Strikeforce has decided to pass on using a tournament to settle their new middleweight champion after releasing their former champ, Jake Shields.
Squaring off will be rising Strikeforce star Tim Kennedy (12-2) and Brazilian Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (12-2).
The promotion made the bout official on Friday to Sherdog.com, who confirmed the fight will take place at the “Strikeforce: Houston” event on Aug. 21 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. A second title will be on the line at the August event, with light-heavyweight champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal taking on Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.
Kennedy, a former member of the US Special Forces, has risen quickly through the Strikeforce ranks by winning all three of his bouts under their banner. He recently defeated Trevor Prangley last month at the “Strikeforce: Los Angeles” event, marking his first appearance on one of the promotions main televised show instead of their Strikeforce Challenger series.
“Jacare” Souza earned a unanimous decision victory over Joey Villaseñor in May’s “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” event, matching Kennedy’s record of 12-2. The Brazilian submitted Matt Lindland in his only other Strikeforce appearance in December at the “Strikeforce: Evolution” event. He’s had notable bouts against Jason Miller and Gegard Mousasi under the DREAM banner.
Strikeforce had been talking about holding an eight man tournament to decide it’s next middleweight champion so the recent announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. This probably means the promotion failed to find eight middleweight fighters willing to face-off for the belt, which may be an ill-omen for Strikeforce’s future.
All bouts rumored for the Aug. 21 event:
Light-heavyweight title bout: Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (for light-heavyweight title)
Middleweight title bout: Tim Kennedy vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (for vacant middleweight title)
Lightweight bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. K.J. Noons
Heavyweight bout: Bobby Lashley vs. TBA