Rockhold vs Larkin; Marquardt vs Saffiedine, melendez and cormier...on January Strikeforce Card...

Two title fights are likely landing on the promised “stacked” Strikeforce show in January, and it appears both the middleweight and welterweight titles will be defended.

An injury originally forced Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold off the planned Nov 3 card, but following a slew of other fighters falling out as well the entire card was scrapped.

Now Rockhold and his original opponent Lorenz Larkin are headed for the January Strikeforce card instead.

In addition to the Rockhold vs. Larkin fight, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate Marquardt will make the first defense of his title against Tarec Saffiedine.

Sources close to the contest confirmed the fight to MMAWeekly.com with verbal agreements in place. MMAFighting.com first reported the Marquardt match-up on Thursday.

Marquardt won the Strikeforce belt earlier this year with an emphatic knockout of former top contender Tyron Woodley. Now the former UFC fighter will look to make his first successful title defense against Team Quest fighter Tarec Saffiedine.

Two title fights at the top of the card sounds nice, but sources have also indicated that more title bouts may be on tap for the January card. Both lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey have been rumored for the loaded January card as well.

Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier is also expected to be on the card. While it’s not likely Strikeforce would pull off four title fights plus a super fight in the heavyweight division on one card, anything is possible for this loaded show headed for Jan 12 on Showtime.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/luke-rockhold-vs-lorenz-larkin-nate-marquardt-vs-tarec-saffiedine-landing-on-january-strikeforce-card

Sounds like they are also going to do Rousey vs Carmouche. Which really makes no sense because alexis davis, sara mcmann and cat zingano are ranked ahead of her. But we all know this is likely the last strikeforce card so they are giving Rousey another easy match up until the Cyborg fight in the UFC.

Glad to know Saffiedine is getting the shot, although it should've been Misaki for his retirement match.

Carmouche gets the shot only because McMann and Zigano never got their Strikeforce fights. You'd have to believe after the Cyborg megafight that McMann will be next in line. UFC just wants to milk the possible fights under their own banner.

Sweet card. Wonder if this will be their last.

this is their last event....sf is folding....

melendez vs healy and cormier vs dion staring also added...

Strikeforce's next event will feature three title fights and the return of its heavyweight grand prix winner.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed with company officials the bouts include lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (21-2 MMA, 11-1 SF) vs. Pat Healy (28-16 MMA, 6-1 SF), middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (10-1 MMA, 9-0 SF) vs. Lorenz Larkin (13-0 MMA, 4-0 SF), and welterweight champion Nate Marquardt (32-10-2 MMA, 1-0 SF) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (13-3 MMA, 3-1 SF).

Additionally, Daniel Cormier (10-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) will fight fellow heavyweight Dion Staring (28-7 MMA, 0-0 SF) at the Jan. 12 event.

The event takes place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, which also was scheduled to host a Nov. 3 event. However, the show was canceled following a series of injuries to some of the key fighters. It was Strikeforce's second straight cancellation.

However, officials promised a stacked card upon its return to Showtime and Showtime Extreme in January, and on paper, they've delivered with this latest offering.

Melendez in May beat rival Josh Thomson in a hard-fought split-decision for his seventh consecutive win and fourth straight title defense. He was booked for a September bout against Healy before suffering a training injury that knocked him off the card, then put the card down for the count altogether, the first of the two consecutive Strikeforce event cancellations. Healy earned his shot at the title thanks to five straight Strikeforce wins and eight victories in his past nine overall fights. In July he beat Mizuto Hirota.

MMAjunkie.com late Wednesday was first to report that Rockhold would defend his middleweight title against Larkin on the card. Rockhold and Larkin were scheduled to meet in the Nov. 3 event in Oklahoma City before a Rockhold wrist injury forced him out of the fight. Soon after, the card was scrapped altogether.

Rockhold twice has defended his title twice since winning it against Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in September 2011. In January, he stopped Keith Jardine in the first round. And in July, in a long-awaited fight, he took a unanimous decision against Tim Kennedy. Larkin comes off a unanimous decision sweep of Robbie Lawler in July in his first fight after dropping from light heavyweight to 185 pounds.

