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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce's January 7 event is official, as the organization announced four fights for the event on Thursday. Headlining the event will be a previously reported Middleweight Title bout between Luke Rockhold and Keith Jardine.
"What a way for Strikeforce to kick off the New Year!” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. “We’re happy to give fans in Vegas the chance to see the Strikeforce Middleweight Title defended by one of the hottest young champions in the sport in Luke Rockhold when he takes on, quite possibly, the toughest and most unorthodox fighter in all of MMA, Keith Jardine. Fans at Hard Rock should expect an exciting standup battle in the main event on January 7."
Additionally, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal will indeed take part on the card, as he'll meet rising light heavyweight Lorenz Larkin. Lawal looks to build off a win over Roger Gracie in September, while Larkin will hope to keep his undefeated record intact, entering this fight with a 12-0 record.
The other two confirmed fights for the event pit Robbie Lawler against 9-1-1 Russian middleweight Adlan Amagov, and welterweight Tarec Saffiedine against Tyler Stinson.
Lawler has lost four of his last six fights, including two straight to "Jacare" Souza and Tim Kennedy. Amagov has won both of his fights in Strikeforce, most recently stopping Anthony Smith at a Challengers event in November.
Saffiedine is 3-1 in four fights in Strikeforce, most recently defeating Scott Smith by decision at Strikeforce "Fedor vs. Henderson" in July. Stinson made his Strikeforce debut on that card, scoring a 15 second knockout over Eduardo Pamplona.
The event will come to the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will air live on Showtime.
Penick's Analysis: This is just a weird card. Rockhold-Jardine is a fight that's fine for Rockhold's progression, but it continues to highlight the meaninglessness of Strikeforce belts when Jardine is fighting for their title. Then, they're tossing Larkin into a huge fight and a major step up in competition from Nick Rossborough in his last fight. It's a great opportunity, but it seems a little too soon. Saffiedine-Stinson is a fun fight, and a good matchup in Strikeforce's welterweight division, and Lawler-Amagov works for both of them as well, but those top two fights seem like strange matchmaking.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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