“I think we’re tailor made for each other,” said Smith during a media call on Tuesday. “I plan on this being a slugfest.”

Daley will likely welcome the slugfest but isn’t planning on charging out his corner and throwing wild haymakers. “There is going to be a little bit of caution because we’re both knockout punchers,” said Daley.

While Smith is known for his one punch comebacks where he looks to be defeated but snatches victory with his fight, Daley isn’t concerned about anything like that happening in this fight. “When I hit people, they stay hurt,” stated Daley.

Both fighters are looking for redemption following their previous bouts. Smith lost a rematch against Cung Le this past June where he was decimated by body kicks en route to a second round stoppage. Daley on the other hand picked up a controversial decision victory over Jorge Masvidal and was criticized for his performance against a much smaller competitor. Knowing that they both need a victory and an impressive one at that should make them even more willing to let it all hang out when the cage door shuts.

Although the bout has title implications, neither man seems too concerned with challenging Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce Welterweight Title should they be victorious. Daley stated, “I’d like to fight KJ Noons next after I knockout Scott Smith” while Smith said, “I just want to be in an exciting fight. That’s more important to me than a title fight.” Diaz holds a victory over Smith, defeating him in a catchweight fight of 180 pounds by third round submission just over a year ago. Meanwhile, Noons just lost a five round title fight against Diaz and it is unclear whether he’ll stay at welterweight, drop back down to lightweight, or continue to pursue his boxing career.

One thing is for sure, come December 4th when Daley and Smith finally trade leather; don’t blink.

Below is a series of photos from the battle courtesy of Strikeforce and Esther Lin (click any of the pics to enlarge) Make sure to pay close attention to the second pic, as if you look close, neither fighter is touching the ground with either foot:

Apparently Le has already agreed to face off with middleweight knockout artist Scott Smith according to a recent report on MMAJunkie.com.

The two are expected to square off at the “Strikeforce: Evolution” card set for December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The bout will mark Le’s first return to action since obtaining the Strkeforce middleweight crown during a battle with Frank Shamrock in March of 2008. He sports an unblemished record of 6-0, with all six f his victories coming by either KO or TKO.

Smith will be looking to place himself back in the winner’s circle following his third round rear-naked choke defeat at the hands of Nick Diaz in June of this year. Just prior to his recent loss Smith had racked up consecutive knockout victories over the likes of Benji Radach and Terry Martin.

The recently re-energized promotion’s card is headlined by a clash between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields while also highlighted by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski doing his best to deliver knockout specialist Brett Rogers’ first loss, scrappers Nick Diaz and Scott Smith testing each others’ chins, Phil Baroni attempting to continue his success at welterweight in a battle that’s turned personal against Joe Riggs, and Kevin Randleman making his Strikeforce debut against Mike Whitehead.

One of the participants of a bout guaranteed to keep fans on the edge of their seats come June 6, Smith recently expressed his thoughts on the upcoming skirmish during a conference call with media.

“I’ve been real fortunate the past year to be given great opponents to put on exciting fights. This is just one of those fights. Nick is a top pound-for-pound fighter in the world in my eyes. He is the kind of fighters I want. I don’t want to fight a C-class fighter. I’m going to use everything I got beat him,” said an excited Smith. The man who has earned his nickname “Hands of Steel” for his ether-laced fists and all-out approach to striking made no allusions as to his approach against the always-tough Diaz or how he felt the fight might go. “I plan on keeping this fight standing. I think he is going to try to take me apart. He’s a more technical fighter than I am. He’s going to want to take this fight to the ground. His best chance of winning is getting it to the ground. I’m going to use my sprawl and brawl technique. I think people don’t give (Diaz) enough credit. He has a lot more power than what it seems. He just does a good job of picking people apart and setting up the power punches. I’m definitely not underestimating his power at all. I’ve definitely had to change up a few things in my technique to train for Nick. If he’s smart he’s going to try to get it to the ground. That’s where he has the advantage. But I think he’s going to go out there and bang with me. I’m ready for everything. I just have to worry about what I do best and control the fight and not wait for him. If I wait for him, he’s going to pick me apart.”

Talk turned to Smith’s last opponent, Benji Radach, who is planning to file an appeal with the California State Athletic Commission based on what he felt was an incorrect ruling by officials. Expressing disappointment in the move, Smith went on to say, “I think it’s pretty unfortunate and kind of taking away from what was such a great fight. Win or lose, it was a great fight for both of us. He looked great until he got caught in the end. I think he’s kind of taking away from that. I don’t think anything is going to happen with this appeal. He is just trying to reassure a rematch down the road. That fight was such a great fight; we need a rematch no matter what. That’s kind of unfortunate though.

