The promotion will crown its first welterweight champion on Jan. 30 in Sunrise, Fla., as Nick Diaz fights for the first time since stopping Frank Shamrock in April to face Dream 170-pound tournament winner Marius Zaromskis. The card, broadcast on Showtime, will also feature the first title defense from Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos against Dutch veteran Marloes Coenen. Pro wrestling superstar Bobby Lashley will also debut on the card; Shane del Rosario has said he’s agreed to face Lashley.
The promotion will follow up with its second effort on CBS in April. In addition to the Strikeforce debut of Dan Henderson, likely against middleweight champion Jake Shields, the promotion is also looking at a Fedor Emelianenko-Fabricio Werdum match for the show. The manager of Stirkeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem said in a recent interview that Overeem has one more K-1 fight left on his Japanese deal, likely to take place in March or April. Strikeforce is looking to match Emelianenko and Overeem on a pay-per-view if possible.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said he’s also looking to match his top lightweights, champion Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, against fighters from the Dream organization on CBS, mentioning Shinya Aoki vs. Melendez and Thomson vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri as possibilities. Both Aoki and Kawajiri will compete in separate fights on New Year’s Eve in Japan, it was announced this week. Former EliteXC champion K.J. Noons is also considered a possible opponent for Thomson.
Also, The Wrestling Observer reported that a fight between Sarah Kaufman and Takayo Hashi will take place early next year to crown a 135-pound women’s champion, and that Frank Shamrock will return to action in March or April, with opponent possibilities being Le, Kazushi Sakuraba and Pat Miletich.