Marquardt will defend his title for the first time after stopping Tyron Woodley with a fourth-round knockout in July. That was his return to the Zuffa banner after being cut by the UFC in June 2011 after failing to get medical clearance for his main event against Rick Story at UFC on Versus 4. The failed clearance stemmed from a spike in doctor-approved testosterone replacement therapy, he later revealed. He signed with BAMMA, but was released from his deal with the British promotion before ever fighting for it. Saffiedine in August took a unanimous decision against Roger Bowling in San Diego. After the fight, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said he was unsure if Saffiedine would get the first shot at Marquardt, but now that will indeed be the case.

Cormier remains on the Oklahoma City card after being its original headliner for the canceled Nov. 3 show, but things certainly have changed. Cormier, who wrestled collegiately at nearby Oklahoma State, was set to fight former UFC champion Frank Mir in the main event. Now he has three title fights ahead of him at the event, at least according to traditional MMA main-card pecking order, and he's facing a journeyman making his Strikeforce debut – though that journeyman is the main training partner of Alistair Overeem.

Cormier is likely headed for the UFC following this fight, which will be the final heavyweight bout for Strikeforce after the promotion decided nearly a year ago to dissolve the division and focus on the other weight classes. Cormier dominated Josh Barnett to win the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament earlier this year. Staring has won nine of his past 10 fights with seven by stoppage.


this is just plain stupid, melendez vs healy is a joke(hirota beat healy and was robbed) and cormier is now facing staring who is campaining at 205, not a hw anymore, i think he was supposed to face mike kyle at 205 last time...this is a joke of a fight for sure...






http://mmajunkie.com/news/31510/strikeforce-on-jan-12-melendez-healy-rockhold-larkin-marquardt-saffiedine-title-fights.mma

Who care. They gonna die anyway. At least the fighters keep busy.

Marcelo Tigre wrote:Who care. They gonna die anyway. At least the fighters keep busy.

20 fighters will participate but the other 60 havent fought for a year, months and with a uncertain future

ryan couture 5-1 vs kj noons 11-5 also added...

MR.WILLIE wrote:ryan couture 5-1 vs kj noons 11-5 also added...

Noons by KO.

MR.WILLIE wrote:

Marcelo Tigre wrote:Who care. They gonna die anyway. At least the fighters keep busy.

20 fighters will participate but the other 60 havent fought for a year, months and with a uncertain future

I talk about you say the fights on this card a joke. ^ That have nothing to do what I talk about.

Marcelo Tigre wrote:

MR.WILLIE wrote:

Marcelo Tigre wrote:Who care. They gonna die anyway. At least the fighters keep busy.

20 fighters will participate but the other 60 havent fought for a year, months and with a uncertain future

I talk about you say the fights on this card a joke. ^ That have nothing to do what I talk about.

i understand but imo cormier vs staring and melendez vs healy makes 0 sense...

Health makes sense, IMO. He has the best winning streak out of any other Strikeforce LW. Cormier/Staring is total garbage. Just a squash match to hopefully give Cormier a spectacular finish.

MR.WILLIE wrote:

Marcelo Tigre wrote:

MR.WILLIE wrote:

Marcelo Tigre wrote:Who care. They gonna die anyway. At least the fighters keep busy.

20 fighters will participate but the other 60 havent fought for a year, months and with a uncertain future

I talk about you say the fights on this card a joke. ^ That have nothing to do what I talk about.

i understand but imo cormier vs staring and melendez vs healy makes 0 sense...

It does not but I not going to complain. It's last event, at least they gonna fight and keep busy.

Melendez is out

retrocausality wrote:Melendez is out

Yup...I thought this might happen. He is waiting to this dying org. to go away so he can just go to UFC and get a title fight or top contender fight.

I wouldn't be surprised if this Jan. card gets cancelled and the org. just folds.

yeah no reason to run another show with this dead carcass of an org

retrocausality wrote:yeah no reason to run another show with this dead carcass of an org

agreed

mousasi vs kyle is rumored for the 40th time...

MR.WILLIE wrote:mousasi vs kyle is rumored for the 40th time...

I think they should have a betting line on who drops out first instead of the fight itself, this time around.

wekka wrote:

MR.WILLIE wrote:mousasi vs kyle is rumored for the 40th time...

I think they should have a betting line on who drops out first instead of the fight itself, this time around.

LOL...Agreed.