Gilbert Melendez
With the final Strikeforce event taking place this past weekend, the Ultimate Fighting Championship wasted little time in announcing two key matchups featuring a couple of the former promotions top fighters.
Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert ‘El Niño’ Melendez (21-2) will face UFC 155-lbs title holder Benson ‘Smooth’ Henderson (18-2) in an unofficial title unification bout as part of the main event for the Fox television event (unofficial as the UFC is not likely to book all of Strikeforce’s champs in title unification bouts with it’s champions).
While previously announced opponents, Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel ‘DC’ Cormier (11-0) and former UFC champ Frank Mir (16-6), are set to square off once more. Their first pairing was set for this past fall but an injury to Mir forced the two-time UFC champ off the card.
The official announcement was made today at UFC.com.
In the main event, UFC lightweight boss “Smooth” Benson Henderson will defend his belt for the third time when he takes on Strikeforce’s last 155-pound titlist, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez, in a clash of champions the entire MMA world has been waiting for.
Plus, Daniel Cormier, the Strikeforce Grand Prix heavyweight tournament winner, will return to action quickly after his win over Dion Staring last Saturday to battle two-time heavyweight champ Frank Mir in a long-anticipated showdown.
UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez (aka UFC on FOX 7) is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
Melendez was to have defended his title versus Pat Healy at the final Strikeforce event but a nagging shoulder injury kept him off the card. His last bout took place in May in a grudge match versus Josh Thomson with Melendez coming out on top via split decision. ‘El Niño’ has been involved in lightweight title matches with Strikeforce in nine straight matches.
Henderson earned a unanimous decision over Melendez’ teammate Nick Diaz last month in the main event of the UFC on FOX 5 event in Seattle. That was ‘Smooth’s’ second straight title defense after defeating Frankie Edgar by controversial split decision in their back-to-back fight last August. So far in the Octagon, Henderson remains undefeated at 6-0.
Cormier was in action this past weekend in Oklahoma City, fighting in the co-main event versus newcomer Dion Staring. ‘DC’ used his wrestling to nullify his opponents striking, ending things in the second round by TKO for his eleventh straight victory. Cormier won the GP tournament in May of last year by beating Josh Barnett by decision.
Mir enters the bout on a loss, losing to Junior dos Santos in a title match at UFC 146 last May by second round TKO. Mir had won three straight including the “2012 Submission of the Year” bout with Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140. At the December 2011 event, Mir would win by technical submission after breaking Nogueira’s right arm with a kimura.