Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley
Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce, the event took place on April 9, 2011, at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, United States.
Background
This was the first non-Challengers event that Strikeforce held under the management of their new owners Zuffa, who bought the promotion the previous month.This event was originally expected to feature Alistair Overeem vs. Fabrício Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, 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, 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 was scheduled to face Gegard Mousasi, but withdrew from the bout on March 31, 2011, due to a broken hand. Keith Jardine 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: $175,000def. Paul Daley: $65,000
Gilbert Melendez: $150,000
def. Tatsuya Kawajiri: $97,612.50
Gegard Mousasi: $150,000
drew Keith Jardine: $25,000
Shinya Aoki: $73,637.50
def. Lyle Beerbohm: $10,000
Robert Peralta: $4,000
def. Hiroyuki Takaya: $2,740
Virgil Zwicker: $3,000
def. Brett Albee: $1,000
Joe Duarte: $2,000
def. Saad Awad: $1,500
Herman Terrado: $1,500
def. A.J. Matthews: $1,000
Rolando Perez: $3,000
def. Tom Peterson: $1,000
Casey Ryan: $2,000
def. Paul Song: $750