On Thursday, Strikeforce officially announced it’s January 7th event, Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine for Las Vegas naming a middleweight title fight between champ Luke Rockhold (8-1) and challenger, ‘The Dean of Mean’ Keith Jardine (16-10-2) to the main event.
Also added were a trio of bouts including a middleweight title between ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler (18-8) vs. Russian fighter Adlan Amagov (9-1-1), a light heavyweight bout featuring former Strikeforce champ Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal (8-1) vs. undefeated Lorenz ‘The Monsoon’ Larkin (10-0), and a welterweight tilt between Tarec ‘Sponge’ Saffiedine (11-3) vs. Tyler ‘The Evolution’ Stinson (22-7).
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine will go down next month on January 7th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lawler is just 1-3 in his last four, having dropped his last two bouts. The most recent defeat came at the hands of Tim Kennedy last July by unanimous decision, while the other was to Ronaldo Souza last January by third round rear-naked choke submission for the Strikeforce middleweight title. His last win was against Matt Lindland one year ago at Strikeforce: St. Louis, and that was by first round KO.
Amagov steps up in competition by facing Lawler and will pit his ten-fight undefeated streak on the line against the one-punch knockout artist. The Russian fighter has six knockouts of his own, with two wins under his belt in the Strikeforce cage. He recently stopped Anthony Smith by knockout at last months Strikeforce Challengers 20 show.
Lawal bounced back from his first career loss by KOing Roger Gracie last September at the Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov show. ‘King Mo’ had been off a year since losing the Strikeforce title to Rafael Cavalcante in August 2010. Lawal was out of the cage for the extended time for knee surgery.
Larkin is undefeated so far in his two-year career, having stopped eight opponents by (T)KO and four by decision. ‘The Monsoon’ won his most recent victory last September by defeating Nick Rossborough by decision at the Strikeforce Challengers 19 show. The bout versus Lawal will be his first on a main Strikeforce card.
Saffiedine is 4-1 in his last five matches, with his most recent win coming against Scott Smith last July by decision at the Fedor vs. Henderson event. The Belgian fighter was beaten by Tyron Woodley previous to that win, losing by decision at a previous Challenger show.
Stinson makes his second appearance on a Strikeforce card, having earned a knockout victory in his debut last Summer. ‘The Evolution’ stopped Eduardo Pamplona at the Fedor vs. Henderson show in just 15-seconds. Stinson had previously made three appearances with Bellator, going 3-1.