The main event of Strikeforce in San Diego on April 9, 2011, featured a welterweight title bout between reigning  champion Nick Diaz and incumbent challenger Paul Daley.

Both fighters elected to forgo talking trash leading up to the bout, aside from a minor dust-up at the weigh-ins. They instead chose to save it for the cage.

Did they ever.

Diaz opened the bout with his hands low and talking his trademark trash. Daley stayed patient but when he came in, he came in strong. He landed a big left that looked to hurt the Stockton native but the champion answered back with big shots of his own.

Both fighters were dropped but in the end, Diaz landed harder and more often and knocked Daley out in the first round.

This fight was an absolute war from bell to bell. Both fighters did what they promised to do and exchanged big punches.

Diaz, he of the typically iron chin, was dropped early but stayed with it and made the big comeback.

During another exchange against the cage, both fighters landed dynamite punches but it was Daley that couldn't get his legs underneath him, chicken dancing his way to the mat, where Diaz swarmed and finished the job.

Whew.

The crowd chanted for the champion when it was over and the first major Strikeforce event under the Zuffa banner ended as a resounding success.

Whoever said it was a bad thing?