A night of Fights: Diaz vs Daley

Being that I'm a big fan of anything involving violence I must say I'm extra excited about tonight's Strikerforce card pitting the super arrogant, ultra talented violent stylings of Nick Diaz as he squares off against one of the most violent strikers in the sport...Paul "Semtex" Daley. For those of you who aren't familiar with what exactly "Semtex" is, it is a type of Plastic explosive, which is exactly what Daley packs behind every punch. Explosive fire power.

Sure there are some other semi-decent fights on tonight's card but I'd rather focus on the main event and my breakdown.


Nick Diaz

In this corner we have...Nick Diaz. To put it simply, Nick Diaz is bad ass! The true embodiment of a street thug that will slap your momma but with an extremely well rounded skillset of solid boxing and high-level Jiu Jitsu. His never say day attitude, endless supply of gas in the tank, high level grappling abilities and high volume punching boxing style makes him a handful for any opponent. Oh and did I mention he has a chin of stone? Yeah, that too.
Any weaknesses? Probably the fact that he shoots blood like a faucet from his face if you so much as poke him the right way. He did have corrective surgery done on his face to remove scar tissue, but we'll see how well that holds up against a power puncher like Paul Daley. His only other area of weakness has been his wrestling abilities in both his ability to defend the takedown as well as take his opponents down. While in the UFC the majority of his losses came from his inability to stop the takedown and his inability to submit top heavy wrestlers that choose to act as a man-blanket the entire fight. He's also struggled in the past with not being able to take the fight to the ground and show off his elite level jiu jitsu. Against a superior striker like KJ Noons in their first fight, he couldn't get him down at all and was forced to trade punches which lead to him having his face mangled forcing the referee to stop the fight. Against a striker like Paul Daley this could spell doom for Nick if he's not able to get the fight to the ground, where Daley is at his weakest.

Paul "Semtex" Daley

If there is anything you need to know about Paul Daley it's that he is a striker, an explosive heavy handed striker that has showed time and time again that if he lands a punch the likelihood of you staying conscious in the realm of reality is pretty damn slim.
He's technical, he's explosive, he's powerful, he too has shown a solid chin, and again when he lands a punch not only do you feel it but your unborn children can feel it as well.
His weakness would have to be anything other than striking. His biggest kryptonite is elite level grapplers and wrestlers the can repeatedly take him down and nullify his brain damaging strikes. He's shown much improved takedown offense from when he first started, but against high-level wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Jake Shields there was really nothing he could do but enjoy the ride down to the ground and do the best possible to defend submissions and try to get back up. IF Diaz can get him down the ground, the likelihood of Diaz submitting him is very high. But notice the big IF I put in the beginning of that statement. Diaz simply does not have the takedown abilities even remotely close to the aforementioned fighters. So if Diaz can't get Paul down the ground more in favor of Semtex this fight swings.

The Results?
As mentioned Nick Diaz definitely has a chin of stone but has he ever been hit with the punching power Paul Daley packs? In a fight like this Nick Diaz is going to have to weather the storm and try to drag this fight into the later rounds where his superior cardio will begin to help him get the better of the fight. Daley has the ability to end this fight early and despite an excellent pedigree in boxing as well Nick Diaz's best bet is to grind on Daley from beginning to end. He may not have topnotch wrestling chops to take Daley down but he can press the action and force Daley to defend and fight it off until he begins to wear him down. Diaz needs to make the fight ugly, lean on Daley, make him work constantly as he brings the fights into the later rounds. If Diaz can do this until the 4th or 5th round without getting clipped too badly I can see him finally being able to open up with punches on a fatigued Daley and eventually being able to drag him to the ground and take home a submission victory. Which is exactly what I think will happen.

I think the fight is going to be a bit boring with a lot of clinching involved and grinding. Daley will have some bright moments as he lands some strikes but won't be able to keep the ultra-busy Diaz off of him. The heavy work load will cost Daley dearly as Diaz wears him down, takes him down in the 5th and finishes him off with an armbar.

NICK DIAZ via Armbar Rd. 5