Strikeforce Results: A Minute by Minute Breakdown of Diaz Versus Daley
After every major fight show, we'll be bringing you a minute by minute breakdown of what happened in the cage during the main event of the evening. The action in mixed martial arts is so diverse, so fast, that's its often easy to miss exactly what occurred. Using modern technology, it's simple enough to go back and see, bereft of the emotion and blur of fight night, free of the "fog of war" often associated with watching an exciting bout. Last night Nick Diaz defeated Paul Daley, defending his Strikeforce welterweight title. This is how it went down:
00:00-01:00: Diaz raises his hands to taunt Daley, jutting his head forward and demanding he come forward and fight.
Daley lands a quick leg kick and Diaz clearly asks him if that's all he's got. Diaz backs Daley into the cage with a left to the body as Frank Shamrock explains Diaz's trash talk is "incredibly distracting." It seems less so for Daley, who lands a knee and barely misses with a hard left hook. Diaz responds with a blistering right that also misses the mark. Now Daley is stalking Diaz who is up against the cage, circling left where he runs right into a leaping Daley left hook. He lands another that drops Diaz and Daley pounces.
Diaz is face first on the mat, but moving his head smartly, not giving Daley a target to land the brutal ground and pound he's using to try and end the fight. At 4:21 Daley throws an ill advised kick that catches Nick on the left shoulder. With the amount of movement Diaz was using on the ground, that could have ended disastrously - it would have been a shame to lose this fight based on an illegal strike. Daley throws a hard left as Diaz grabs for his ankles. The takedown attempt forces Daley to move away and allows Diaz to spring to his feet. He's immediately met with a Daley knee and counters with a right hand. Even with liberal use of the pause button, the action here is tough to follow. Daley pushes Diaz into the cage where he unloads with lopping lefts and rights. Diaz avoids them smartly and lands a straight right jab down the center. Ranallo wonders if we are seeing "some rope a dope my friends." It's a comment that makes little sense as both men have been amazingly active and Diaz had spent a total of less than 10 seconds without throwing a punch. Diaz is coming forward as the minute ends, backing Daley off with a jab and then changing stances from southpaw to orthodox. He's again met by a Daley lead left hook that he's throwing in lieu of a jab. A great one minute of action.
01:00-02:00: Daley pushes Diaz into the cage, but can't find room to strike. He backs off and Diaz lands a slow left leg
kick that Daley ignores. They both miss right hands as the action momentarily slows to a sane pace. Diaz stalks with a jab, but Daley lands a fast left hook. Daley has the faster hands for certain. He's circling predictably though and Diaz jumps in with a fast left hand that catches him square. As Daley backs into the cage, Diaz lands a left-right combination to the body. Diaz continues his assault with some short elbows and a knee to the thigh. Daley is holding what he's got, looking only for knockout blows, just missing with a glancing knee to the head. Diaz takes the opportunity to land a right to the body. "This is where Nick Diaz should be hanging out against Paul Daley," Shamrock says. "Put him up in the cage and beat him up." Daley misses another knee and Diaz lands a chopping right. Then he unloads with a left hook, right elbow, left hook, right to the body, right to the body, right hook, left to the body, right to the head combo that has Daley reeling. "Daley in trouble!" Gus Johnson screams as he staggers against the cage as the second minute ends.
02:00-03:00: Daley, a little shaken, actually shoots for a weak takedown. Diaz defends easily, then decides "Why not?"
and then pulls Daley into his guard, looking for a guillotine but missing. Using a closed guard, Diaz peppers him with punches. Daley presses his head into Diaz's chest, tucks his arms next to his sides and hopes for the best. It was expected that Diaz would take full advantage of any opportunities on the ground. Daley seems intent not to give him any, not even looking to risk a single strike. Diaz opens his guard for a moment and Daley escapes to his feet where Diaz grabs an ankle pick, looking to bring the fight back down.
