Paul Daley vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos set for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson in July
Posted on June 12, 2011, 02:27 PM by Joey Santosus
Heavy-handed Welterweights Paul "Semtex" Daley and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos are now set to go head to head at next month's Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event.
Daley's management team, Fight Management, revealed the news to MMAFighting.com, who were the first to report the match-up.
"Cyborg" was initially expected to face Tarec Saffiedine before the Team Quest fighter was removed from the card for unknown reasons.
Daley (27-10-2) will return to action for the first time since a failed attempt at dethroning then-division champ Nick Diaz in April. Though "Semtex" appeared to have Diaz hurt early on, the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu product was able to regroup and finish the Brit with a flurry of punches in the final moments of the opening round. Prior to the loss, Daley had won four straight after being released by the UFC in 2010, including victories over fellow Strikeforce competitors Jorge Masvidal (under the Shark Fights banner) and a devastating knockout win against Scott Smith in his promotional debut.
Santos (18-14) also squared off with Diaz in his latest effort, succumbing to an armbar late in the second-round. The Brazilian was unable to gain an edge standing and was forced to tap when a desperate takedown attempt left him vulnerable. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak and marks his second with the promotion, having previously dropped a close split decision against Joey Villasenor in 2009.
As the last two fighters to contend for the Welterweight strap, the match-up could carry title implications with Diaz now opting to vacate the belt in favor of signing with the UFC to challenge Georges St. Pierre at UFC 137.
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson is set to take place July 30th from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The stacked card will be headlined by the highly anticipated Heavyweight bout between current 205-pound Champion Dan Henderson and "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko, while Women's Welterweight champ Marloes Coenen puts her title on the line against Miesha Tate in the co-main event.
Photo: Paul Daley celebrates his victory over Dustin Hazelett during UFC 108 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 2, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker
Comments
This is gonna b a really good stand up war....mite even be for the title now that Diaz left SF n these 2 guys r the last 2 ppl to fight Diaz for the title
someones getting knocked out!
Make or break for Daley now. Zuffa will be looking for an excuse to cut him and a loss now pretty much rules him out as a contender worth keeping on
I see a knockout for daley, prob in the first couple of rounds.
I really don`t think that cyborgs striking is on the same level.
striking is not the problem is Cyborg´s chin what is not going to keep up...
I can see Daley winning this fight and being the top WW fighter for SF now that Diaz has left.
I agree... However, there is also Tyrone Woodley, who is a legitimate threat to Daley due to the obvious wrestling factor. Unless its announced some time in the lead-in to this fight that it will be for the belt, I'd expect the winner to fight Woodley for the title.
I'd buy Diaz vs Daley 2 and 3.
No doubt, if there's been a better fight between top WW i must have missed it.
good slug fest coming up
a fight to see who is more irrelevant :D
I love Daley. I was sorely disappointed with his performance against Diaz, but it looks like Strikeforce is giving him another opportunity to give a stand-up war. Evangelista on paper has the edge with his Jiu-Jitsu and his excellent striking, so I'm going with Cyborg. I don't think he'll walk through Daley though and I'm eager as hell to see this fight.