Coker: Daley-Smith, Lawler-Lindland Carry Title Implications

While the main event of Strikeforce’s Dec. 4 event in St. Louis, Mo., will see Dan Henderson and Renato “Babalu” Sobral vying for a shot at Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante’s 205-pound belt, two featured bouts on the card will also carry heavy title implications.

During a conference call on Tuesday, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that the winners of that night’s Matt Lindland-Robbie Lawler and Paul Daley-Scott Smith fights will be inserted into the mix at the top of their respective divisions.

“[Lawler vs. Lindland] is gonna be very important for title contention for the 185-pound weight class,” Coker said. “Matt has fought [champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza]. That was about a year ago, so we could revisit that.”

Lindland’s December 2009 bout with Souza didn’t leave the first round, with the Brazilian jiu-jitsu whiz scoring an arm-triangle submission and spoiling “The Law’s” Strikeforce debut. A win over the younger, quicker Lawler would go a long way toward proving that Lindland is ready for another crack at “Jacare.”

“I think I’m still one of the top 10 contenders in the sport,” Lindland said. “Of course, I lost to the champion, ‘Jacare,’ and I think this fight is a great path back to title contention.”

Fifteen pounds down the scale, sluggers Daley and Smith will each look to make an impact in unfamiliar territory, with Daley making his official Strikeforce debut and Smith competing at welterweight for the first time in his nine-year MMA career.

“In the 170-pound weight class, I think this fight has title contention [implications]. It's going to depend on [champion Nick Diaz's] health, and where he's at and who he's fighting. We have plans for Scott or Paul,” said Coker, who commented that Daley first impressed him during a 2007 bout with Duane Ludwig on a card Strikeforce co-promoted with EliteXC.

“Another name in [that conversation] is Evangelista [‘Cyborg’ Santos], who just beat Marius Zaromskis. I think it's interesting after this fight, who's going to go where,” Coker added.

However, Daley stated in no uncertain terms that a fight with “Cyborg” doesn’t excite him at present, though he does have another name in mind.

“Without being disrespectful to ‘Cyborg’ or Mr. Coker, I don’t think a fight with ‘Cyborg’ is something I’m looking for at the moment. I’d rather fight K.J. Noons or Nick Diaz or Tyron Woodley at the moment,” said Daley.

“Ideally, I’d like to fight Noons after I knock out Scott Smith.”