Gilbert Melendez vs Josh Thomson – photo via Showtime Sports
With only a shallow pool of lightweights to choose from, Strikeforce is going to the well for a third time announcing a grudge match between lightweight champion Gilbert ‘El Niño’ Melendez (20-2) and top contender Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson (19-4, 1NC) for this May’s upcoming San Jose event.
The announcement was made Monday night in a release confirming the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final for the event.
Strikeforce 40 will take place on May 19, 2012 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The main card will air on SHOWTIME at 10pm EST/PST (delayed on the West Coast). Tickets for the event go on sale this Friday (April 6) at 10am PST.
This is the third match between the two fighters, with each man earning a victory over the other. Both fights would go the distance, with Thomson winning the first fight in June 2008 by unanimous decision to unify the Strikeforce lightweight title. A year-and-a-half later, Melendez would challenge for the title in December 2009 at the Strikeforce: Evolution show, winning that bout by unanimous decision.
Melendez will defend the unified title for a fourth straight time and is currently riding a six fight win streak, which includes capturing the interim lightweight title back in April 2009. ‘El Niño’ defended his title last December, defeating Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision.
Thomson fought just last month at the Tate vs. Rousey event, defeating KJ Noons by decision. The victory put him back into the win column after a loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri in December 2010 via unanimous decision. For ‘The Punk’ his record over his last four is 3-1 but is 3-2 over his last five, which includes the loss to Melendez.