Coming out of last night's Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg event, we have some new hints about Scott Coker's plans for the rest of the year and his only star, Fedor. From MMA Junkie and Sherdog we know the following about their plans for Fedor:
- He won't be fighting Ricco Rodriguez. Coker denied that that had ever been considered. Likely opponents are Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers.
- Fedor will likely make his Strikeforce debut in November and he won't be fighting in San Jose.
Here's more on their event schedule from MMA Junkie:
"We'll have three 'Challengers' fights (this fall)," Coker said. "We'll have September, then we're going to have October, then we're going to have November. Then the big fights are going to be the Fedor fight, and then we'll do one more before the end of the year."
The September show has already been announced, as Tim Kennedy and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos will headline a "Challengers Series" event in Bixby, Okla. The remaining dates have yet to be finalized, and Coker said both dates and locations are still being determined for the events.
But Coker's tentative plan would call for two shows each in November and December, an idea the Strikeforce exec didn't seem to mind.
Sherdog has more:
• Nick Diaz appears back on track to square off against Jay Hieron for the newly formed welterweight title. Last week, Diaz did not take a pre-fight drug test to ensure his re-licensure in the state before his scheduled bout with Hieron, forcing the promotion to scramble for last-minute opponent Jesse Taylor.
"We had a conversation with Cesar Gracie about the Nick Diaz situation, so I feel very comfortable that Nick will be back shortly," said Coker. "Jay Hieron came here to fight Nick Diaz, so we’ll put that fight together."
...
• With an alliance in place with Dream, Strikeforce could hold an event in Japan before the end of the year, said Coker.
• Coker said the promotion will up its ante to 18-20 events in 2010. At least 16 of those events will be held on Showtime, said Coker, fueling rumors that an option to broadcast events on CBS could be activated by the end of the year.
Big plans from Coker. I have to wonder where they will get enough fighters to fill out all these cards. The downside of the DREAM alliance that no one has mentioned is that it might cost Strikeforce access to the Sengoku fighters like Kazuo Misaki and Jorge Santiago who have fought for Strikeforce before.