(Well, it’s the thought that counts, I guess.)
Showtime has confirmed that Marloes Coenen will defend her women’s welterweight (135 pounds) title against top contender Miesha Tate on the main card of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson, July 30th in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The two fighters were originally supposed to meet up at Strikeforce’s “Feijao vs. Henderson” event in March, but Tate withdrew due to a knee injury less than two weeks before the fight — an excuse that Coenen questioned during an interview on our own Bum Rush Radio Show. Coenen wound up defending her title against late-replacement Liz Carmouche, but it wasn’t easy.
Tate is currently on a five-fight win streak, but hasn’t competed since she out-pointed Maiju Kujala and Hitomi Akano during Strikeforce’s four-woman welterweight tournament back in August.
Strikeforce has also officially added Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal vs. Roger Gracie to the “Fedor vs. Henderson” main card; Rafael Cavalcante is expected to return against streaking prospect Ovince St. Preux, while Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos is slated to meet Belgian welterweight Tarec Saffiedine.