Duane Ludwig vs. Dennis Hallman, Nick Thompson vs. Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce Challengers on 6/19

Three UFC veterans will be featured in two new fights rumored for Strikeforce's second "Challengers" show on June 19th in Kent, Washington, according to MMA Weekly.

In a welterweight bout, talented striker Duane "Bang" Ludwig" (18-8) will face submission specialist Dennis "Superman" Hallman (40-12-2):

A welterweight match-up between Dennis Hallman and Duane Ludwig is under consideration for the Showtime series, according to a source who chose not to be named.

Ludwig is a muay-thai specialist from Colorado, who trains with Nate Marquardt, and many other Greg Jackson fighters.  Having fought at both 155 and 170 lbs over the course of his career, "Bang" has fought many of the world's best including: B.J. Penn, Takanori Gomi, Jens Pulver, Tyson Griffin, and Josh Thomson.  He also holds a notable win over grappling wizard Genki Sudo (via decision) in his only UFC fight.  Most recently, Ludwig won a decision over the very tough Yves Edwards at a Strikeforce event last November.

The ultra-experienced Dennis Hallman trains at Victory Athletics with notable fighters like Brad Blackburn, Miesha Tate, and Corey Devela.  With 31 submissions in 40 career victories, Hallman poses a serious threat on the ground, and is often noted for having submitted UFC legend Matt Hughes in under 20 seconds on two seperate occasions (once in the UFC).

Also expected for the Challengers card is a middleweight bout between Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product and part-time attorney, Nick "the Goat" Thompson (38-10-1), and active U.S. Army Ranger Tim Kennedy (9-2).  This fight will mark Thompson's reluctant debut at middleweight, as he normally competes at 170 lbs:

He went back to Strikeforce and asked again. They came back with an option, maybe the only option: fight Tim Kennedy as a middleweight at Strikeforce Challengers Series on June 19 in Kent, Wash.

"Yeah, it wasn’t very good," Thompson said of his time at 185. "It’s been a while. I fought there my first 20 or 30 fights, but I’m not a 185-pound fighter. I think more than anything (Strikeforce matchmaker) Bob Cook just wanted to give me a fight because he understood that I was upset. I’ll take it for what it is. I’m not happy that I don’t have the choice to fight at 170."

Beggars can’t be choosers," he said "I’ll do my best. I have no excuse; I just have to get ready. I’m glad they gave me the fight. I’ll do that and see what comes next."

Thompson is a very experienced and well-rounded fighter, with significant career victories over Josh Neer, Chris Wilson, Eddie Alvarez, and most recently, Paul Daley (at a MFC event in February).  In his last of two UFC fights, Thompson submitted to strikes from Karo Parisyan at UFC 59.

Tim Kennedy has competed at 185 lbs under the IFL and HDNet Fights banners during his 11-fight career, and is renowned for staying in active duty as a US Army Ranger while pursuing his pro MMA career.  Training out of The Pit in San Luis Obispo with John Hackelman and Chuck Liddell, Kennedy has only lost twice in his career: due to a cut stoppage against Scott Smith, and via unanimous decision against Jason "Mayhem" Miller in an unbelievable three-round war in December '07.  Kennedy had previously earned his own decision win over Miller.  Even more impressive was that Kennedy took a fight against Elias Rivera in the IFL Grand Prix finals just two weeks after the second battle with Mayhem, and managed to win via first-round KO.  The upcoming Strikeforce bout will mark Kennedy's first in over a year-and-a-half, mainly due to his military service.

The current rumored card for Strikeforce: Challengers on June 19th is as follows:

Main Event: Joey Villasenor vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (middleweight) *confirmed by Strikeforce

Jorge Gurgel vs. Conor Heun (lightweight)

Dennis Hallman vs. Duane Ludwig (welterweight)

Nick Thompson vs. Tim Kennedy (middleweight)