Jake Shields vs. Robbie Lawler headlines May's Strikeforce-Showtime event
LOS ANGELES - A bout between former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields (22-4-1) and former EliteXC middleweight title-holder Robbie Lawler (16-4) will headline Strikeforce's May show, company officials today announced at a press conference in Los Angeles.
The two fighters recently joined Strikeforce after the organization acquired select assets from ProElite Inc., the parent company of the now-defunct EliteXC organization.
Shields told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the fight will take place at a catch-weight of 182 pounds.
No date or location has been confirmed for the May event, though the show is expected to take place in or near Seattle. An announcement is expected soon.
The booking should come as a surprise to fans expecting Shields to fight Joe Riggs at Strikeforce's April 11 show in San Jose, Calif. Reports of that fight surfaced in the past few weeks with sources even saying paperwork had been completed.
Instead, Shields will wait a month and jump to the middleweight division against Lawler in a three-round non-title fight.
Shields returns to competition for the first time since his October submission victory over Paul Daley at "EliteXC: Heat." In the fight prior, Shields scored a 63-second submission win over Nick Thompson to win the first-ever EliteXC welterweight title.
Shields has now won 11 straight fights, the past seven of which have come via stoppage.
He'll now face a top-10 middleweight in Lawler, a former UFC fighter who's resurrected his career since leaving the organization. Lawler is 8-1 (with one no-contest) in his past 10 fights, and he returns to action for the first time since his successful TKO title defense over Scott Smith back in July.
Lawler's past six victories have all come via knockout or TKO.
In addition to Shields vs. Lawler, the May Strikeforce event will feature Renato "Babalu" Sobral (32-7), the organization's current light heavyweight champion. An opponent for Sobral will be determined in the next 48 hours, according to Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker.
Sobral, who won his title with a TKO of Bobby Southworth in November, has won five straight fights to reemerge in the 205-pound division's top-10 worldwide rankings.
Also slated to compete at the May event is PRIDE veteran Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (16-12), though he, too, is currently without an opponent.
For the latest on the May Strikeforce show, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
From the front page...Huh, was not expecting this so soon...I got Robbie via KTFO...