Strikeforce Diaz Vs. Daley: Daley on Diaz, Dana White and the UFC

Should Nick Diaz be afraid to fight Paul Daley?

With 20 of his 27 wins coming by knockout, Daley believes the answer is an easy one. Yes.

Coming up next weekend, Daley will have the chance to prove just that. He will be challenging for the Strikeforce welterweight title currently held by Nick Diaz.

The fight will be televised on Showtime at 10 p.m. est / 7 p.m. pst.

Even though Diaz has won all six of his Strikeforce fights, Daley is not worried at all.

“I’m pretty chill in there because I’m confident in my ability,” Daley said. “I’m confident in my knockout power. But, to be in the other guy’s position, I’d be really f’n scared.”

Last December, Daley floored Scott Smith in just over two minutes with a single devastating left hook. As a result of the highlight reel knockout, Daley won Strikeforce’s knockout of the year.

Daley feels that gives him the psychological edge in the fight.

“To be in there with someone that you know has a track record of just knocking people out with one punch? That’s not a good position to be in,” Daley said.

Should Daley be victorious, he will be in a very interesting position. In May 2010, UFC President Dana White fired Daley for hitting Josh Koscheck after the bell. Koscheck had just beaten Daley to become the number one contender to Georges St. Pierre’s UFC welterweight title.

With the UFC recently purchasing Strikeforce, Daley could be at a crossroads in his career. If he wins, White may have to re-evaluate his decision, but Daley will not let his future interfere with his present.

“I’m not trying to focus on that,” Daley said about potentially coming back to the UFC. “It’s a lot of pressure if you start thinking about other stuff.”

Daley, however, is not in favor of the UFC and Strikeforce coming together.

“I just think it’s not good for the sport, to be honest with you,” Daley said.

“It takes a lot of power away from the fighter. This sport is going to change from MMA to the UFC.  The only place you’re going to be able to earn a living in the business is in the UFC or Zuffa (the parent company of UFC).”

After being let go from the UFC, Daley quickly signed a non-exclusive contract with Strikeforce. He is 4-0 since the Koscheck loss, having beaten Daniel Acacio, Jorge Masvidal, Scott Smith and Yuya Shirai in the last nine months.

Only one of the fights—the win over Smith—took place in Strikeforce.

“I thought Strikeforce had something good,” Daley said about working with Scott Coker. “I thought their product was good. I thought their ideas were good. I thought they were real competition to the UFC.”

Immediately after the purchase of Strikeforce was announced, Daley openly complained about White’s proclamation that nothing will change for Strikeforce. He posted the following note on his twitter account.

“Business as usual, what if I don't wanna fight for DANA WHITE/ZUFFA?”

Daley explained where the reaction came from.

“The thing I was worried about is if the merger does take place before my fight,” Daley said. “What does that mean? Is Zuffa going to cut me because Dana doesn’t want me back in the UFC?”

“I was just worried about my own security. I wanted to be sure my contract would be upheld. I am happy to be where I am with Strikeforce.”

Having dealt with Dana White in the UFC, Daley is not sure the two will be able to co-exist.

“I think Dana doesn’t like me from a personal standpoint,” Daley said when asked about his past dealings with White. “I’ve met him on a number of occasions. I always got the feeling he didn’t like me, and I’m pretty good when I get a hunch.”

On the other hand, what the fans have seen from White is that he will change his mind if the decision is good for business. The best example of this is Tito Ortiz. White and Ortiz have openly discussed their disdain for one another many times, only to see the former UFC light heavyweight champion return to the organization time and time again.

If Daley wants to make a statement that he should remain with the Zuffa owned promotions, his best way will be with a win over Diaz.

However, defeating Diaz will not be an easy task. The Strikeforce champion has won nine straight bouts. Among the fighters he defeated are Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, Hayato Sakurai, KJ Noons and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.

Diaz is widely known for having an unusual fighting style that includes throwing many fast punches in rapid succession.

Daley is not concerned about Diaz’s style.

“What he does is not unorthodox if he keeps doing it in every fight,” Daley said.

The former Cage Rage champion is definitely studying his opponent. However, he has not put too much stock in Diaz’s last loss, which was a controversial doctor stoppage against KJ Noons in November 2007.

“Nick is a developing fighter,” Daley said. “I didn’t get too much from the Noons fight. I did watch it as I have a lot of his old fights. To get ideas, I look at more of his recent fights.”

In Diaz’s recent fights, Daley said that Diaz has shown much-improved wrestling skills. Wrestling has long been one of the weak spots of British fighters, and Daley has been no exception. He was severely out-wrestled in the Koscheck match.

Daley is working to make sure that he does not have that same problem anymore.

“The main thing I have now is Kenny Johnson—a specific wrestling camp,” Daley said when asked what is different in his preparation for Diaz. “I have my UK camp. I have my Dutch camp, and now, I have my wrestling camp. I am concentrating a lot on my takedown defense.”

Should Daley be able to avoid the fight going to the ground, he will likely have his best opportunity to win. If the matchup stays standing, he will be able to best utilize the power that he believes scares a lot of his opponents.

“The last fight I fought the Japanese guy (Shirai),” Daley said. “I thought he was scared. Dustin Hazelett also looked scared. I can see through it. I can see it in their eyes.”

Daley knocked out Hazelett in just over two minutes.

Taking on Diaz, Daley believes his power will be the difference, even though he stopped short of guaranteeing a win.

“There’s being hit, and there’s being hit by me,” Daley said. “Everyone says they have an iron chin, but that isn’t much a fallback with someone that is consistently knocking people out.”

“It’s going to be a good fight. Let’s just say that.”

Gary Herman is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials from Paul Daley.