Paul Daley Wants To Be The Fight That Pulls Nick Diaz “Back Away From Self-Ruin”

Back in 2011, Paul Daley and Nick Diaz squared off in an epic Strikeforce welterweight title bout. Diaz finished Daley in the closing seconds of the first round via TKO. It marked Diaz’s third successful defense of the Strikeforce welterweight title. It was also Diaz’s last fight under a Strikeforce banner, as he began fighting for the UFC the following October.

Now, several years later, Diaz has been on a four-year-long hiatus from MMA competition, while Daley is currently competing for Bellator MMA. In fact, Daley will face Michael “Venom” Page this weekend in an opening round contest of Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix tournament. While Diaz is enjoying a party lifestyle, which he has been documenting nicely on Instagram, Daley suggests a rematch with his old Strikeforce foe (via BJPenn.com):

“I would love to be the fight that pulls Nick back away from self-ruin,” Daley said. “He seems to be having a good time partying. He’s a cool guy. I’ve seen him since the fight, and I like Nick.

“I think it’s a fight that, even though I lost the fight, it’s a fight that people have always wanted to see again. It was just crazy, it was just a crazy ass fight — round even. It was a great fight and I think it would do well as a pay-per-view or crossover fight.”

Daley doesn’t believe Diaz is doing much training nowadays, however, it’s hard to judge solely by what’s posted on social media:

“I think he’s just enjoying life,” Daley said. “It doesn’t look like he’s training, but everyone goes a bit too much by Instagram. Who knows when those pictures were taken. I think he’s enjoying life. If those pictures are up to date, he doesn’t look like he’s training.”