Paul Daley is pulled away from Dustin Hazelett's corner by Herb Dean at UFC 108 on Jan. 2, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena . Daley won by knockout in the first round.
A welterweight matchup between Paul Daley and Scott Smith has been added to the Strikeforce event on Dec. 4 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Strikeforce officials released the news Wednesday afternoon.
Daley (25-9-2) will be competing under the Strikeforce for just the second time of his career.
The British striker was one fight away from earning a title shot in the UFC organization earlier this year, but was cut after throwing a cheap shot at current No. 1 contender Josh Koscheck following their fight in May.
Following his dismissal, Daley posted back-to-back wins over Daniel Acacio and Jorge Masvidal to catch the eye of Strikeforce. Earlier this month, Daley and the promotional company agreed to a multi-fight deal.
Although Daley wasted no time in calling out current 170-pound champion Nick Diaz, he’ll have to go through Smith first.
For Smith (17-7), the bout will be his first since suffering a second-round knockout loss to Cung Le in June.
The California-based fighter is looking to rebound from losses in two of his last three fights, the other to Diaz in June 2009.
Despite enduring a tough patch in his career, Smith remains a fan favorite due to his aggressive style of fighting — one that should be matched by Daley on Dec. 4.
“Everyone knows I detest decisions,” said Smith in a released statement. “Fans want action all the time and so do I. That’s what I’m about.”
The Dec. 4 Strikeforce event will be headlined by a light heavyweight matchup between Dan Henderson and Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral. The event will be aired on Showtime.
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at LVSunFighting
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy