Strikeforce ended a week of adding new talent to its roster by signing Paul “Semtex” Dailey to a mult-fight deal.
Dailey, the Brit exiled from the UFC after a cheap shot on Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 recently fought at the Shark Fights PPV on September 11th.
From MMA Fighting:
…Daley hopes to take a bit of time off before making his promotional debut, though he says he “definitely” wants to fight before the year is out.
As for his plans in the division, which is currently ruled by champion Nick Diaz, Team Daley says they will follow the vision of Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and the company matchmaker, though his manager Wad Alameddine notes that Daley usually tends to make strong first impressions.
Payout Perspective:
This week has been a move by Strikeforce to position itself for strong fight cards at the end of this year and a jump start to 2011. The acquisition of Dailey and Josh Barnett are risks for different reasons. But, Dailey is an up and coming fighter with explosive (hence “Semtex”) punching power that would draw fans. Matchups against Nick Diaz, Mayhem Miller, KJ Noons and Dan Henderson would be intriguing.
In hindsight, Dailey’s abrupt departure from the UFC may not hurt his career at all. If Dailey can behave, and learn takedown defense, he can be a major player in the Strikeforce mix in the coming years.
And made weight.
I don’t see Daley ever being a major player, but with the right opponents, he can provide fun fights. He just had a very close bout against a LW that he had a good 10-15 pound advantage on. He landed maybe 20% of his strikes, hardly impressive. I think Diaz, Miller and Hendo would eat him alive.
But against other strikers, we can expect some exciting battles. Scott Smith/Daley or Lawler/Daley would make for potential fireworks.
Paul Daley was crazy for throwing that punch but he is probably getting paid more w/ Strikeforce.
Barnett, now Dailey. Seems to me they are signing for short term gains not long term planning. Regardless, big names will help them in the short term as they are having a difficult time getting any fights signed these days… Werdum, Fedor, Overeem, etc.
I should clarify, “any fight” as any fights of a headlining nature. Melendez is also injured, and Diaz doesn’t appear to want to fight Miller which would have a been a huge fight for them.
Remember, you can always cut guys if they lose. SF is in a position where they have to try to sing whatever talent they can get their hands on, even if that talent comes with some risk. Duffee should be next.
Diego: Good call re: Duffee.