Dream Champ Takaya Joins Strikeforce ‘Diaz vs. Daley’ Undercard

---

Shinya Aoki will not be the only Dream champion competing in the Strikeforce cage on April 9, as the Japanese promotion’s featherweight ace, Hiroyuki Takaya, has been officially added to the show’s lineup.

Takaya will take on California’s Robert Peralta in a 145-pound affair on the non-televised undercard of Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley,” Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed to Sherdog.com on Saturday. The event, headlined by a welterweight title clash between reigning champion Nick Diaz and heavy-handed challenger Paul Daley, emanates from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.

Takaya, 33, will compete stateside for the first time since 2008, when the “Streetfight Bancho” made an unsuccessful 0-2 run in World Extreme Cagefighting. Since that time, Takaya has notched a 6-2 record in the Dream ring, including knockout wins over the likes of Joachim Hansen, Chase Beebe and Hideo Tokoro. The most recent victory in his current three-fight streak came on New Year’s Eve, when Takaya earned an impressive decision against Bibiano Fernandes to claim gold and avenge a contentious loss in the finals of Dream’s 2009 featherweight grand prix.

A member of Lloyd Marshbanks’ Team Kadillac, Peralta enters his Strikeforce debut on a six-fight win streak. The San Diego resident holds a professional record of 13-3, has gone the distance only once, and has scored 11 of his 13 wins via form of knockout. Peralta holds the distinction of being the only man to have beaten current Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champ Darrell Montague, whom he punched out at a 2009 Gladiator Challenge event.