Gilbert Melendez To Defend Strikeforce Lightweight Title Against Josh Thomson May 19th
After weeks of speculation as to who would be announced to face Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez on May 19th, “El Nino” finally has an opponent, and it’s Josh Thomson. Following the tweets from Cesar Gracie, when Gracie announced that Gilbert would be fighting in May, Gracie called out UFC lightweights BJ Penn and Anthony Pettis, in hopes that they may possibly be offered the opportunity to challenge Melendez for his belt, but those talks faded as quickly as they were onset.
The Strikeforce lightweight division has been in an odd position lately, but after Thomson was able to outpoint fellow top lightweight contender KJ Noons, on the under card of the Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey event, the powers that be have bestowed a title shot to Thomson, which will make it a trilogy between Josh and Melendez, and seeing as that their rivalry stems all the way back to 2008, where they each own a victory over one another, with both previous bouts also being for the championship, should set this fight up as an instant Strikeforce classic.
May 19th marks the date for the scheduled bout, which is to co-headline the event, that also features the conclusion of the ongoing Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament, when finalists Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier finally square off to put an end to the Strikeforce heavyweight era.
Photo courtesy of sho.com
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Posted by JamesBegley
on Apr 2 2012. Filed under Featured Stories, MMA News.
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