In what was a “Knockout of the Year” contender, Paul Daley knocked out Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu.The fight begins pretty normally, Daley showcases his boxing skills and does a nice job of attacking Smith early on. Eventually, Dal…
In what was a “Knockout of the Year” contender, Paul Daley knocked out Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu.
The fight begins pretty normally, Daley showcases his boxing skills and does a nice job of attacking Smith early on. Eventually, Daley catches Smith with a nice right hand and Smith falls to the mat.
So already a couple minutes in Daley already has the upper hand, pounding Smith’s head with a few good strikes while he is in turtle mode. Then a little later on, Paul Daley shows why he calls his left hand “Semtex”.
Connecting with a short punch Daley drops Smith whose body falls to the mat face first and is completely devoid of life.
Now I’m not one to give Daley a big hand, especially since the incident with Josh Koscheck where he punched Koscheck after the bell, but he deserves a lot of credit for this knockout.
After this bout Daley went on to beat Yuya Shirai, but would lose by first round TKO to Nick Diaz in the Strikeforce welterweight title bout.
Unfortunately for Smith, since this December 2010 bout he hasn’t had a fight. Maybe its out of embarrassment or maybe its because of the sheer lack of competition within Strikeforce.
After a month of speculation that started after UFC 129 in Toronto, it’s official: UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will defend his title against Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
UFC president Dana White made the news official …
After a month of speculation that started after UFC 129 in Toronto, it’s official: UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will defend his title against Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz.
UFC president Dana White made the news official on Wednesday afternoon through his Twitter account, saying, “U wanted it! U GOT IT!!!” White said the fight will take place on Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for what will be UFC 137.
St-Pierre defended his title with a unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto at the end of April. After the post-fight press conference, White talked about potential interest in a GSP-Diaz bout with a small group of reporters. And fans and analysts have been calling for it ever since.
Through the last month, White has been insistent that there have been obstacles in the way of Diaz simply coming over to the UFC to fight St-Pierre. And one of those obstacles was Diaz saying he was interested in trying his hand at boxing – even hooking up with a promoter before pulling back and deciding to stick with MMA.
White met with the Strikeforce champion, who after a TKO win over Paul Daley in April seemed to have run out of challenges in the promotion, which is now owned by the UFC. White and the UFC needed to clear the hurdle of Diaz’s Strikeforce contract – and there have apparently been enough inroads made for White to make the fight announcement.
The initial announcement leaves several questions lingering, though. White was not immediately available for comment on what Diaz’s return to the UFC means for his Strikeforce welterweight belt and how the promotion will fill it, assuming he vacates the title.
But Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Wednesday that under Diaz’s new multi-year, multi-fight deal, Diaz will also be able to return to fight for Strikeforce – though Gracie said if that were the case, it would likely mean he would have lost to St-Pierre.
One of the initial barriers, White said, in Diaz coming to the UFC was Strikeforce’s deal with the Showtime premium cable channel, which broadcasts the promotion’s events. White said on Saturday after UFC 130 in Las Vegas that Diaz’s Strikeforce deal wasn’t a “Showtime contract,” per se. But he has indicated throughout the last month that the Strikeforce-Showtime deal did present a hurdle the UFC would have to cross to make the superfight with St-Pierre a reality.
St-Pierre (22-2, 16-2 UFC) had his streak of 30 straight winning rounds snapped by two of the judges in his win over Shields in Toronto. But he has remained the most dominant champion in the sport the last three years. Since winning the UFC 170-pound title back from Matt Serra at UFC 83, the Montreal native has defended it six straight times against Jon Fitch, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Dan Hardy and Shields. After winning the belt the first time, against Matt Hughes at UFC 65, St-Pierre lost it to Serra in his first defense in what is regarded as arguably the biggest upset in the sport’s history. But since then, GSP has been unstoppable.
Diaz (25-7, 1 NC, 6-4 UFC) returns to the promotion for the first time since UFC 65 in November 2006. Since leaving, he has gone 11-1 with wins in the now-defunct EliteXC, Dream and Strikeforce. He took the promotion’s welterweight title from Marius Zaromskis in January 2010 and has defended it three times with wins over KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos and Daley.
