• Strikeforce: Diaz v Daley

Daley loses title fight but gains Dana White's respect

Paul Daley was under severe pressure when the fight was stopped © Getty Images

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Paul Daley lost the chance to become the first Briton to hold a major MMA world title, but he did earn the respect of Dana White after being stopped by Nick Diaz on Saturday night.

Never will a British fighter have come closer to getting his hands on world MMA gold after Daley dropped the Strikeforce welterweight champion inside the first round, but Diaz has an unrivalled chin, and by the end of the opening five minutes it was the American having his arm raised in triumph.

The path leading up to that moment was filled with hazards though for Diaz, who typically opted for the most confrontational route to victory, standing toe-to-toe with Daley, something very few men have ever attempted to do successfully.

Never had the challenger been stopped by TKO or KO, and on 20 previous occasions he had walked away with a knockout victory. Diaz is not the type of guy who bows to statistics though and, having landed an average of over 120 strikes in each of his last 13 fights, he waved his arms to beckon Daley to come at him from the opening klaxon.

Daley suffered most of the early punishment, Diaz doing damage with body shots and constant tags to the head, but with a minute left in the opening stanza it looked like the champion's reign was over. The big Daley left hook sent Diaz face-first into the mat, but after a series of follow-up strikes failed to stop the bout, Daley made the mistake of jumping into one of the best guards in the sport, tiring himself as he chased the finish. The Brit thought he was giving his foe no time to recover, but in truth he was playing directly into Diaz's hands as the BJJ expert gained some vital recovery time on his back.

The fight now vertical once again, the combination of Diaz's earlier body blows and Daley's exhausting attempts to finish took their toll on the challenger, who was backed into the cage and hurt badly with right hand. Dropping to the mat in spectacular fashion, legs completely buckled, Daley was slammed by four big blows as he attempted to hang on, but referee John McCarthy halted his survival bid with three seconds on the clock.

"'I give him all the respect in the world for that fight. They went to war!" said UFC president Dana White, who famously cut Daley for his post-fight punch on Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. Maybe the door back to the UFC has been cracked for the first time since that date.

As for Daley, he admitted he should never have gassed himself chasing the finish, commenting: "Some you win, some you lose. A little frustrating. I made mistakes I told myself I wouldn't do. A little too rushed. I think the stoppage was early, especially with so little time left in the round."

Gilbert Melendez's hands were violent © Getty Images

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The night's other title bout saw Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez produce a devastating first-round TKO against Japanese star Tatsuya Kawajiri in the co-main event. Making a big effort to land a unification bout with the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, Melendez dropped Kawajiri with a big right hand, and then did so again with a combination of knees and hooks. The final time Kawajiri hit the mat Melendez began unloading elbows, eventually knocking his foe out cold.

"Who wants to see me fight for that UFC title?" Melendez said. "Let's unify. That's my style. I come to fight."

Elsewhere, former UFC veteran Keith Jardine earned new respect after he grinded out a draw against the highly-rated Gegard Mousasi in the light-heavyweight division. Mousasi had the better stand-up but suffered several takedowns from Jardine, although he still would have won the fight but for an illegal upkick.

"I didn't do it deliberately," Mousasi said. "In Japan it's allowed. It wasn't allowed tonight, so the ruling was correct, but I didn't do it deliberately. I apologize for that."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said a rematch could be the best option, particularly as Jardine took the fight on eight days' notice. "That's something we'll definitely go back and talk to the camps and talk to Lorenzo [Fertitta] and the group, and we'll see what makes sense," he said. "Personally, I think [a rematch] will probably happen. When? Who knows."

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