Daley defends nicely and the two separate, Diaz still talking trash. Leading with a right, a Diaz left follows immediately behind, sending Daley backwards. Diaz is getting the better of the action, but Daley is looking to counter with a fight ending left hook. He lands one that has no effect on Diaz, not even backing him up or ending a multi- punch combination against the cage. "Tremendous action here in San Diego," Ranallo exclaims as the minute comes to an end.
03:00-04:00: Diaz has Daley pressed against the cage. Instead of just throwing punches, Diaz changes things up with
a knee to the right leg and a high knee that doesn't quite land. In the middle of a mutli-strike combination, Diaz lands right and left elbow strikes. He may not like them on the ground, but he's smartly using all his weapons against the cage. He follows one elbow with a strong left hand, a beautiful mixture of technique that forces Daley to respond wildly. Now in the center of the ring, Daley lands a quick punch and a hard knee. Diaz taunts him again and then throws a lightning quick jab followed by a left cross that sends Daley against the cage where the action is fast and furious. "They are banging folks," Johnson says. "This is what the fans anticipated," Ranallo tells him. "This is what the fans are getting." True, true.
Diaz throws the world's slowest high kick, perhaps baiting Daley into a takedown. If that's not his intent, he needs to retire that technique immediately. Diaz has Daley against the cage where he finally eats a flush left hook. He flops immediately face first to the canvas and the fight looks close to over. Diaz is in trouble as Daley lands several questionable punches near the back of the head. "Big" John lets the go, perhaps omission bias at work as the end seems nigh? "Diaz was rocked by that punch," Ranallo yells, trying desperately to keep up with the action from five seconds prior. In just seconds Diaz has his wits about him and is defending smartly, turning to his back. Surprisingly Daley jumps right into his guard, landing a brutal hammerfist. "Ground and pound for Daley," Johnson says. "1:05 to go."
04:00-05:00: As Diaz looks for wrist control, Ranallo reminds the audience "Diaz's chin has been tested before." Daley
lands two elbows before smartly removing himself from Diaz's dangerous ground game. McCarthy restarts them in the center of the cage. With 20 seconds left, Diaz lands a right to the body which he follows with a left right combo to the head, A sneaky left uppercut lands and a glancing right staggers Daley. He pushes Diaz off of him, then loses his footing. Perhaps the left uppercut did the damage? Maybe the short right to the temple? Some have theorized a body shot took its toll. Diaz jumps on him and lands two hard punches. He throws four more and Daley tries to push him off with six seconds remaining. Two more punches force McCarthy to jump in and stop the fight, a total of eight hard shots landed on the ground. A bloodied Diaz celebrates as Ranallo puts his stamp on the night "Diaz has made history!"
What an amazing fight to bring the story of Strikeforce to a close. While the promotion will move forward under Zuffa's careful hand, it won't be the same freewheeling bunch from California, intent on bringing fans excitement, not as a product of an important fight, but as the primary goal of the matchmaking. Nick Diaz was the perfect Strikeforce figher, brash, cocky, and fearless. It will be intriguing to see where he goes from here.
After the break GIF MANIA!

Intense stare down as Diaz gets things started right.

Diaz raises his hands to taunt Daley, jutting his head forward and demanding he come forward and fight.
Daley lands a quick leg kick and Diaz clearly asks him if that's all he's got.

At 4:21 Daley throws an ill advised kick that catches Nick on the left shoulder. With the amount of movement Diaz was using on the ground, that could have ended disastrously - it would have been a shame to lose this fight based on an illegal strike.

Diaz has Daley against the cage where he finally eats a flush left hook. He flops immediately face first to the canvas and the fight looks close to over.

He pushes Diaz off of him, then loses his footing. Perhaps the left uppercut did the damage? Maybe the short right to the temple? Some have theorized a body shot took its toll. Diaz jumps on him and lands two hard punches. He throws four more and Daley tries to push him off with six seconds remaining. Two more punches force McCarthy to jump in and stop the fight, a total of eight hard shots landed on the ground.
