Paul Daley has had a rough year. “Semtex” started off the year with a big push towards the UFC Welterweight title, and quickly became a fan favorite, but after the infamous sucker punch following three rounds of action with Josh Koscheck, Daley found himself out of not just contention, but of the company entirely. Daley has now found himself back in Strikeforce, after being away for two years, looking for redemption against Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith on December 4. I spoke with the explosive brit via email to get his thoughts on his upcoming fight, what life is like months after the Koscheck incident, and what else is happening in the life of “Semtex”.

Fight Nerd: You are returning to Strikeforce on December 4 against hard-hitter and hard-headed Scott Smith, how are you getting ready for this fight?

Paul Daley: …..Erghhh Training?????…..lol! No seriously, we just started where we left off from my last fight. I’m improving all round, Striking, Wrestling, BJJ, Mind Sciences and Saki Jutsu.

Fight Nerd: Smith’s last two fights were against Cung Le, did you learn anything about him from those two bouts?

Paul Daley: He can take a lot of punishment, and he never quits, you gotta KO him out COLD, or stop him via submission.

Fight Nerd: At your last fight in Shark Fights against Jorge Masvidal, you had a bit of trouble making weight and had to give up some of your purse. What do you attribute to that problem and will it happen again at this fight?

Paul Daley: I arrived the Wednesday of the fight cause my visa was delayed. So my weight cutting schedule was thrown off because of the flying.

Fight Nerd: Were you happy with your performance in this fight?
Hit the jump for the rest of this interview!

Paul Daley: I won the fight, so yes.

Fight Nerd: Just about everyone in the MMA world remembers what happened after your fight with Josh Koscheck in May. Months later, does this still hang over you or have you (and the MMA world) moved on?

Paul Daley: I moved on, once the apology was out. I have fought twice since the Koscheck fight, business don’t stop for me, I have to keep moving forward.

Fight Nerd: Koscheck was fighting for what could have been your spot against Georges St Pierre for the welterweight title, how do you think Josh will do against GSP?

Paul Daley: Ok, but I think GSP will win, via a TKO stoppage or submission.

Fight Nerd: How would a fight with you and GSP go down?

Paul Daley: He ain’t on my radar now, so my focus is Scott Smith, and the current champion Nick Diaz……if the SF bosses want me to take him on next.

Fight Nerd: How serious do you think Dana White was when he said you would not be welcome back in the UFC?

Paul Daley: Only time will tell.

Fight Nerd: How would you compare your treatment with the UFC compared to other companies like Strikeforce (such as taking care of expenses, medical bills, things like that)?

Paul Daley: The UFC have great people behind the scenes, they were awesome, but I have found this with most promotions, it’s those behind the scenes, that are often taking care of you and are the unsung heroes of the promotion.

Fight Nerd: Aside from fighting, I hear you are a video game fan. Tell us your thoughts on the new EA Sports MMA video game and if you have played it yet?

Paul Daley: I am not officially in the game, the character that I’ve seen in the game is not an official one and was created by a user/fan/game player. But here’s some trivia, I was the 1st fighter up on fighter share……..even before Anderson Silva or other top names……….at least that’s what I’ve been told, which was nice to know. I have not played it yet, but I look forward to playing it, my copy is in the post. I have a PS3, and a PSP, I like gaming, good R n R……….I look forward to taking some of the fans on online!

Fight Nerd: Last question – 2010 was an interesting year for Paul Daley. Looking back on it since UFC 108, was this a good year for you? What will 2011 hold for Semtex?

Paul Daley: I will be Strikeforce Welterweight Champion in 2011. I’ve opened a dojo here in the UK this year, I’m continuing to develop my brand and businesses and I’ve bought another house. Like most years, 2010 had its ups and downs, that’s how it goes.

After months of teasing, EA Sports MMA (also known as the alternative to that UFC Undisputed game that is not selling too well) announced the official roster for the heavyweights and light heavyweights in their upcoming title on their blog. We already knew a majority of the fighters in the game, but it is nice to finally confirm them. So, as Big John McCarthy would say, let’s get it on!

HW Roster (pictured above): Bobby Lashley, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Hidehiko Yoshida, Andrei Arlovski, “King Mo” Lawal, Jeff Monson, Ken Shamrock, Kevin Randleman, Brett Rogers, Bob Sapp, Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, Andreas Kraniotakes.

LHW Roster: Ken Shamrock, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Bas Rutten, Randy Couture, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Gegard Mousasi, Frank Shamrock, Vladimir Matyushenko, “King Mo” Lawal, Scott Smith, Roger Gracie, Melvin Manhoef, “Ninja” Rua, Matt Lindland, Kevin Randleman, Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem.

For those wondering about in-store exclusive characters, Big John McCarthy, Herschel Walker, and “Classic” Frank Shamrock will be bonus downloadable characters in the video game if you pre-order your game with either Walmart, BestBuy, or GameStop stores respectively. More fighters will be announced next week. Any fighters you wanted to see in the game that EA missed?

Over at the EA Sports Season Opener event in San Francisco last night, EA showed off some of their new sports games. One of the games just happened to be EA Sports MMA and with it, comes new screen shots!

The pics include images of Nick Diaz, Cung Le, Scott Smith, Bobby Lashley and Fedor, among others. We also get to see a few of the new venues, including a Brazilian cage and a Japanese looking ring.

EA Sports MMA will be out sometime this year, probably fourth quarter, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Info Via Destructoid.com

Check out a TON more pics after the jump!

Today, EA MMA made several additions to its fight roster for the video game set for a Fall release in 2010. The new fighters added to the list are:

Cung Le
Scott Smith
Matt Lindland
Gilbert Melendez
Robbie Lawler
Josh Thomson
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Previously announced for the game include Nick Thompson, Frank Shamrock, Jake Shields, King Mo, Renato Sobral, Gegard Mousasi, Jason Miller, Jay Hieron, Brett Rogers, Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianeko. If you want to stay up to date on the game, head to http://mma.easports.com/home.action. So are you more enticed to buy this game than before or still on the fence?

The Fight Nerd reviews a hidden gem in MMA documentaries, a film by Tamera Sturgis called “Under Pressure” Diary of a Cagefighters Wife”. This film shows the unique perspective of a wife of a fighter in training and gives us a different look at MMA than the usual documentary, yet has seemingly gone unnoticed by the MMA community. If you want to pick up a copy of this bad boy you can head to www.mycagefighter.com or amazon.com at the link below.