Paul Daley Likely To Receive Strikeforce Title Shot Against Winner of Diaz-Cyborg

Former UFC fighter and current Strikeforce welterweight contender Paul Daley is expected to face the winner of the Jan. 29 bout between Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has confirmed that Daley will likely receive the next shot at the title following an impressive debut victory over Scott Smith in December.
“Semtex” wants to stay busy in the meantime, however.
“(Daley) wants to stay busy and he wants to fight the winner of (Nick) Diaz and Evangelista (Cyborg), and I think that makes a lot of sense,” Coker told MMAWeekly. “Paul has requested to have a fight in the UK, and our deal with Paul we have to sign off on it, and we have to have an opponent approval.”
Daley is expected to meet DEEP champ Yuya Shirai in the main event of BAMMA 5 on Feb. 26 before receiving his shot at the Strikeforce belt later in the year if successful in the one-off bout.
Daley is coming off a devastating knockout win over Scott Smith at Strikeforce: Henderson vs Babalu II in December. “Semtex” is 7-1 in his last 8 fights with the lone defeat coming at the hands of Josh Koscheck at UFC 113.
The aftermath of that bout, which saw Daley strike Koscheck with a cheap shot after the bell rang, caused the UFC to cut the 170-pound contender.
Diaz and Santos square off at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Cyborg on January 29 from San Jose, CA.
That event also features a middleweight title bout between champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defending against Robbie Lawler and the return of football great Herschel Walker taking on Scott Carson.