Tag: Strike Force

Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo ‘Jacaré’ Souza (14-2) appears set to defend his title this September when he faces American Kickboxing Academy fighter Luke Rockhold (7-1) at an upcoming Strikeforce event.

MMAWeekly.com confirmed with sources close to the fight on Sunday that the bout would take place on Sept. 10, and not the July 30 Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event. News of a No. 1 lightweight contender bout between Josh Thomson and Maximo Blanco was the first bout unofficially announced for the event a few days ago.

‘Jacaré’ Souza has been waiting impatiently for his next opponent after defending his title for the first time last January. The middleweight champ submitted Robbie Lawler at the Diaz vs. Daley event by sinking in a rear-naked choke in the third round of their bout in San Jose. That win was Souza’s fourth in a row, with a record of 4 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no-contest in his last six fights.

Souza posted this comment on Twitter (@JacareMMA) “willing to put my gi, thinking seriously about going back to jiu-jitsu,” a few days ago. Now the Brazilian has something else to look forward to other than putting his gi back on.

Rockhold has won six straight bouts, all of them under the Strikeforce banner beginning with his promotional debut back in February of 2008. The AKA fighter had been expected to meet Tim Kennedy last March at the Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson but was replaced by Melvin Manhoef after suffering an injury to his left leg during training. Rockhold’s last fight was over a year ago against Paul Bradley at a Strikeforce Challengers event in San Jose in February 2010. All of Rockhold’s wins have come in the first round, either by TKO (twice) or by submission (five).

Showtime officials added two more bouts to the upcoming Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event by posting the additions on Showtime’s official event page. Bouts include a Strikeforce women’s welterweight title fight between champion Marloes Coenen (19-4) vs. Miesha Tate (11-2), and a light heavyweight bout featuring former title holder Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal vs. Roger Gracie (4-0).

Strikeforce / M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson is expected to take place on July 30, 2011 at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The main card is set to air on Showtime across the U.S.

Coenen will defend her Women’s Welterweight (135 lb) title for the second time when she meets Tate at the end of July. Both women had been scheduled to fight in March at the Strikeforce: Columbus event, but Tate was forced to pull out because of a knee injury and was replaced by Liz Carmouche. Carmouche proved to be a tough opponent taking the fight to Coenen, but was caught in the fourth round by the champ who used a triangle choke to make her first title defense.

Tate is currently riding a five fight win streak, which includes winning the Strikeforce Women’s Welterweight Tournament, a one night four competitor tournament. Tate earned decisions over Maiju Kujala in the semifinal, then over Hitomi Akano in the final to earn the No. 1 contender spot last August at a Strikeforce Challengers event. This fight against Coenen will be her first bout of 2011.

News of the matchup between Lawal and Gracie has already surfaced, but is now official as ‘King Mo’ steps back into the cage after almost a year.

Lawal lost the Strikeforce 205lb title last August after Rafael Cavalcante stopped him with a third round TKO at the Strikeforce: Houston event. That was ‘King Mo’s’s first official defeat ending a seven fight win streak. Lawal has not fought since then opting to undergo knee surgery to repair a nagging injury.

Lawal represents Gracie’s toughest opponent so far in mixed martial arts. The former ADCC submission champ is 4-0 having won in 2011 by submitting Shark Fights champ Trevor Prangley last January at the Diaz vs. Cyborg event. Gracie will make his third appearance in a Strikeforce cage and will fight twice in one year for the first time in his career.

Lightweight fighter Maximo Blanco (8-2-1, 1NC) will reportedly make his North American debut under the Strikeforce banner this fall when he meets Josh “The Punk” Thomson (18-4, 1NC) at a previously unannounced Strikeforce 36 event.

MMAWeekly.com broke the news on Wednesday after learning of the bout from sources close to the fight. The website noted that contracts have been signed by both fighters, with the match taking place on Sept. 10 at an unknown venue. This is the first bout to have surfaced concerning this particular Strikeforce event.

Blanco recently signed with the Strikeforce promotion and told MMAWeekly.com that “I would like to fight Josh Thomson” for his first fight on North American soil. The former Sengoku fighter has won six straight fights and last competed on Dec. 30 at the WVR Presents: Soul of Fight event in Japan. The Venezuelan earned a unanimous decision over Won Sik Park at the event, marking the first time in eight victories that Blanco did not win by (T)KO.

Thomson, a former Strikeforce lightweight champion, enters the fight on a loss after losing a unanimous decision to Japanese fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri at the Dynamite!! 2010 event on New Years Eve. ‘The Punk’ injured his hand in that loss and has had to sit on the sidelines recovering. Previous to the loss, Thomson earned a unanimous decision over Gesias Cavalcante in October, and a submission win against Pat Healy in June. Both bouts were under the Strikeforce banner and were his first two wins after losing the lightweight title to Gilbert Melendez in December of 2009.