Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsAhead of his middleweight title shot next month, middleweight Robbie Lawler has signed a contract extension with Strikeforce.
The promotion announced the news Wednesday, just a day after announcing it had also resigned i…
Ahead of his middleweight title shot next month, middleweight Robbie Lawler has signed a contract extension with Strikeforce.
The promotion announced the news Wednesday, just a day after announcing it had also resigned its welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, to a new deal.
Sources close to Lawler’s camp told MMA Fighting on Wednesday night that Lawler’s deal has been in the works for several months, with many of the terms being worked out over the last couple of weeks.
Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsLast month, MMA Fighting first reported that Strikeforce had hoped for a one-night middleweight title tournament to be held at its Aug. 21 card in Houston, but the Texas commission’s rules put a stop to that plan.
Last month, MMA Fighting first reported that Strikeforce had hoped for a one-night middleweight title tournament to be held at its Aug. 21 card in Houston, but the Texas commission’s rules put a stop to that plan.
Instead, the promotion set a middleweight title fight for the same night between Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to crown a champion in the division after Jake Shields vacated the belt by leaving for the UFC.
But Monday on The MMA Hour, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said the promotion will go through with a middleweight tournament after all – though whether it will be a one-night, four-man tourney or a two-event, eight-man bracket has not yet been decided.
“That is the plan, but it hasn’t been finalized,” Coker told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “(The four-man vs. eight-man) is the part that has not been finalized because we have so many good fighters at 185 that we’ve been getting a lot of requests from our guys.”
Ahead of his middleweight title shot next month, middleweight Robbie Lawler has signed a contract extension with Strikeforce. 
Last month,