(Unlicensed plastic surgery: It rarely works out the way you want it to.)
As we mentioned yesterday, Strikeforce is clinging on to life despite the fact that their biggest stars have either been poached or are on hiatus from fighting, and their championship belts now have less legitimacy than that chick’s doo-doo back tattoo. So how sketchy have things gotten over there? This sketchy:
Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is slated to defend his belt against former UFC veteran Keith Jardine on Jan. 7, MMA Fighting has confirmed with sources close to the fight. The title fight is expected to headline the organization’s first event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino…Rockhold was expected to meet Tim Kennedy in his first title defense, but according to sources, Kennedy couldn’t commit to the fight due to an undisclosed injury.
Keep in mind that Jardine is 0-0 as a middleweight, and 0-0-1 under the Strikeforce banner, with his only SF appearance resulting in an ugly (and sort of undeserved) draw against Gegard Mousasi. And yet he’s the best available contender to Luke Rockhold’s belt? Considering who Strikeforce still has left on their middleweight roster, he very well might be — but it’s still the kind of matchup that makes a strong argument for non-title fights.
I hate to see the once-proud Strikeforce promotion limping along like this. It’s time to take Lenny out to the woods, so to speak.