At about this time last year, many in the MMA community were wondering about Paul Daley's future as a UFC welterweight, seeing as how he was unquestionably a win away from a bout against Georges St-Pierre.
He had just come off of a win over Dustin Hazelett, who he knocked out to win the KO of the Night bonus despite not making weight. By the end of UFC 112 last year, people knew that all he had to do was beat Josh Koscheck in order to get GSP.
One year later, things have changed, and how.
Daley has been exiled from the UFC following the incident that happened after UFC 113, Strikeforce has been purchased by Zuffa and Daley is riding a 4-0 run coming into this fight with Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz on April 9.
He had his reasons for the speed bumps that he's encountered recently—most notably that .4 lbs that he weighed in with when he faced Yuya Shirai in a BAMMA welterweight title bout turned three-round affair at BAMMA 5.
"My weight is fine, but I'm not going to lie—I like to be honest...I'm coming from preparing for a five-round fight against Shirai, and then trying to bounce straight into another fight camp for a big fight wasn't ideal, and halfway through the camp, I did feel a little bit drained and had to take a few days off, whether it be physically or mentally," he said.
If Daley was drained in the slightest during the Shirai fight, he did a good job disguising it behind the uppercut-left-hook combo which led to the ground-and-pound and the first-round victory.
How are things going right now?
"My fitness is where it should be for a five-round fight, and we just concentrated on the stuff that we would have spread out over 12 weeks. We've just condensed it into the time we have...It's been quite intense and things are working as they should be."
He sounds prepared, but let's not forget that Diaz doesn't possess a small gas tank himself, as he has gone five rounds with K.J. Noons in Strikeforce's Fight of 2010 and he went through a trip through hell against Evangelista Santos.
In short, Diaz is as prepped for his defense against Semtex as a champion can possibly be for a title defense.
The only problem for Diaz come April 9 in San Diego?
Daley might be more prepped for this fight than Diaz has ever been or will ever be for any bout.
Source: MMAJunkie.com
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