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kicks to the body are legal
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on Apr 10, 2011 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
it hit him in the ribs
I thought it was a good strike.
by John Danaher's Hair on Apr 10, 2011 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions
thats what I see in the GIF...
it clearly lands under the arm.
by John Danaher's Hair on Apr 10, 2011 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions
That's what it looked like to me live.
I thought it landed beneath the armpit and slid over his back. It was a legal strike that he meant to land legally, but Diaz could have accidentally squirmed the wrong way and taken it on the head.
The strike did land legally and it seems it was intended to land legally, but it would have been very easy for it to land illegally if Daley wasn’t so accurate and/or Diaz had moved the wrong way at the right time.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
end of arguement
watched the fight twice, thought the kick hit the body both times, this pic confirms it.
its also nice to see that people admitting they were wrong is still avoided like the plauge lol
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
- Helen Keller
by The Blackula on Apr 11, 2011 6:10 AM EDT up reply actions
oh the irony
“plague”
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
- Helen Keller
by The Blackula on Apr 11, 2011 6:30 AM EDT up reply actions
I’ve watched it over and over again. It seems to tag his shoulder and then graze across his back. It was clearly not illegal. But it was also clearly a dangerous play because of the way Diaz was moving. It could have landed anywhere.
by Jonathan Snowden on Apr 11, 2011 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions
C’mon, it was a well-thrown kick. It’s probably less risky than all the leg-kicks to the inside thigh that could (and often do) catch guys in the cup. I wish we’d see more soccer kicks to the body like this, notwithstanding the silly Unified Rules ban on soccer kicks to the head.
It was a dangerous kick. Definitely rolling the dice.
by Jonathan Snowden on Apr 11, 2011 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe in the sense that every strike is a roll of the dice. Punches to the face risk eye-pokes, low-kicks risk groin shots, strikes from top-control when you have the other guy’s back risk neck/spine strikes, etc. I see your point, but I kind of suspect that you just thought it was an illegal soccer kick to the head by a dirty fighter on first impression, and now feel like you have to defend that wrong impression instead of admitting that a professional fighter, who makes his living by hitting people, just landed a good (albeit rare) strike in an awesome fight.
Actually my “first impression” is in the post above and doesn’t reflect this at all. I don’t believe for a second he was trying to kick Nick in the head. I think he was standing in front of an opponent moving erratically and rolled the dice on a kick that would land based on where Nick Diaz had moved in that moment.
by Jonathan Snowden on Apr 11, 2011 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions
Right, but with the way Diaz was moving his head on the ground it made it a very high risk kick.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." -Mark Twain
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid." -John Wayne
by The American Ronin on Apr 11, 2011 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
I still don’t see how it is more risky than a range of other strikes, or how it was so bad as to be “ill-advised” or “potentially disastrous”. Especially when you don’t describe Diaz’ taunting and hand-dropping as either of those things. Daley is a professional striker, and the kick landed on Diaz’ ribs. Even with Diaz’ head movement, his torso stayed relatively stationary, and the kick was well-away from his head and neck…agree to disagree, though, I guess.
The omission bias
was stronger in that Melendez fight. Dude dropped punches and elbows in plain sight on the back of the head of his japanese foe. Great breakdown though. Love that you are making this regular. but…WHERES THE ASKREN FIGHT!?
by silent.bisonte33 on Apr 10, 2011 1:47 PM EDT reply actions
This was taken from the Underground
From another thread breaking down the final exchange:
This was a combination of good position by Diaz and a really big mistake made out of habit by Daley…and it’s almost without question that he and his trainers will look at the tape and groan at the error.
Daley is backed up and slowed down by a shot to the body. He at this point instinctively does what a ton of right handers with power do… cover and try to time a blind, short looping overhand. For somebody with good timing and instincts which Daley clearly has, this often works out very well….against right handers.
