Daley looking forward to fight Smith

Strikeforce star Paul Daley is looking forward to making his debut for the promotion against Scott Smith next weekend.

Daley joined Strikeforce after being released from the UFC following his post-fight suckerpunch of Josh Koscheck.

“I’m happy to be competing with such a great promotion, and I’m thankful they gave me such a big fight to start with,” Daley said.

“I normally rise to the big occasion, and Scott Smith is a big deal, so I’m looking forward to the fight.”

“I’m happy to be with Strikeforce,” Daley told MMAjunkie.com. “I was approached by a few promotions after the incident. Strikeforce is a great promotion. I had fought there before with EliteXC, so I knew it was a professional outfit, and they knew how to conduct themselves professionally.

“There are great fighters here. They seem to be putting on awesome shows. The matchmaking is great, and I just want to be part of an exciting promotion.”

Daley faces strong opponent in Smith, who has managed 14 career knockouts.

“Scott is one of the guys that I used to watch back in the day,” Daley said. “He’s game all the time. He comes out, and he fights. He’s got that attitude that I admire. You know when he’s going to be in a fight, it’s going to be an exciting fight. The dude knocks people out.

“He’s a man after my own heart. He likes to go in there and leave people lying on the floor receiving oxygen. It’s going to be a great fight. I’ve trained really hard for the fight, and I’m expecting to be a short but exciting fight.”