Strikeforce does it again. From a press release in my inbox:

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion, Josh "The Punk" Thomson (16-2), will set out to make his first title defense and, at the same time, look to even an old score against the only man on the planet who has stopped him in the heat of battle - Yves Edwards (34-14-1) – at San Jose’s HP Pavilion on Friday, November 21^st.

"Both Josh and I have improved. He’s always been comfortable in the cage, but his stand-up looks a lot better and he looks like he puts things together a lot better than he used to. He also looks even harder to take down than before."

"It was a spectacular finish.  We both scrambled and had a good idea, but mine was better," noted Edwards of his first meeting with Thomson.

During his 11-year professional career, Edwards has triumphed over a number of other notable rivals, including Rich Clementi, Dokonjonosuke Mishima, James Edson Berto, and Hermes Franca, whom Edwards defeated twice.

"I respect Yves as a fighter and consider him a friend. This is a business, though, and we know it so I’m going to do what I have to do," said Thomson.

The 32-year-old Edwards, who scored an unforgettable, first round knockout on Thomson with a head kick at UFC 49 on August 21, 2004, remains one of only two competitors who have defeated Thomson. The finishing shot that Edwards landed on Thomson was afterwards called "the greatest knockout due to a kick in UFC history" by play-by-play announcer, Mike Goldberg.

"I was better than him then and I’m way better than him now," said Thomson who, one day before his 30^th birthday, coasted to his eighth consecutive victory, a first round TKO of Lion’s Den protégé, Ashe Bowman, during Strikeforce’s second affair at the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, September 20^th.

"This rematch is about winning back something that I let slip through my fingers last time," Thomson explained. "It was a fluke, but that’s part of the fight game – anyone can get caught. I blame my error last time on my cockiness. This time, I’ve got to stamp my mark on it."

Cised.