Larkin-Souza, Kennedy-Smith Added to January Strikeforce Card

LARKIN-SOUZA, KENNEDY-SMITH ADDED TO JANUARY STRIKEFORCE CARD
BY MATT ERICKSON ON NOV 29, 2012 AT 10:30 PM ET

Strikeforce's January return continues to take shape with a new pair of bouts, plus confirmation of two others.

Lorenz Larkin (13-0 MMA, 4-0 SF) will meet Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (16-3 MMA, 6-1 SF) in a middleweight bout, and Tim Kennedy (14-4 MMA, 5-2 SF) takes on Trevor Smith (10-2 MMA, 2-1 SF), also at 185 pounds. Promotion officials on Thursday announced the fights for "Strikeforce: Champions."

In addition, Strikeforce officials confirmed the previously reported fights between Pat Healy-Jorge Masvidal and Roger Gracie-Anthony Smith.

"Strikeforce: Champions" takes place Jan. 12 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on Showtime Extreme.

Larkin was set to face champion Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title at Strikeforce's Nov. 3 show in Oklahoma City. That show was canceled after Rockhold pulled out with an injury and the headlining bout between Daniel Cormier and Frank Mir was scrapped after a Mir injury.

Larkin, though, was then re-booked against Rockhold for the 185-pound title for the Jan. 12 "Strikeforce: Champions" show – until Rockhold's lingering wrist injury kept him from committing to to the January fight. Instead, he'll meet Souza on a show that is expected to be the last in Strikeforce history.

Larkin comes into the fight unbeaten off a dominant unanimous decision sweep of Robbie Lawler at "Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy" in July. His unbeaten record comes with an asterisk, since he lost by second-round knockout to Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in January. But when Lawal tested positive for a banned steroid after the fight, the result was flipped to a no contest.

That bout was at light heavyweight. Against Lawler, Larkin made his middleweight debut and the win resulted in a quick title shot.

Souza in August made quick work of Derek Brunson with a 41-second knockout. After that fight, it was thought he might get the next crack at Rockhold. But that shot went to Larkin, instead. And now, with Rockhold's injury, the two contenders will meet. Souza lost the middleweight title to Rockhold in September 2011, but since then has gone 2-0 with two stoppage wins.

Kennedy in July dropped a unanimous decision to Rockhold in a title fight. That setback dropped him to 0-2 in Strikeforce championship bouts after a loss to Souza in August 2010 for the then-vacant 185-pound belt. After the loss to Souza, Kennedy looked impressive with a first-round submission of Melvin Manhoef and a unanimous decision win over Lawler in 2011. But he missed nearly a year with injuries before finally returning to face Rockhold for the title.

Smith returns to the Strikeforce banner after a win outside the promotion this past June. Smith started his Strikeforce career 2-0 with back-to-back submission wins in 2011 of Ketih Berry and T.J. Cook. But in January, he was finished by Gian Villante in just 65 seconds in Las Vegas. Of Smith's 10 wins, nine have come by submission, and eight in the first round. The lone win that wasn't a tapout was a 37-second knockout in his pro MMA debut in January 2009.

The Kennedy-Smith bout was one that was originally booked for the Nov. 3 show that was canceled.

The latest "Strikeforce: Champions" card now includes:

Champ Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine - for welterweight title
Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
Lorenz Larkin vs. Ronaldo Souza
Josh Barnett vs. Nandor Guelmino*
Pat Healy vs. Jorge Masvidal
Roger Gracie vs. Anthony Smith
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith
Ryan Couture vs. K.J. Noons

* - Not officially announced