A Strikeforce bout between middleweights Tim Kennedy (12-3) and Jason “Mayhem” Miller (24-7) looks set for both fighters to square off in a “grudge” match, with each man holding a win over the other. They are expected to meet on March 5th at the upcoming Strikeforce: Columbus event.
MMAjunkie.com confirmed the fight with a source close to one of the camps, noting that contracts are being finalized and that both men will likely co-headline the March event.
This will be their third meeting, but the first under Strikeforce. Their first fight took place in February 2003 at an Extreme Challenge tournament which saw Kennedy take the first bout by unanimous decision. They would meet again in December 2007 as part of a HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon show, but this time Miller would be declared the victor earning the judges decision.
Now both men will meet again on March 5 as part of the Strikeforce: Columbus event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Headlining the event should be a Strikeforce light heavyweight title bout between champ Rafael Cavalcante and challenger Dan Henderson.
Kennedy has not fought since losing a unanimous decision to Ronaldo Souza for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title. The fighter has noted recently that he’s been unable to find a suitable opponent to face him in the cage. Before the loss he had been on a four fight win streak, fighting three times under Strikeforce earning wins over Trevor Prangley, Zak Cummings, and Nick Thompson.
Miller had been trying to get Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz into the cage for a fight but things could not be worked out between the two, so for now any chance of the two meeting is unlikely. “Mayhem” last fought in September as part of the DREAM.16 event against Kazushi Sakuraba, a fight he won by submitting the Japanese icon in the first round. His last match under Strikeforce was against Tim Stout at the Strikeforce: Nashville show in April, earning a win by TKO.