STRIKEFORCE
Diaz vs. Smith Confirmed for June 6th
By FCF Staff
After having an impressive outing at a catch-weight of 179lbs. against Frank Shamrock, Strikeforce has announced that Nick Diaz will next compete at 180lbs. against Scott Smith. The bout will take place June 6th on the promotion’s “Lawler vs. Shields” card, which will be hosted by the Scottrade Center in St.Louis, Mo.
After dominating Shamrock at Strikeforce’s April 11th card, en route to a second round stoppage of the former UFC champ, Diaz (19-7) extended his win streak to 4. Diaz, who has competed as a welterweight and lightweight throughout much of his career, will once again square off with a veteran middleweight.
“I think this is a great fight for me, but I really hate that (Smith) brings his kids to every one of his fights because now I’m going to be made out to be the bad guy or some sort of villain after I beat him up,” the 25-year-old Diaz was quoted saying in the Strikeforce release. “At the end of the day, I’m going to do what I have to do though and take him out.”
Smith (15-5) was also victorious at the “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event, as the former UFC competitor knocked out middleweight veteran Benji Radach in round three. At Smith's Strikeforce debut in November, he knocked out Terry Martin in 24 seconds.
“Diaz is a great fighter,” Smith added. “He’s going to come in there and out grapple me and out strike me so what I have to do is go in there and beat him up. I actually think this is more of a dangerous fight for him than it is for me.”
The June 6th event will be headlined by a 182lb. catchweight bout between Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler, and will also feature a welterweight fight between Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni.