Diaz joins his brother, Nate, in the UFC. Nate Diaz was the Season 5 lightweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Last year, Nate moved from lightweight to welterweight. He has lost two straight unanimous decisions, but prior to that slide he won six UFC post-fight bonus awards in eight fights. When he moved to welterweight, he indicated he would like to fight in both weight classes. His brother’s return to the UFC might force him back to lightweight.
St-Pierre is currently regarded as one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, most often flip-flopping the No. 1 or No. 2 spot with UFC middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva. In MMA Fighting’s most recent welterweight rankings, St-Pierre is No. 1 at 170 pounds; Diaz is No. 4 on the list.
Diaz becomes the second high-profile Strikeforce fighter to migrate over to the UFC following Zuffa’s purchase of its rival promotion in March. Jason “Mayhem” Miller signed with the UFC not long after, booking a fight against Aaron Simpson for UFC 132 in July. But White last week announced that Miller will coach against Michael Bisping on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” then face him on the TUF 14 live finale.
But while Miller’s new deal appears to be UFC exclusive, Diaz’s contract could open the door for other fighters to sign new Zuffa deals that would allow them to fight under both banners.
White’s announcement of the Oct. 29, event, a certain pay-per-view, as UFC 137 sets up a busy stretch for the promotion, which has already announced a UFC Fan Expo and event in Houston on Oct. 8. And in April, MMA Fighting was first to report that the UFC was set to return to England for an Oct. 15 event. There are also plans in place for an event in Denver on Sept. 24, plus a return to New Orleans for a Spike special show on Sept. 17.
The UFC 130 welterweight fight last Saturday night between Thiago “Pit Bull” Alves and Rick “The Horror” Story showed what true MMA fighters of the 21st century are made of: a complete game and gameness in all areas.Never mind i…
The UFC 130 welterweight fight last Saturday night between Thiago “Pit Bull” Alves and Rick “The Horror” Story showed what true MMA fighters of the 21st century are made of: a complete game and gameness in all areas.
Never mind if it didn’t end with a finish, with a unanimous decision to make for a happy Story.
Story respected but did not fear Alves’ more extensive striking background; it not deter him from exchanging strikes with the latter in various phases of their three-round fight.
Story respectably landed his own solid missiles and kept his composure when at the receiving end.
Alves knew that Story was the more accomplished wrestler, but he succeeded in his own takedown attempt and ably rose to his feet (a folkstyle wrestling specialty) on the occasions when the former Southern Oregon University wrestler tried to take and keep the fight on the ground.
In between, he managed to defend against Story’s persistent takedown attempts more often than not.
They were both armed with a complete skill set and were game enough to engage in the other’s strongest point. (Akin to Nick Diaz‘ duking it out with Paul Daley, and knocking out the more respected striker.)
We’re a few months removed from the 18th anniversary of UFC 1, which was held on that night of November 12, 1993.
All human beings born that fateful night, assuming they are still blessed by God or nature with life, are now nearing major and legal age. (Well, in most societies, that is.)
If they are also gifted with functional reproductive health, in a half-year they can choose to procreate and do their part in perpetuating humanity. (Not that I advocate young parenthood and unfettered population growth.)
Likewise, our sport has grown exponentially and phenomenally across the globe—along with the awareness and practice of what it takes to reach the zenith of MMA fighting.
Concomitantly, martial arts gyms must be giving birth to complete fighters before their baptism of fire in professional MMA events.
This not about pure grappling.
This is not about pure striking.
And, no, this is not about pure wrestling.
Learn them all, train in them all and show them all. Neglect one at your own risk.
We are already riding on the second decade of the third millennium A.D.; the world did not end last May 21.
I think we have Manny Pacquiao’s future MMA equivalent lurking here somewhere…for those interested in Philippine MMA, check out here the official Web site of our country’s premier MMA organization, the Universal Reality Combat Championship and our top MMA online forum at PinoyMMA.com.
Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsNo sooner had Nick Diaz retained his Strikeforce welterweight title in April when he started discussing his future possibilities. There was a potential boxing match with Fernando Vargas thrown around, t…
No sooner had Nick Diaz retained his Strikeforce welterweight title in April when he started discussing his future possibilities. There was a potential boxing match with Fernando Vargas thrown around, then another one against Jeff Lacy. There was a suggestion that he could face UFC champion Georges St-Pierre in an MMA superfight.
One option that Diaz seemed to immediately dismiss, however, was a rising star in his own company, within his own division, Tyron Woodley. The unbeaten Woodley, in Diaz’s opinion, would be “in a little over his head” moving so quickly into the title picture.
And so the waiting game for Woodley began. At 8-0, he seems stuck in a purgatory between prospect and top-flight contender, and with no easy route to his intended destination at the top. Woodley hopes that road will begin this summer, when he is expecting to fight at a still officially unannounced July 30 show, against an opponent yet to be determined.
While he says the uncertainty of his opponent is not a source of frustration for him, he believes he should only be fighting one of two men: Diaz or Paul Daley. By their account, he’s not ready for them. And by his own, he’s beaten most of the contenders directly below him in the division, and facing anyone else wouldn’t make much sense. What we’re left with is a matchmaking stalemate.
“I think the fans want to see it,” he told MMA Fighting. “You check Twitter and message boards, and the fans want to see me fight these guys. These guys had to fight someone to get a name. Diaz had to beat someone, to knock them out, like he did with Robbie Lawler in the UFC. Daley had to knock out Martin Kampmann. I’m not going to stop asking for these fights.
“They’re calling out people they want to fight, people with names,” he continued. “And I have to sit back and hear them say, ‘Oh, he’s not ready yet,’ or ‘I’ll mess this kid up.’ That’s what they’re saying to the camera, but deep down inside, they don’t believe that.”
Woodley went into his Jan. 7 match against Tarec Saffiedine with the belief that a win would get him a crack at the belt. He handled Saffiedine in a unanimous decision victory and waited to see what would happen next. First, Daley took a fight in the UK and missed weight, but ended up winning. That set him up to fight Diaz, and the fight ended in a first-round TKO for the champion.
Under the currently accepted Strikeforce rankings, Daley is the only contender ahead of Woodley that is free to fight in the summer. He has no idea if it’s a fight being considered, but he doesn’t think it’s one Daley wants.
“For Daley, his wrestling and jiu-jitsu are his weak points,” he said. “He doesn’t want to get put on his back like Josh Koscheck did, like Jake Shields did, like Pat Healy did, especially by a kid who is not in the top 10 rankings, who doesn’t have the same name recognition that these guys have. Daley? I don’t think he wants to fight wrestlers.”
He views the Diaz situation entirely differently. He says straight-up, “I don’t think Diaz avoids bouts with anybody” and that he’s a “fan” of watching him fight. At his best, he can even look at Diaz’s situation objectively, even if it means he’s the odd man out.
“I can’t knock him, I can’t hate on him for what he’s doing,” Woodley said. “Realistically, it’s a lose-lose situation for him. If he fights me, he’s gonna hear he’s not fighting top guys because I’m not as well known. And if he loses, he lost to a prospect while I made my mark off of him. Now where do you go? So he looks around and says, ‘Maybe I’ll get the fight with Georges St-Pierre.’ Why not fight the No. 1 guy in the world? Look at the risk vs. reward, and I can see where he’s at.”
When he shifts back into sportsman mode though, he says things should be more simple. In any other sport, when it gets to postseason or tournament format, or more specifically, when you’re fighting for a championship, winners fight other winners. Victors move forward, and losers are weeded out. And he hasn’t lost. Look around the rest of the division, and few others can say that. Daley lost his last fight. So did Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, and Scott Smith, and KJ Noons and Saffiedine, and the list goes on.
With his six Strikeforce wins, he’s a proven winner, and he emphasizes that he is not “calling out” anyone out of disrespect, but out of ambition. He says he won’t be upset if he doesn’t get Daley or Diaz next, and it won’t change his target.
