Regardless of whether Paul Daley wins or loses tonight, he should face Nate Marquardt in a future Strikeforce event.
Even if he gets beaten by his opponent, Kazuo Misaki, tonight, it is still the best fight that Strikeforce can make. That is because it is the most marketable.
Both Marquardt and Daley are famous for two reasons. One is for the time they spent in the UFC as top contenders.
The other is the fact that they are both exiled from the company via banishment by Dana White.
For Daley, it was after he punched Josh Koscheck after their match at UFC 113.
Marquardt was cut for testing positive for banned substances before a fight on Versus.
Both men have had controversy in the world of MMA and have been blackballed because of it.
A high-profile fight outside the company, a win over a top contender, could sway White’s decision about their status. Both of them are about as well-known as any fighter outside of the UFC fold can be.
There isn’t another fight in the division, let alone the company, that would produce as much attention as theirs.
It would help if they win their fights. Daley competes tonight against Misaki on the undercard. A knockout win would help raise his stature.
If both men were to fight for the title, it would improve their chances of getting back into the UFC and once again competing with some of the best fighters in the world.
All they need to do is fight. It’s what they do best, even when they can’t compete with the best.
That may change by the end of the year if they can square off with each other. Both men have survived getting fired by the UFC, but if they want to fight at the top level in MMA, they’ll need something more then a good match or a win streak.
They’ll need each other.
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