“With the appeal saying he wasn’t knocked out, and I hit him with an illegal strike to the back of the head. Yes I did, but not intentionally. If a guy is lying on the ground face down and able to get hit in the back of the head then the fight should be stopped. If he’s lying face down not even able to see a blow coming then the fight needs to be stopped. I dropped him and I knew he was hurt obviously. I went in for the kill and I didn’t know he was knocked out with his face down and I unfortunately accidentally hit him in the back of the head,” Smith continued.

Back on the subject of Diaz, Smith didn’t shy away from offering fans a prediction on the bout’s outcome. “I’m definitely anticipating a knockout. I’ll be going for it in the first round. Whether it is in the first, second, or third…it doesn’t matter to me…(just) as long as the fight doesn’t go the distance.” He went on to make it clear his supporters shouldn’t expect anything different in his next fight or anytime soon, reassuring them “(Changing styles) is something I think about a little. But the way I see it, I fight the way I fight because I have fun doing it. I don’t think I would have fun going in there and having a three-round snore fest. I had a terrible fight against Patrick Cote that went the distance. After that fight, I promised myself I’d never fight like that again and leave it all out there. If it gets to the point that my body can’t handle it anymore then it’s just time to get out of the game. I’m not going to sit there and try to change my style of fighting to try to prolong my career.”

In closing, the hard-hitting Californian gave his opinion on the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship’s current limbo due to title-holder Cung Le’s non-ring interests and made a promise to fans of Mixed Martial Arts. “(Le) is a champion. I know he’s busy and he has things going on. But we’ve got to do something. Maybe get (a fight for) an interim belt. We can’t just sit around and wait forever, especially after this card. There’s going to be some guys deserving of that title. He’s definitely the champion, he’s unbeaten, and hopefully I’ll be the champ someday to test myself against him.

(Strikeforce has) been giving me absolutely great fights. Like I said, June 6th will be the biggest MMA card of the year so tune in to SHOWTIME and watch it. I promise to put on an exciting fight.”

As far as their opponents are concerned, Diaz and Smith will be fighting each other at what is believed to be a catchweight of 179 pounds.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has confirmed the news with sources close to the camps of both fighters. The story has also been reported by The Carmichael Dave Show via his website on 1140 AM KHTK.

Diaz won his fourth consecutive bout and improved to 19-7 following his dominant second round TKO over Shamrock, Strikeforce’s one-time middleweight champion. Once a title contender in EliteXC‘s 160 pound lightweight division, Diaz is now fighting at a heavier weight in light of the promotion ceasing its operations and his move to Strikeforce.

A native of Stockton, Calif., Diaz is the older brother of UFC lightweight Nate Diaz. Diaz himself also formerly competed in the UFC, compiling an impressive recored of 6-4 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Drew Fickett, Robbie Lawler, and Josh Neer.

The Cesar Gracie black belt made major headlines with his win over Shamrock, it was Smith who possibly earned unofficial “Fight of the Night” honors thanks to his dramatic comeback victory on Aprill 11 against former IFL standout Benji “Razor” Radach.

The former Steel Mill worker seemed on the verge of certain defeat until he turned the tide with a power shot that landed flush in the face of Radach and knocked him out at 3:24 of round 3. In addition to almost certainly being on the verge of losing via decision, it appeared at several points that Radach was on the verge of finishing Smith.

But true to form, Smith proved next to impossible to finish and continued to fight back. The win improved Smith’s record to 15-5 and served as his second consecutive victory since joining the Strikeforce prompotion. His first win under the Strikeforce banner took place on Nov. 21, 2008 during the promotion’s “Destruction” event. Facing former UFC veteran Terry Martin, Smith knocked out the one-time professional boxer with a punch just 24 seconds into their contest.

Diaz vs. Smith joins a strong lineup of fights scheduled for June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, with former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler set to headline against former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields. Two other reported bouts include a welterweight matchup between Phil Baroni vs. Joe Riggs and a light heavyweight matchup between Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Jared Hamman.

The news is according to a report by Ron Kruck that aired during Friday’s edition of “Inside MMA” on HDNet.