“If I don’t keep moving towards a world championship, what the heck am I in MMA for?” he said. “I respect these guys as fighters and competitors, but do I want to fight you? Yes, if you’ve got the belt, I do. It’s nothing personal.”
Last week, Zuffa held its annual fighter meetings in Las Vegas, and Woodley looked around the sea of fighters, saw a few he’d fought in the past, others he wants to fight in the future. Diaz was not one of them. He never got a look at him. He did see Daley, however, and the two shook hands and exchanged quick pleasantries.
Afterward, Woodley returned back home, where he is helping his wife take care of their newborn, 3-month old Dylan. Back in the gym, Woodley is working to refine his striking and get back to basics on his considerable wrestling skills, well aware that the highest levels of MMA will require him to be more than proficient at both. Diaz and Daley are very different fighters, and will require very different preparation.
He just doesn’t think they have the preparation to beat him.
“I’m not a good fight for either one,” he said. “I’m faster, more explosive and a much better wrestler than Diaz. He has gas for days, can take a punch better than anybody at 170, and his jiu-jitsu is world class, but look at his three losses: Diego Sanchez, Joe Riggs, Sean Sherk. Nobody recently has fought Diaz on their own terms. They always engage him in his war and they always lose.
“As far as Daley, I just think it’s a good fight for me, a cool bout,” he continued. “Realistically, I don’t get to decide who’s next, but my next fight needs to see a performance like I had against Andre Galvao, like in my first couple bouts. I watched [Bellator’s] Michael Chandler fight the other day, and I was thinking, ‘That’s how I used to fight.’ Putting pressure on guys, heavy pressure. After the second round, he made a gesture with his hands like he was breaking a stick. He was saying, ‘I broke him.’ I’ve got to get back to that. I’m so excited to train, and I’m looking forward to getting back in the cage. I need a big fight.”
As British MMA is going to feature heavily in this column in the next week, what better way to start than with a retro review?So let’s go back in time to Portsmouth, July 27th, 2003 and the fourth Cage Warriors show, entitled UK versus France.We …
As British MMA is going to feature heavily in this column in the next week, what better way to start than with a retro review?
So let’s go back in time to Portsmouth, July 27th, 2003 and the fourth Cage Warriors show, entitled UK versus France.
We begin with Rob Mitchell against Glen Appleby.
This one got off to a fast start, with Appleby countering Mitchell’s initial onslaught with a take down.
However, it wasn’t long before Mitchell took control, going for a couple of submission attempts as well as unleashing with the ground and pound.
Appleby looked out of it at the end of the round, and when he didn’t come out of his corner at the start of the second Mitchell was given the stoppage win.
Then it was on to Graham Day against Gav Bradley.
Bradley began the fight by running out of his corner and getting the early takedown. But after Day managed to get to his feet it wasn’t long before he took control on the ground, keeping the pressure on with strikes before taking the submission win with a guillotine.
The next encounter, described as a “UK lightweight Superfight” saw Dave Elliot taking on Andy Butlin.
A quick affair saw Butlin start with a couple of kicks before the fight went to the ground, but as Butlin tried to posture up, Elliot locked in an arm bar for the submission win.
Up next was Ricky Moore, who only took the fight that morning, against Guillaume Monono in the first of the UK versus France fights.
A very intriguing battle saw Monono getting the early take down. Moore soon reversed the positions and got in some good shots, but it wasn’t long before Monono regained control.
The Frenchman went for a triangle choke, but when Moore tried to slam his way out it only succeeded in helping Monono tighten his grip, with Moore tapping out seconds later.
The international action continued as Andy Cooper faced Mohamed Khacha.
The first fight to actually make it into the second round saw Khacha dominate after he got the quick take down, swelling Cooper’s right eye as he went to work with the ground and pound.
But the roles were soon reversed in the second round. Khacha tried to carry on where he’d left off until Copper took control, taking Khacha’s back, flattening him out and synching in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
Then we saw another one who took that fight that morning, Andy Lagden, against Laurent Bonnafoux.
Like others before him Bonnafoux took the early take down, controlling the fight until Lagden was able to reverse into side control.
