Rockhold retains the Strikeforce middleweigh title (Photos by Esther Lin/Forza LLC/Getty Images via Forza LLC)
A middleweight title fight has been added to the recently announced Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir event between reigning champion Luke Rockhold (10-1) and undefeated fighter Lorenz ‘The Monsoon’ Larkin (13-0, 1NC).
MMAWeekly.com broke the news on Tuesday, noting that verbal agreements were in place between the two fighters.
The title bout joins the just announced heavyweight main event between Strikeforce GP Champion Daniel Cormier and former UFC champ Frank Mir.
Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir is expected to take place on November 3, 2012 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The main card will air on SHOWTIME while the prelim card will air live on SHOWTIME Extreme.
Rockhold will attempt to defend his title for a third straight time, as well as competing inside the Strikeforce cage for a ten consecutive matches. The middleweight champ won a unanimous decision this past July by defeating Tim Kennedy in the main event of the Portland, Oregon event. Rockhold beat Ronaldo Souza for the title a year ago by decision to claim the 185-lbs strap.
Larkin recently dropped to middleweight in his last, which also took place at the same July event, winning a unanimous decision against Robbie Lawler. The change in weight-divisions comes after a “No Contest” result versus former light heavyweight champ Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal after a knockout result was overturned following a positive steroid test. Competing in the Strikeforce cage, Larkins is 4-0 (1NC).