The story was first reported by MMAWeekly.com

Known for his bad boy attitude, Daley will look to bounce back from an April loss to then Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz. The fight, which many have called one of the best one round fights in MMA history, was a back and forth affair that ended with just three seconds left in the opening frame as Diaz stopped Daley with an onslaught of strikes to retain his title. Prior to the loss, Daley had won eight of his last nine bouts, with all but one coming needing to be stopped. Of Daley’s 27 career wins, 20 have come by way of (T)KO.

Like Daley, Santos knows what it’s like to lose to Diaz in a title fight. This past January, Santos fell victim to Diaz in the second round, tapping out with just ten seconds remaining in the round due to an armbar. Also like Daley, the majority of Santos’ career victories, 11 out of 18, have come by way of (T)KO.

Earlier this week Diaz vacated the Strikeforce welterweight strap as he’s moving to the UFC to challenge Georges St. Pierre later this year. While Daley vs. Santos won’t be for the vacant title, the fight will have title implications and the winner could very well fight for the belt in his next bout.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson is scheduled for July 30 at the Sears Center in Chicago, Illinois. The event will be headlined by a superfight between MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson. Also on the card is the long-waited Women’s 135 lb title fight between champion Marloes Coenen and top contender Miesha Tate.

*PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE*

News of the pairing was reported earlier today by MMAFighting and has since been confirmed by Strikeforce through an official press release.

Santos made a successful debut at welterweight against Marius Zaromskis this past June, knocking the Lithuanian kickboxer out a few minutes into the match-up, and has eighteen career victories with sixteen involving some form of finish. Other than being one-half of MMA’s most-imposing couple, Mr. “Cyborg” is known for his daring delivery in the cage including a 2006 performance against Melvin Manhoef viewed as being one of the sport’s greatest battles.

Whether or not Diaz will choose to engage on his feet with Santos, as he’s shown a willingness to do against previous opponents, remains to be seen. Stockton’s favorite son is currently on an eight-fight win streak including a successful defense of his belt against K.J. Noons in Houston last October. Though he owes more than half of his total victories to strikes, the outspoken Californian is also known for an extremely slick BJJ base cultivated at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and has submitted seven opponents as a result of his mastery of the craft.

In addition to the twin title-fights, Strikeforce’s January 29 event is expected to feature a bout between Roger Gracie and Trevor Prangley as well as Herschel Walker facing Scott Carson in the former football star’s follow-up to victory in his MMA debut almost a year to the day of the 2011 show.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

Michael Bisping Believes his Future Holds a UFC Title In It (MMAFighting.com)

Jon Jones is Tired of Facing Wrestlers and Explains Why (MMAConvert.com)

The “Cyborgs” Show a Different Side to Fans…Their Back-Side (MiddleEasy.com)

Scott Coker Promises Strikeforce Heavyweights Will Face Each Other (CagePotato.com)

Strikeforce’s Most-Recent Hype Package for Diaz vs. Noons II (MMAScraps.com)

Vitor Belfort Working on Footwork in a Unique Way for Anderson Silva Bout (FIGHT! Magazine)

Joseph Benavidez Steps in for Injured Brian Bowles at WEC 52 (Versus.com)

Why Fans Shouldn’t Look Past KJ Noons (Heavy.com)

Brock Lesnar Shows Off his Guns and Not the Muscle-Related Kind (WatchKalibRun.com)

While nothing has been made official at this time, rumors place the event on December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

Husband to current Strikeforce 145 pound female champion and feared knockout artist in his own respect, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos plans to make his 170 pound debut in December.

Chute Boxe trainer Rudimar Fedrigo recently revealed the date for both fighters to make their returns, along with Evangelista’s plans to cut down for his usual fighting weight of 185 pounds in a recent conversation with Tatame.com.

“He’ll finally debut at the 170 pounds category, in December, at Strikeforce,” confirmed Fedrigo. “He’ll fight, but hasn’t a chosen opponent yet, and then he’ll be back to Brazil to the end of the year. We’ll talk to the president of the event and know who’s gonna bet he opponents, but Cris and Cyborg will fight on the same event.”

*Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Strikeforce

The event has been slated for September 25 from the SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The main card will be broadcast live on Showtime.

A six-year Army veteran that was wounded in battle during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kennedy recently took a job with the Texas National Guard to focus more of his time towards his career as a professional fighter. Known for the dynamite in his hands and a strong wrestling game, Kennedy has put together an impressive record of 10-2 while compiling wins over the likes of Hector Urbina, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and most recently, Nick Thompson at the Strikeforce Challengers card that was held on June 19.

Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos is the husband to Strikeforce female title challenger Cris “Cyborg” Santos and will be stepping into his thirtieth professional mixed martial arts bout when he faces off with Kennedy in Tulsa. He’s known for tenacious aggresion and vicious strikes. Cyborg’s most recent performance was a hard fought battle between himself and Joey Viilasenor. The fight went back and forth, but Santos eventually wound up on the losing end of a split decision.

Although Cyborg is known for his punishing stand-up arsenal, surprisingly he expects this bout with a fellow striker may inevitably end up on the canvas.

“I believe I will be able to do the opposite this time from the Villasenor fight where we stood up and punched each other,” speculated Santos. “I think I will finally be able to show my Jiu-Jitsu game and surprise a lot of people.”

Kennedy, who surprised many by electing to take the well versed submission artist Nick Thompson to the ground in his last fight, likes to keep things unpredictable. A trend he promises to bring into his upcoming bout with Cyborg in September.

“I don’t think anybody can really plan to see what I’m coming in to do this time,” explained Kennedy. “I’m working with the best boxing coaches and training with Mark DeLaGrotte, one of the best MMA striking coaches in the world, so I think that people are going to see a new Tim that they’ve never seen before.”