Jacare has new opponent at Strikeforce’s January 12 event. Photo by Esther Lin/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images
And now it’s official.
Strikeforce will hold their Jan. 12 event, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, and it will be the final event by the company on Showtime, the MMA promotion announced today.
“Since 2009, Showtime has been a great partner and we appreciate its support of Strikeforce and our athletes,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said in the release. “For our final event, we’ve loaded the card with some outstanding fights. This is going to be a memorable night for the sport of mixed martial arts.”
Reports of Strikeforce’s demise began to surface over a month ago, but representatives from Showtime have continued to say MMA will continue on the cable company. Today’s announcement means that Showtime may carry on with the sport, but it will not include Strikeforce.
The Jan. 12 card is finalized with 11 fights, and is headlined by welterweight champion Nate Marquardt defending his title against Tarec Saffiedine. In the co-main event, Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier will face Dion Staring.
One of the previously reported matches, Lorenz Larkin vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, was removed from the card, but the release did not stipulate why. GRACIEMAG.com confirmed with Larkin’s manager, Arnold DeWitt, that the fighter sustained a knee injury in training and won’t be able to return for several weeks.
According to Strikeforce’s official website, Jacare’s new opponent will be Ed Herman.
The final Strikeforce event will take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.
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