Problem with this is, Diaz is standing southpaw and has the outside corner on him (foot outside of the line of Daleys foot) This is good awareness by Diaz, and unless Daley moves his feet, Diaz can unload on him relatively safely.
Diaz’s postion means that when Daley throws that back hand, and he might as well have sent it in the mail rather than throw it…there’s just no way in hell it’s getting there before Diaz throws his shot. Daley’s overhand leans him into Diaz and that blind overhand ends up being a front hand hook on his chin he never saw coming due to his body position. (anybody who’s ever sparred with a southpaw that loves the front hook can tell you sometimes it’s very hard to see coming).Daleys head movement against a right hander would have helped move his chin out of danger… against a southpaw, it puts it on the traintracks.
The mistake was a technical one by Daley because he was hurt to the body and not thinking. Diaz capitalized on his mistake.
Fight over.
by Matt Benson on Apr 10, 2011 1:48 PM EDT reply actions 7 recs
oh and another “explanation” I’ve been reading off of various forums is that it was a delayed reaction from Daley’s liver leaking out toxins? Is there any validity to that?
When he threw that soccer kick...
I saw a brief flash of an alternate reality where Team Cesar Gracie stormed the cage, starting a small scale riot as Nick Diaz struggled to get to his feet.
by nitecastle on Apr 10, 2011 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
You see delayed reactions to liver shots...
But from what I understand it’s the brain being slow to recognize pain, not toxins being released. Your liver neutralizes toxins, it doesn’t store them, I think that hyperbole comes from a Seanbaby line. Besides, Daley fell in a way that either suggests head trauma or ankle injury…he was struggling to keep his balance. Had it been the liver, he’d have been going fetal to protect his body.
by gzl5000 on Apr 10, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
It seems like a combination of many things.
Daley was tired from the pace of the fight and getting ripped to the body a few times. He also got tagged repeatedly and handled all of the shots well at the time but Diaz’s punches add up really quick these days. When that left hook to the body lands, it seems like Daley puts his back against the cage intentionally for support instead of circling out. That last right hand threw off his equilibrium pretty bad, as punches to the temple often do. Notice how he stayed standing against the cage and on his feet as he was clinging to Diaz, but had nothing when he was under his own power. He also couldn’t have been happy being bullied around in the striking game, which is not his style at all.
We have a fighter who was tired, forced to an unusual pace and work rate, emotionally worn by the rapidly changing tides of the round, had taken damage to he head and body, ate a power shot to the liver, and ate a big punch to the temple. Add ‘em up and that’s a great justification for stank leggin’ it to the mat.
My phrase for the rest of ever to describe the finish: Daley went full Zab Judah. You never go full Zab Judah.

"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
by pdl on Apr 10, 2011 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
anybody who has been hit with a good liver shot will attest
That you do have a delayed reaction, alot of the times just crumbling a few seconds later. Whether it is toxins getting released I don’t know but it basically paralyzes you for a split second.
It's awfull
pain like no other.
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
Nick Diaz just beat Paul Daley at his own (and only) game.
To me it is like taking a hard groin shot – some pain at first, but nothing terrible, then the real pain comes a few seconds later.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." -Mark Twain
"Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid." -John Wayne
by The American Ronin on Apr 10, 2011 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Daley is a lefty with an orthodox stance
and lefty’s with orthodox stances worst nightmare is southpaws cuz you need to have a real good right hand against southpaws to be effective
by Mohammedini Hussein on Apr 10, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
If you get your footwork right,
you can also have a lot of success with lead hooks, and Daley did have some.
