''Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event held by

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

, the event took place on April 9, 2011, at the

Valley View Casino Center Pechanga Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. Opened in 1966, it is an example of New Formalism architecture and has been designated by the City of San Diego as a historic resource. The arena has been home to numerous athletic team ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, United States.

Background

This was the first non-Challengers event that Strikeforce held under the management of their new owners

Zuffa TKO Operating Company, LLC (TKO OpCo), doing business as Zuffa (), is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta I ...

, who bought the promotion the previous month. This event was originally expected to feature

Alistair Overeem Alistair Cees Overeem (born 17 May 1980) is a Dutch former professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is a former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Dream Heavyweight Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, and was the first fight ...

vs.

Fabrício Werdum Fabrício Werdum (; born 30 July 1977) is a Spanish-Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Heavyweight Champion who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is also a 4-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, a two-time Abu Dhabi Comba ...

and

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission wrestler, professional wrestler, and color commentator. Barnett previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the y ...

vs.

Brett Rogers Brett Charles Rogers (born February 17, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Rogers has fought in EliteXC, Strikeforce, and Bellator. Bac ...

, the two remaining quarter-final fights in the Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. Both the event and the fights were listed on Strikeforce's official site. However, on March 2, 2011, Scott Coker confirmed the bouts were being moved to the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event to be held in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, on June 18 with Overeem & Barnett winning the rescheduled bouts. K. J. Noons was expected to make his return to lightweight on this card, but a bout did not materialize.

Mike Kyle Michael Andrew Kyle (born March 31, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, Kyle has competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce, the ...

was scheduled to face

Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Mousasi most recently competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavywe ...

, but withdrew from the bout on March 31, 2011, due to a broken hand.

Keith Jardine Keith Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Background Jardine was born in Butte, Montana, moved to Oregon, and finally settled in Los Angele ...

agreed to step in on one week's notice to fight Mousasi. The Mousasi/Kyle bout finally took place at Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine in January 2013, where Mousasi submitted Kyle with a rear naked choke in the first round. This is the last non-Challengers Strikeforce event to feature men's bouts in weight classes below lightweight. The event drew an estimated average of 528,000 viewers, however peaked at 806,000 viewers.

Results

Payroll

Nick Diaz: $175,000 (no win bonus) def. Paul Daley: $65,000 Gilbert Melendez: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Tatsuya Kawajiri: $97,612.50 Gegard Mousasi: $150,000 drew Keith Jardine: $25,000 Shinya Aoki: $73,637.50 (no win bonus) def. Lyle Beerbohm: $10,000 Robert Peralta: $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Hiroyuki Takaya: $2,740 Virgil Zwicker: $3,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Brett Albee: $1,000 Joe Duarte: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Saad Awad: $1,500 Herman Terrado: $1,500 ($500 win bonus) def. A.J. Matthews: $1,000 Rolando Perez: $3,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Tom Peterson: $1,000 Casey Ryan: $2,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Paul Song: $750

References

{{Strikeforce Events Diaz vs. Daley 2011 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts events in San Diego 2011 in sports in California April 2011 sports events in the United States Sports competitions in San Diego