Daley's power vs. Diaz's technique

Strikeforce's most anticipated main event of the 2011 comes down to one-punch knockout power versus technique and an overall, well-rounded game.

Paul Daley, the British-born knockout artist, will look to put his past indiscretions behind him when he faces Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz Saturday night in the main event of Strikeforce's Diaz vs. Daley card in San Diego, Calif. The event will be aired live on Showtime at 10 p.m. EST.

Daley's promising career suffered an enormous setback in May of 2010. After he was defeated by Josh Koscheck in a UFC event, Daley approached Koscheck and delivered a facial strike after the final bell at the end of the third round.

Even though he expressed regret and offered multiple apologies, Daley -- a 28-year-old London native -- was dismissed from UFC and spent the next few months on minor cards. Redemption arrived at the end of the year, however, when Daley made his Strikeforce debut. Now, nearly a year after his mistake, Daley once again will fight for a title in a major organization. While he is grateful for the opportunity, his expectations remain tempered.

"Even though what I did in the whole Koscheck incident, and as much as I regret it and apologized to the fans that actually do (care) about me, I'm sorry for embarrassing the ones who haven't gone and started being a fan of some other idiot that wants to be a company man," said Daley, 27-9-2. "I just see this as another fight.

"I'm not really too interested in anything else. I'm just interested in paying my bills. I'm not really thinking about how this is affecting me and the U.S. fans that will love me one day and then just call me a British bully the other day. I just want to fight and bring the belt back to the U.K. That's all I'm concerned with."

Diaz, 24-7 with a no contest, will put his nine-fight winning streak on the line against Daley, an opponent he expressed respect for. Even though Diaz said he "wasn't overly impressed by (Daley's) MMA skills" in a recent press conference, Diaz clarified the comments by saying he meant Daley was not "a well-rounded fighter." Diaz believes Daley's striking is "probably better than anyone else we've got fighting in MMA at 170."

"That's what he does," said Diaz, 27-year-old native of Stockton, Calif. "It's like he says, he throws punches. I'll take what I can get. I'll try to win any way necessary, any way I can win. That's how I started this. He's trying to do what he's going to do. I understand that."

While Daley's striking ability is garnering most of the pre-fight hype, Daley believes Diaz, who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is equally dangerous.

"Nick has been criticized for his boxing," Daley said. "But, as a striker looking at his striking, I think Nick's one of the best boxers in MMA. Granted, he doesn't have sort of the one-punch knock out power that I have. But he's proven his hands are among the best in MMA. His distance, his timing, his range is that of a boxer. He's a fantastic striker."

Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who trains with Diaz in California, will make his first appearance in a year when he fights Japan's Tatsuya Kawajiri in the co-main event. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will fight Keith Jardine and during the undercard, which will also feature lightweights Shinya Aoki and Lyle Beerbohm.

The preliminaries include: heavyweights Brett Albee vs. Virgil Zwicker; middleweights Casey Ryan vs. Paul Song; welterweights Herman Terrado vs. AJ Matthews; lightweights Joe Duarte vs. Saad Awad; and featherweights Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Robert Peralta and Rolando Perez vs. Edgar Cardenas.