Early Stoppage...Love Big John but gotta go with Herb Dean he would have let it go to a round 2 Daley wasn't hurt that bad
I’m not resting until I’m officially Anderson Silva status.- Jon "Bones" Jones
by AfroSamurai on Apr 10, 2011 2:03 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
All I’m saying is if you stop the fight there, you stop it when Daley drops Diaz on his face earlier.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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Contributor for CagesideSeats.com and Bloody Elbow Radio
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by Derek Suboticki on Apr 10, 2011 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
when daley dropped diaz
The initial strike was great, but most of his gnp was to the shoulder or floor and diaz had his legs under him and wrist control seconds after. When diaz was on top in the last seconds, daley was defending with his arms and legs up in the air but but not protecting his head where strikes were landing. Maybe that was the difference.
by Tally Johnny on Apr 10, 2011 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
for as much as you talk about fighting i am always suprised how little you know about it.
Daley was against the cage with Nick Past his guard ,standing over him raining shots.
Daley had no effective offence once he dropped Nick.
I am not a blind Diaz fan either,but those two moments were worlds apart.
"True strength is not always shown through victory. Stand up, try again and display strength of heart." - Rickson Gracie
"Wanderlei eventually got to his feet and stalked Fujita like a Japanese octopus in an all-female prison." - Sean Baby Cracked.com
by the-gentle-way on Apr 11, 2011 1:09 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 3 recs
I would've been fine with John letting it go to the bell
But I also don’t think it was a terrible stoppage. Thedifference in those two situations is that Diaz defended himself by moving and getting up, I really don’t think Daley was getting up without help. If John doesn’t stop it, Daley eats several more punches. Daley couldn’t get up as it was, do you really think he was going to recover if he was punched half a dozen more times?
Although I think there is some room for debate about whether John stopped it seconds too early when Daley was down, it would have unquestionably been a premature stoppage if he had stopped it when Diaz was down IMO.
by Anton Chigurh on Apr 11, 2011 7:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Funny you say that
Because if you watch when Daley is given a stool to sit on, he asks what happened.
Daley was wobbling that whole second half of the round from giving Diaz everything he had which left him with no leg strength. That fall was because of an accumilation of consecutive punches from Diaz and throwing hay-makers of his own that led to him becoming completely gassed. If it would have gone a second round I imagine Diaz would have taken advantage of that and cracked one of Daley’s ribs in the process.
I'm Don Frye and you're not - Don Frye
by MrTechnique420 on Apr 10, 2011 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm pretty sure that Daley said "what happened"
to the early stoppage. Not that he blacked out. I thought it was a just stoppage- in real time I thought it was early, but in slo-mo, seeing Daley’s glazed eyes when his legs went jelly and getting hit with 8 unanswered shots, then dropping his arms, he was done.
by John Danaher's Hair on Apr 10, 2011 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
“intent on bringing fans excitement, not as a product of an important fight, but as the primary goal of the matchmaking”
it’s a shame that strikeforce realized this way too late, and ironic that their legacy may end up as such, because the opposite was true for most of their run. strikeforce 2.0’s growth was frequently hampered by an odd adherence to internet rankings and hardcore fan whimsy. from the “3 TITLE FIGHTS!” on the cbs nashville card to coker’s japan obsession to the incredible fedor favortism, it was underwhelming cards, little promotional heat, and an inability to develop stars (even those right under their nose like King Mo, Bigfoot Silva and Mayhem Miller) that defined the greater part of strikeforce’s legacy.
by Trust Doesn't Rust on Apr 10, 2011 2:14 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
couldn´t agree more with you. these past few SF events have been outstanding from the fans´ perspective. they´ve also been very important in the rankings and otherwise..
however that was not the case before and it seems that the CBS debacle was a sort of a milestone between the good SF and the bad SF..
Is there another fighter in all of MMA that can throw combo's like Nick Diaz?
I think not.
Is there a gif of that combo from 3:12-3:00min left (1:48-2:00min into the round)
Very very few!!!
Normally brawlers just want to knock someone’s head off. Nick boxed like a very experienced fighter. Those body shots were great. I was very impressed and cant wait to see him fight again.
by Fedornuthugger on Apr 10, 2011 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Diaz is a monster.
