Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker spoke to MMA Weekly about how the promotion plans to crown a new middleweight champion, with former champion Jake Shields seemingly UFC bound. He confirmed that Strikeforce plans to do a middleweight tournament, saying that it would probably be an eight man field as a four man tournament wouldn’t highlight the full depth of Strikeforce’s roster in the division
He said that the tournament would possibly include fighters such as Robbie Lawler, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Nick Diaz, Tim Kennedy, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Benji Radach, and Luke Rockhold. He however confirmed that former Strikeforce champion Cung Le and former Pride Champion Dan Henderson would not be taking part.
He also raised the possibility of the tournament merely crowning the number one contender for the middleweight title, with a new champion being crowned in a championship fight. Either way final word from Strikeforce on the future of its middleweight division is expected in the next few days.
