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A lightweight title-unification bout between Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson (16-2) and interim champion Gilbert Melendez (16-2) headlines the organizationo39;s Dec. 19 event, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed.
The five-round rematch from the duoo39;s original June 2008 meeting takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and tops the Showtime-televised portion of the event.
Thomson pulled off the upset and won the original meeting via lopsided unanimous decision but hasno39;t fought since a non-title fight over Ashe Bowman in September 2008.
A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com over the weekend that Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, at least briefly, was under consideration for the card, possibly as Melendezo39;s opponent. Strikeforce has a partnership with the Japanese-based DREAM organization, which also has a contract with Alvarez. Bellator is looking for its champions to get fights in outside promotions while it gears up for a second season, which will determine No. 1 contenders for each weight class.
The Thomson vs. Melendez rematch long has been on Strikeforceo39;s calendar since Thomson took the original meeting with 50-45 scores on all three judgeso39; cards. An April 11 booking was scrapped after Thomson suffered an ankle injury during training. A booking for the Aug. 15 "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg" event also was scrapped when Thomson wasno39;t medically cleared because of lingering injuries. In fact, Strikeforce officials wereno39;t immediately confident Thomson would be ready to go for the December date, as well.
Now, finally set, Thomson returns from a 15-month layoff and enters the fight with an eight-fight win streak. The UFC and PRIDE veteran has defeated the likes of Rob McCullough, Hermes Franca, Duane Ludwig and Name Phan during his nine-year career, though the original Melendez victory arguably was the biggest of his career.
Melendez, meanwhile, is 2-0 since his loss to Thomson last year. He topped Rodrigo Damm in April for the organizationo39;s interim title and then scored a third-round TKO (and avenged his first career loss) by defeating Mitsuhiro Ishida in his first interim-title defense. The longtime Strikeforce fighter and PRIDE veteran opened his career with 13 straight victories but went 1-2 in 2008. He now looks for his third straight victory.
Fuente
De esta manera Strikeforce (ademas de hacer un card bastante majo) pretende unificar el titulo, que entre las lesiones de uno y otro no ha sido posible antes, ya que Melendez ostenta el titulo de campeon interino que gano ante Rodrigo Damm.
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