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
But I won’t pick against Jon Jones again until I see him lose. - Kwisatz Haderach
Dominick Cruz
Is refining a style that will become very difficult to deal with. Just like Diaz it was initially seen as all flash with no visceral danger, but the more he has used it and perfected it fights are lasting less and less rounds.
If Cruz can finish Faber I think it will be safe to say he has mastered/perfected a frenetic volume striking style can put away the toughest of competitors. Can’t wait for July 2nd.
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
- Helen Keller
by The Blackula on Apr 11, 2011 6:36 AM EDT up reply actions
I’d like to see Daley fight Noons. That would be another entertaining fight.
by Robust23 on Apr 10, 2011 2:33 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Nick boxed unbelievably well.
Anybody know if he’s training with a pro boxer/trainer? Who does Nick fight next? Lastly, anyone know what Dana thinks of Nick?
i just called dana
but his phone was off
He's been trining with pro boxers most of his carrer.
Technically Nick is a pro boxer. He’s 1-0 in pro boxing.
From wiki
To add to Nick and his brother Nathan’s striking skills, they are now being trained by former WBA and WBC World Champion, Luisito Espinosa and training with the highly skilled Jason “Gumby” Robison. Nick has also recently been training with Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Andre Ward.31
Learn JiuJitsu, it's fun.
Nick Diaz just beat Paul Daley at his own (and only) game.
Wow... excellent
It seems to me, the old “pitter patter” comment was partly because in older footage of his fights it looked like his fists were kind of slapping with the meat of the palm and inside of the fist… whereas now it looks like he’s driving the knuckles deep into the meat of the body. It looks devastating.
That body shot at 0:20 seconds was crushing
Daley was just looking for a place to fall after that. Taking a hard uppercut afterwards didn’t help him either.
by cokemachinebaby on Apr 10, 2011 2:34 PM EDT reply actions
Thank you
For the Gifs and great description. Missed the fight when it aired last night.
█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z
Diaz's chin
Has got to wear out at some point. He’s my favorite fighter because his style is incredibly exciting, but I’d rather watch him play it a tad safer and fight for a few extra years. He simply cant take this kind of punishment every fight. At this rate he’s got like three years left in his career?
i think he's fine
Diaz faced a really extreme striker this time, so he was bound to eat shots
the guy has the heart of a champ!
I can only think Thiago Alves would give him the same volume of strikes in future contenders
Diaz is such a beast.
At 2:38 left in the round – Diaz has Daley in full guard and has Daley’s right wrist locked up under his elbow. Daley even has his left knee up, which would make it easy for Nick to hook his arm under and throw his legs over for an armbar. However Diaz didn’t even attempt it and decides to let go and scramble to his feet to stand with Daley.
I believe
that it was the right that caught Daley that had him rocked. After it connects you see his head drop as he looks to clinch and Diaz they just shrugs him off to leave Daley falling to the mat.
Incredible war of attrition
Daleys reaction was similar to Shoguns, they both ate body shots that left them swaying around the cage. Bones landed host of his body shots from top position and Nick did his work against the cage. It seems that you can take so many body shots before it considerably depreciates your ability to continue fighting.
Both Shogun and Daley are fearsome offensive strikers who got taken out via strikes with a focus on both serious body and head strikes. If the other elites are paying attention 2011 may be the year of the body shot and an over all advancement in mma striking.
Dom Cruz was cageside and I fear for Faber if he has been paying attention on how to breakdown a seriously tough fighter. Cruz’s movement and volume striking style in an even bigger ufc octagon can spell doom if Faber doesn’t latch onto him and make it a clinching and wrestling war.
People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.
- Helen Keller
I dont know why everyone keeps talking about the “ill advised kick.” He kicked him in the ribs and not by accident, watch the gif, he clearly aimed for the body and thats what he hit!

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