Seconds later both men returned to their feet, and when Lagden connected with a knee to the head in the clinch Bonnafoux went down like a sack of spuds, Lagden getting the impressive knockout win.
None other than future UFC and Strikeforce star Paul Daley was next, taking on Florentin Amorim in only the Brit’s second professional outing.
Daley’s weak ground game has been exposed a few times over the years, and when he slipped while trying to deliver a kick Amorim was all over him, quickly taking Daley’s back.
Daley tried to defend, but it wasn’t long before Amorim synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
Next up was Robbie Olivier, going up against Emmanuel Fernandez.
This final UK/France battle saw Fernandez putting on a good display on the ground. Olivier did a good job of defending at first before taking the guard himself.
However, Fernandez continued to fight as he locked in a triangle choke for the submission win.
Then it was on to the title fights, beginning with Dave McLaughlin challenging Paul McVeigh for the Under 65 kilo title.
A dominant performance from McVeigh saw him begin with a couple of strikes that opened up a cut above McLaughlin’s right eye.
McVeigh then took the fight to the ground, and although McLaughlin got to his feet McVeigh soon took him back down, going to work with the ground and pound. Realising that there was nothing he could do against this onslaught McLaughlin tapped to give McVeigh the impressive win.
Then Paul Sutherland faced Ozzy Haluk for the vacant Lightweight title.
The second fight to go into the second round saw Sutherland take control early on when he took the fight to the ground, and although he put in some good work Haluk did a good job of defending himself.
Sutherland took his game up a notch in the second, again take the fight down and going for the ground and pound. Haluk just couldn’t handle Sutherland’s attack and wisely tapped out, giving Sutherland the title win.
The third title fight saw Adrian Degorski challenging Paul Jenkins for the Welterweight title.
This fight began with a quick exchange before Degorski took the fight to the ground, briefly taking Jenkins’ back before they returned to their feet.
A brief clinch against the cage followed before another exchange of blows, with the Pole dropping the champion with a big right. Degorski followed him down, with the referee stepping in to stop the fight, giving Degorski the title winning TKO win.
The final title fight saw Ross Pettifer taking on Matt Ewing for the vacant Middleweight title.
This was a great back and forth encounter. After jockeying for position in a clinch against the cage the fight went to the ground as Pettifer took control, almost synching in an arm bar.
The frantic action continued into the second, with both fighters going for guillotines until Ewing took control after sweeping Pettifer and taking the guard. Seconds later Ewing took his back, locking in a neck crank for the great submission win.
In conclusion—even though I’ve got quite a few of their shows from their days on The Wrestling Channel, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen any Cage Warriors action.
As this show took place almost eight years ago it was interesting to see how much British MMA has progressed since then. The commentators mentioned that British fighters were having a hard time getting into the UFC, something which is a lot easier these days given the UFC’s global appeal.
All of the fights shown here were pretty decent, and it was good to see Paul Daley in only his second professional fight. I kept wondering though if he’ll ever overcome his weakness in the ground game.
It was also interesting to see tabloid darling Alex Reid serve as referee for some of the earlier fights. Maybe now he’s away from the clutches of Katie Price and the newspapers aren’t fixated on his cross dressing fetish he’ll start concentrating on his fighting career again.
So in all the fourth Cage Warriors show gets the thumbs up, not just for the fights but for this interesting lesson in the development of British MMA.
Before you ask, Cage Warriors are still going strong, and for information on their upcoming shows visit www.cagewarriors.com.
Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz earned $175,000 at this past Saturday’s Diaz vs. Daley event in San Diego, Calif., according to salaries released Wednesday by the California athletic commission.
Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz earned $175,000 at this past Saturday’s Diaz vs. Daley event in San Diego, Calif., according to salaries released Wednesday by the California athletic commission.
Paul Daley, who came up short in challenging Diaz for the belt by TKO with three seconds left in the first round, went home with $65,000.
Check out the rest of the reported salaries after the jump.
In what was a “Knockout of the Year” contender, Paul Daley knocked out Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu.
After a month of speculation that started after 
No sooner had 