Diaz vs Smith Set For June 6th

by Robert Sargent

Immediately returning to action after scoring wins on April 11th, Strikeforce standouts Nick Diaz and Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith will battle each other on the upcoming June 6th Strikeforce card on Showtime, in what is sure to be an all-out war.

The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 180 pounds, as Diaz, a former welterweight who has competed at the lightweight level, continues his slow climb to 185.

The fight will be part of the Strikeforce: "Lawler vs Shields" card, which airs live on Showtime on June 6th.

Both Diaz and Smith are coming off of victories at Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs Diaz" on April 11th, though their wins came in vastly different fashions.

Diaz (19-7-0, 1 ND) dominated MMA legend Frank Shamrock for just shy of nine minutes before finishing him with a body shot and a series of punches on the ground. Smith (16-5-0, 1 NC), on the other hand, pulled off another miraculous come-from-behind victory when he knocked out Benji "Razor" Radach with a punch late in round three. Smith had been thoroughly destroyed - and twice nearly knocked out - for the entire duration of the bout.

The fight could potentially determine a #1 contender to the winner of the night's main event between former EliteXC champions "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, though it should be noted that Diaz and Shields train together, and Lawler and Smith already twice faced each other in EliteXC. A rematch between Lawler and Diaz, from their first meeting at UFC 47 in 2004 when Diaz knocked Lawler out, would be most interesting.


Strikeforce: "Lawler vs Shields" takes place on June 6th.