On Saturday night, the last thing Paul Daley wants to be doing is stare at the arena ceiling for much his fight against Tyron Woodley. In the past, he hasn't much say where the fight goes against a former college wrestler like Woodley. Daley and his wrestling Kenny Johnson say his Strikeforce bout this weekend will be different.
Johnson, a former Olympian who wrestled at Iowa, has increased his time spent with the British slugger.
"We started picking up the pace in the last few years and his wrestling has gone through the roof," Johnson said (3:50 mark). "He's really dedicated a lot of time and tried to become a mixed martial artist."
Fight fans' last memory of Daley against an elite former college wrestler was Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. Daley was taken down at will and smothered for 15 minutes. The Brit says forget that fight, Woodley isn't in Koscheck's league.
"He's not as big as Josh Koscheck. He is as athletic, but on the technical side, I don't think he can compete with Josh Koscheck," Daley told USA Today. "People are comparing this to that. People do forget in the Koscheck fight, there are takedowns that I stopped. I think that Josh Koscheck is a higher level than Tyron Woodley, so even if I'm able to stop two of his takedowns or stuff them or stall two of his takedowns back then, I think Tyron Woodley's going to have a very difficult time taking me down when I'm on form, when I'm 100%."
Daley (27-10-2) is fully dedicated to shoring up his weaknesses.
"He (Johnson) lives at my house. He eats with me. So if we're not training, we're talking about wrestling; we're looking at footage. So I think people are going to be very shocked, and I think that's an area where Tyron Woodley is underestimating me, and I think that's going to work in my benefit," said Daley.
The biggest question mark for Woodley (8-0) is his experience. He's never been in the cage with someone so seasoned.
"I'm much bigger. I'm much stronger than he thinks. I'm a lot more experienced than him. I don't think he realizes how that's going to play out in this fight," said Daley.
When talking about future opponents, Daley dropped an interesting nugget during this interview.
"There's a mystery guy. There's a mystery guy that's been signed by Strikeforce that Scott Coker's mentioned, and he said that the winner of this fight could possibly be fighting him immediately for the title. There's lots of speculation; I really have no clue, but I want to be back in a position of fighting for a title," said Daley.
Who could it be?
Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman
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