Smith is currently under contract to the LA-based Elite Xtreme Combat promotion and was scheduled to compete for the promotion on Nov. 8 in a bout against Cuban judoka Hector Lombard. However, the match was scrapped last month after the company canceled the card in light of major funding issues.

While ProElite claims it plans to promote events in 2009, fighters are being allowed to fight outside of their contract while the company attempt to reorgaize. Having competed twice for the promotion in featured matches against Robbie Lawler on CBS, Smith is one of the promotion’s most recognizable competitors.

Smith’s opponent will be the heavy-handed Martin, who, like Smith, is also a former UFC veteran. Martin is 18-5 overall in his professional MMA career and holds a lifetime record in the Octagon of 2-4 with his victories coming against Jorge Rivera and Ivan Salaverry and losses to James Irvin, Jason Lambert, Chris Leben, and Marvin Eastman.

Thomson’s scheduled opponent, Yves Edwards, will remain on the card and will instead be challenged by former UFC lightweight competitor Duane “Bang” Ludwig. Additional matchups set to take place during the show, which will emanate from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., include Bobby Southworth vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, Joe Riggs vs. Luke Stewart, and Kim Couture vs. Lina Kvokov.

Robbie Lawler sealed the deal this time around.

Lawler looked to be the better fighter in the first outing and I had the fight scored in favor of him until the stoppage the first time, but he sealed the deal last knight with a knee right to Smith’s ribs that sent the challenger to the floor and eventually led to a stoppage. The first time around, it’s hard to tell who would have won. But last night it was clear that Lawler was not going to let things get out of hand, especially after he was cut. As we look toward the future, it’s hard to say who Lawler will fight next in the middlweight division. After Murilo Rua’s devastation of Tony Bonello back in May, I have to think that Rua may be in line to take another crack at Lawler and try to win back the EliteXC title that was once his.

Jake Shields is extremely underrated.

Nick Thompson is one of the best welterweights in the entire world and Jake Shields made him look like a punk last night. I mean, Shields finished Thompson with a one arm guillotine from the mount. One arm, people. His other arm was posted on the mat. That’s extremely impressive against a fighter the caliber of Nick Thompson. I have Shields ranked as the #3 welterweight in the world in my rankings that I submit to WAMMA every month and last night he validated that high of a spot in the rankings. He may very well be the best fighter on EliteXC’s entire roster. When you make great competition look like child’s play, you’re not working with a level playing field. Shields doesn’t get a whole lot of play because he’s not in the one organization that really matters, the UFC, but he is without a doubt one of the top three or five welterweights in the world. It’s time to start giving the man his credit.

Nick Diaz did what he was supposed to do.

Thomas Denny was a game opponent but he was just overmatched by Diaz’s overall game. It’s dangerous to put Diaz on his back because of his jiu jitsu game but it’s also dangerous to stand with him because of his reach and his boxing skills. Denny is sort of a tailor made opponent for Diaz and Diaz took advantage of it. If you’re a Diaz fan you had to be a little worried by the way the fight started out but once things settled down and Diaz got into his zone, the fight was all but over. Denny was so gassed at the end of the first round that you almost knew when he came out for the second that the fight was all but over. Diaz did what he was supposed to do: win in his hometown, establish himself on national television, and now I’m sure we’ll see him taking on K.J. Noons in the near future for the EliteXC lightweight title. That could very well happen in October at the next CBS show.

Let’s see Cris Cyborg take on Gina Carano.

You want to talk about fireworks? That’s a fight that will produce them. What Mrs. Cyborg did to Shayna Baszler last night was very impressive. Baszler is more known for her grappling than her standup but she was never able to get Cris to the ground and keep it there. And while they were standing, Cyborg dominated with the relentless Chute Boxe style that we’ve seen time and time again from fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Maurico Rua, and her husband, Cyborg Santos. Baszler is, by far, one of the best women fighters in the land but she was unable to do much against the overwhelming style of Cris Cyborg, especially when Cyborg stuffed most of her takedown attempts. I know Kelly Kobold is being talked about as Carano’s next opponent, but after last night’s showing, it’s evident that a fight with Cris Cyborg would not only be exciting, but would be another great test for EliteXC’s golden girl.

Overall, I enjoyed the show quite a bit and have to give it a B+ rating. I thought getting rid of the dancing girls was a huge plus, the pacing of the show was much better than last time, and the fights were exciting and fast paced. A solid effort from CBS and EliteXC, but the real question will be how much of America actually watched it.