A hard-hitting welterweight bout between Paul “Semtex” Daley and Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce: St. Louis event on December 4th. The fight, which was officially announced today, joins a light heavyweight rematch between Dan “Hendo” Henderson and Renato “Babalu” Sobral on the televised main card.

Smith was initially expected to face local standout Jesse Finney on the St. Louis card, but will instead take on Daley, who recently inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. Daley has won six of his last seven fights.

Daley (25-9-2) seemed well on his way to UFC title contention until a mental lapse following his bout with Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. Daley struck Koscheck well after the bell, prompting UFC President Dana White to release Daley from the promotion; vowing that he would never return. Daley has since kept busy with bouts for Impact FC and Shark Fights, earning a third-round submission over Daniel Acacio and a close, disputed decision over fellow recent Strikeforce signee Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal. Eighteen of Daley’s wins have come by knockout and he will face a striker with similar knockout power in December when he battles Smith in Smith’s Strikeforce welterweight debut.

Smith (17-7-0, 1 NC), a former WEC and Gladiator Challenge champion, challenged for the EliteXC Middleweight Championship on two occasions, but was unable to capture the promotion’s title before its collapse. He made his Strikeforce debut in November of 2008 and quickly lived up to his moniker with a pair of knockout victories. Despite a setback against current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, Smith battled back and earned the biggest win of his career when he shockingly knocked out Cung Le last December. After losing to Le in a June rematch, Smith will now look to find success at 170 pounds. Smith has only gone the distance one time and holds 14 knockout wins.

Previously announced for the Strikeforce event in St. Louis was a light heavyweight rematch between former PRIDE Middleweight and Welterweight Champion Dan “Hendo” Henderson (25-8-0) and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8-0). Henderson edged Sobral via Majority Decision when they first squared off nearly 11 years ago. Elsewhere, heavyweight contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva faces Valentijn “The Python” Overeem, while Herschel Walker competes against an opponent to be determined.

Strikeforce St. Louis: “Henderson vs Babalu” takes place on December 4th at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The event will air live on Showtime and Super Channel.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)