of the more interesting pairings Strikeforce has made in a long time. Essentially, we have two striking phenoms who know how to put a guy away. The difference here is that Diaz is just as violent on the feet as he is on the ground, and he won’t think twice about taking one of your five limbs home with him. The Ceaser Gracie blackbelt has a fluid style, and it always seems like he is thinking 3 steps ahead of his opponents. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an absolute joy for me to watch, but we don’t get to see it very much as he seems to prefer to stand and trade with all comers.

Nick Diaz has been fighting since 2001, and the 27 year old fighter has put together a tremendous record of 24–7 (1). Diaz hasn’t been finished in a fight since 2002, and he hasn’t lost a fight since KJ Noons was able to cut him and force the ringside doctor to stop the fight. Diaz has since avenged the loss to Noons, and is on an 8 fight win streak. The big change for Diaz in this fight is that since the purchase by Zuffa, all the Strikeforce fights will be under the unified rules, and that means the fighters can now use elbows in the cage. Since Diaz historically cuts very easy, you can bet Daley will be throwing them every chance he gets.

Paul Daley is currently 27-9-2, and is on a four fight win streak. His last win was supposed to be for the BAMMA championship, but Daley weighed in over weight and the fight was changed to a non-title affair. That was the third time Daley weighed in overweight since January of 2010, and so it will be interesting as to what happens at the weigh ins today. Daley has never been finished in a fight via strikes, but has tapped out to submissions 5 times. Daley has a purple belt in BJJ, but one thing is for certain, you won’t find him hopping into Diaz’s guard. Look for Daley to use his expert striking and his Muay Thai skills to try to shred the face of Diaz, all the while looking for that one hay-maker that puts mosts fighters in la la land.

Diaz is going to decide where the fight plays out. If Diaz decides he wants to take Daley down then there isn’t much he can do about it. Of course, Daley wants this to be a standup fight, and I expect Diaz to oblige him for at least a round to see how he is throwing his strikes, but at some point in the fight he will duck under his punches and take Daley to the floor. Also, Diaz has shown excellent intelligence in the cage, and he has the ability to change the game plan on the fly and keep his head about him while he is doing it. This may sound like an incidental trait, but it might play a key role in this fight if Daley tags him a few times. Also, important is Diaz’s gas tank in comparison to Daley’s especially if Paul has any issues cutting weight. We know Nick has always had good cardio, and has fought a solid 25 minutes in the past, but we can’t say the same for Paul Daley. I see this fight ending the third round with Diaz securing a submission, and I expect it to be a choke. There are too many ways for Nick to win, and I can only see Paul winning via knock out.