Filed under: Strikeforce, News
When Strikeforce attempted to put on a middleweight title tournament in Houston to fill the belt vacated by Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler figured he was only one night and two wins away from having a piece of hardware again.
But because of commission rules, the one-night tourney couldn’t take place, and instead Strikeforce put the 185-pound strap around the waist of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in August when he beat Tim Kennedy.
Though Lawler told MMA Fighting last month before his fight with Matt Lindland that his lack of opportunities with Strikeforce following the collapse of EliteXC, where he was middleweight champion, was frustrating, he said when it comes to the middleweight title picture, he thinks of himself as “just one of the guys.”
He doesn’t have to worry about that distinction anymore. After a 50-second knockout of Matt Lindland in St. Louis earlier this month, sources close to Lawler’s camp confirmed to MMA Fighting that Lawler will get a shot at Souza’s middleweight title. And on Saturday, a source close to Strikeforce confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Saturday that the bout will take place on the promotion’s Jan. 29 card at the HP Pavilion in its home base of San Jose, Calif.