SAN DIEGO — “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley“ takes place this evening at Valley View Casino Resort in San Diego, Calif. The event is headlined with two title fights, Nick Diaz defending his 170-pound strap against Paul Daley and Gilbert Melendez defending his 155-pound title against Tatsuya Kawajiri.

“Diaz vs. Daley” will air LIVE on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. ET/PT and ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) will provide LIVE results and play-by-play commentary throughout the evening.

While you are waiting for the festivities to start, check out our ProMMAnow.com “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley” staff picks to get our thoughts and predictions on each of the main card bouts and see if you agree with our assessments.

“Daley vs. Diaz” quick results:

MAIN CARD (Televised on Showtime)

• Nick Diaz def. Paul Daley by TKO (punches) Rd 1 (4:57)
• Gilbert Melendez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (3:14)
• Keith Jardine and Gegard Mousasi fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28 ) Rd 3 (5:00)
• Shinya Aoki def. Lyle Beerbohm by submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1 (1:33)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Not Televised)

• Robert Peralta def. HiroyukiTakaya by split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29) Rd 3 (5:00)
• Virgil Zwicker def. Brett Albee by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (1:46)
• Joe Duarte def. Saad Awad by submission (armbar) Rd 2 (2:45)
• A.J. Matthews def. Herman Terrado by TKO (punch) Rd 1 (4:16)
• Rolando Perez def. Edgar Cardenas by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Rd 3 (5:00)
• Casey Ryan def. Paul Song by submission (triangle choke) Rd 1 (1:39)

“Daley vs. Diaz” play-by-play:

155 lbs. Shinya Aoki vs. Lyle Beerbohm

Round 1 – Big John is the ref. Body kick from Aoki. Beerbohm shoots and clinches, knee to the thigh, pushes Aoki to the cage. Aoki gets the takedown and is on top position. Aoki takes his back with one hook in. Aoki puts a rear naked choke on, it’s not under the chin though, it’s a neck crank and Aoki has a figure four body lock at the same time, the “unsubmittable” Beerbohm taps out. This is Aoki’s first win in Strikeforce and in the U.S.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Shinya Aoki def. Lyle Beerbohm by submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1 (1:33)

The camera pans to UFC President Dana White who is in attendance, wearing a Strikeforce shirt. Lorenzo Fertitta is there too. WOW!!

205 lbs. Keith Jardine vs. Gegard Mousasi

Round 1 – Jardine pumps a jab. Misses a leg kick. Misses a big right. Leg kick from Mousasi and Jardine gets a takedown but Mousasi bounces right up. Jardine pumping a jab. Body kick from Jardine. With Dana and Lorenzo in attendance this is a big fight for Jardine. Leg kick from Jardine. Mousasi clinches, knees from both. Leg kick from Jardine. He shoots, gets a single, against the cage, Mousasi with elbows but gets put down. Jardine trying to control him and flatten him out. Mousasi gets to his knees. Jardine with another takedown and puts him flat on his back. Jardine stands and Mousasi gets up. Nice counter right lands and backs Jardine up. Mousasi with a big combo that rocks Jardine, he looks tired. Mousasi with a big uppercut and Jardine gets another takedown. Mousasi with an up-kick – that’s illegal and time is called. By the way Mike Beltran is the ref, he has the world’s biggest mustache, definitely the referee with the biggest mustache. Ref takes away one point as the crowd boos. Jardine swings. Leg kick. Mousasi stalking, lands a couple shots. Knee from Jardine may have just cut Mousasi. Big leg kick from Mousasi, again. Jardine with a big leg kick. ProMMAnow.com scores the round 10-8 for Jardine (due to point deduction).

Round 2 -Leg kick from Jardine. Again. Right hand from Mousasi. Jardine shoots, stuffed. Big leg kick from Mousasi and Jardine fires one back. Leg kick from Mousasi. Mousasi swings big and Jardine slips them. Body kick smacks from Mousasi. Jardine on the hunt, stalking. Right hand from Jardine scores. Leg kick from Mousasi. Left jab from Jardine. Big inside leg kick from Mousasi and Jardine lands a big leg kick. Jardine bleeding from his face pretty bad. Big leg kick from Mousasi. Jardine with a shot, stuffed. Left hand counters from Mousasi. Jardine with a double leg and gets Mousasi on his back. Mousasi pushes Jardine back and gets up. Mousasi stalking. Left jab from Mousasi. Body kick. Body shot and a right from Mousasi rock Jardine, he shoots on Mousasi. Jardine gets the takedown. Mousasi landing shots from the bottom. Mousasi gets to his feet. Misses a punch as Jardine slips it. Nice left from Mousasi. ProMMAnow.com scores the round 10-9 for Mousasi.

Round 3 – Jardine took this fight on very short notice and is breathing very heavy. Mousasi swings and misses, lands a knee then a low blow kick and time is called. Mousasi counters a combo but nothing lands much. Jardine with a leg kick. He shoots, clinched, elbows from Mousasi. Jardine backs out. Mousasi shoots, locks on a guillotine and Jardine pops out. Clinch, Mousasi puts a tired Jardine on his back. Elbows from Mousasi in half guard. Mousasi gets full mount, lands some lefts, Jardine uses the cage to push off and get up. Mousasi lands a combo and Jardine fires back. Mousasi loses his mouth piece and time is called while they wash it off. Jardine’s face is very bloody. Nice right from Mousasi as he stalks. Jardine’s back to the cage. Mousasi with a takedown and Jardine looking for a kimura. Mousasi on top in half guard landing some short punches. Jardine sits up and Mousasi puts him back down, repeat. Ten seconds to go. Jardine throws up an armbar and lets it go before the bell. ProMMAnow.com scores the round 10-9 for Mousasi and scores the fight a draw 28-28.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Keith Jardine and Gegard Mousasi fight to a majority draw (29-27 for Mousasi, 28-28, 28-28 )

Title 155 lbs. Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Round 1 – Cecil Peoples is the ref. Haven’t seen him in a Zuffa fight in awhile. Body kick from Kawajiri. Right hand dropos Kawajiri. He gets up and Melendez lands about three knees from the clinch. He dumps Kawajiri, lands two body blows. Head kick from Kawajiri lands. Melendez goes ballistic and has Kawajiri hurt with pinpoint punches, Kawajiri goes down and Melendez has his back. Kawajiri gets to his feet. Dana White just outside the cage. Body shots and uppercuts from Melendez. Melendez putting on a show for the UFC President. Elbow and nice punches from Melendez. Right hand from Kawajiri. They square up. Melendez slips a punch and lands a solid right. Kawajiri shoots, stuffed, and Melendez lands some bomb elbows and it’s all over folks. The crowd erupts for the lightweight champ’s victory. Melendez glad to have elbows in Strikeforce!!

OFFICIAL RESULT: Gilbert Melendez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO (strikes) Rd 1 (3:14)

NOTES: Melendez says it’s time we unify some titles. Says he wants the UFC belt. The crowd loves it. Jake Shields comes in to talk about his upcoming fight with GSP – he gets booed.

Title 170 lbs. Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley

Round 1 – I wonder how Paul Daley is going to feel with Dana White sitting cageside? There’s a sign in the crowd that reads “Nick Baked Diaz”. This is going to be a fun fight folks. Strap in. Big John is the ref. Diaz talking smack at the stare down. Get ready for some violence. Diaz puts up his hands. Daley with a big leg kick. Diaz puts out his chin. Starts punching. Daley with a big left and Diaz shoots. Daley just kicked him in the shoulder. Diaz is back up seems okay. Daley clinches. Backs up. Leg kick from Diaz. Diaz stalking. Lands some shots. Daley clinches, body shot from Diaz. Daley looking for knees. Big punches from Diaz to the body and head. Daley  hurt and shoots. Diaz going for the choke and ends up on his back with Daley in his guard. Diaz grabs a foot and gets to his feet. Daley with a one two that rocks Daley. Daley fires back and catches Diaz. They clinch. Body punch and knee from Diaz. Elbows from Diaz and Daley fires back. Knee from Daley. Daley swings for the fences and Diaz slips it. Daley drops Diaz with a huge left hook. He recovers. Daley postures up and dives in with shots. Diaz controls his wrists. Daley stands up and Diaz butt scoots. Diaz is up. They square up. Big body shot and a couple shots from Diaz. Daley falls to the mat and Diaz gets over him with less than ten seconds and pounds him out. Daley appeared okay but fell down on what appeared to be a delayed response to a body shot. Daley thought he was okay tried to take a step forward and stumbled to the ground. Diaz followed up, attacked and finished it off until Big John stopped it. ROUND AND FIGHT OF THE YEAR!! No question.

NOTES: That is without a doubt one of the very best rounds of action I have ever seen in my life. It may be THE best. With Dana White sitting cageside, it’s going to be very interesting to hear his thoughts and what he wants to do with Diaz. This guy is a super star and just one of the most exciting fighters ever. Also, if you still haven’t realized that Nick Diaz has some of the best boxing in the sport, you need to realize!

OFFICIAL RESULT: Nick Diaz def. Paul Daley by TKO (punches) Rd 1 (4:57)