Nick Diaz: 5 Opponents We Would Love to See the Strikeforce WW Champion Fight

Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz (25-7) has done more than just beat his last 10 opponents. He has finished nine of them including his latest opponent, Paul "Semtex" Daley (27-10-2).

In one of the best rounds of the year, Diaz and Daley traded bombs for five minutes before Diaz stopped the British fighter with three seconds left in the first round.

It is arguably the biggest and most impressive win of Diaz' post-UFC career. It wasn't too long ago that Daley was fighting for a shot at UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. He lost the chance to fight the pound-for-pound fighter after he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Josh Koscheck. He also lost his chance in the biggest promotion when he threw a post-fight punch that cost him his UFC career.

Dana White admits Diaz needs to calm down outside the ring before he gets a chance in the UFC but admits he could be a big star if he does so. It's very possible that Diaz' future will come inside the UFC and these are the opponents everyone would love to see him fight.

No. 5 Jason Mayhem Miller

During a post-fight brawl after Jake Shields defeated Dan Henderson, Diaz and former Strikeforce middleweight challenger Jason "Mayhem" Miller got involved in a feud that has yet to be settled and would make for a intriguing fight.

Any Diaz fight is fun to watch, but it's always better when he dislikes his opponent. It adds an extra element to the fight that is rarely seen but makes for great drama before and after the fight.

This is the best possible fight for Diaz outside of the UFC but there's only one thing keeping it from happening; which weight class does it happen in? Miller has stated he isn't moving down, and Diaz has no interest in moving up.

No. 4 Dan Hardy

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NEW YORK - MARCH 24: Dan Hardy of Nottingham, UK speaks at a press conference for UFC 111 at Radio City Music Hall on March 24, 2010 in New York City. Hardy will face Georges St-Pierre of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the Welterweight title bout. (Photo

Dan Hardy is 0-3 in his last three fights including a welterweight championship fight versus Georges. St. Pierre at UFC 111.

Hardy has stated he wants to "go out on his shield" and with the UFC welterweight division being filled with wrestlers, why not take a step into the Strikeforce cage?

This is the type of fight that Hardy wants, and it's one that Diaz won't shy away from. He loves to fight opponents at their own game, and he does it every time.

If Hardy has no intentions of making it back to the top, he can always settle for fan-friendly fights that will let him establish his position in MMA as one of the more entertaining fighters.

No. 3 Josh Koscheck

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MONTREAL- MAY 8: Josh Koscheck (top) punches Paul Daley in their welter weight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Before Paul Daley lost to Diaz, he had gone 4-0 since losing to Josh Koscheck in a UFC welterweight championship eliminator fight. After three rounds of being dominated by the superior wrestler, Daley threw a cheap shot and was kicked out of the UFC forever.

Koscheck is coming off a five-round unanimous decision loss to Georges St. Pierre but still remains one of the top ten welterweights in the world.

This could be the ultimate test before Diaz fights St. Pierre because his wrestling would be tested; something that he hasn't had to deal with in years.

No. 2 B.J. Penn

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 27: BJ Penn of the USA looks across the octagon at John Fitch of the USA before the start of their welterweight bout part of UFC 127 at Acer Arena on February 27, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

B.J. Penn (16-7-2) recently pulled out of his fight at UFC 132 after suffering an injury in training. His original opponent, Jon Fitch, pulled out a week before.

This leaves a door open for the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion, Penn, and since the Strikeforce-UFC merger, fights between the promotions' best could and should happen.

This is the toughest fight to call of the five on this list, but that makes for surprises and memorable moments that could define either fighters' future in the division and in the sport.

Get ready for this one if it happens. It will be a true mixed martial arts bout where the outcome is impossible to predict.

No. 1 Georges St. Pierre

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NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 26: UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre (pictured) weighs in for his fight against UFC fighter Dan Hardy for the Championship Welterweight fight at UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy Weigh-In on March 26, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jon

It's the biggest fight that can be made right now in the welterweight division. UFC champion versus Strikeforce champion; it's the fight that fans want to see.

If St. Pierre is able to make it past Jake Shields at UFC 129, and that's not going to be easy, he will have cleared out the UFC's welterweight division completely.

Nobody wants to see him run through previous title challengers again, and nobody in the division has proven they could offer a different and more dangerous challenge to the pound-for-pound Canadian superstar.

This would be one of the most highly-anticipated fights ever made in the division, and it needs to happen.