Despite their post-fight brawl and Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s recent trash talk, Nick Diaz (22-7, 1 NC) will instead face former EliteXC lightweight champ K.J. Noons (9-1) in the main event at Srikeforce in San Jose on Oct. 9, with Diaz’s welterweight title on the line.
Strikeforce made the official announcement on Wednesday.
Of course, Noons and Diaz also have unfinished business. Not only did Noons defeat Diaz in November 2007 when the bout was halted after the first round due to cuts, but Diaz and Noons’s father also had their own not so friendly in-ring encounter after Noons defeated Yves Edwards in June 2008 under the now defunct EliteXC banner.
EliteXC attempted to set up a rematch between the two, but a contract dispute with Noons got in the way. Although Noons has campaigned at lightweight, he’s also had difficulty making weight at 155 lbs.
The Oct. 9 show in San Jose will also feature Strikeforce women’s 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman (12-0) defending her title against Marloes Coenen (17-4) in the co-main event. Kaufman successfully defended her title for the first time on July 23 with a highlight reel KO slam of Roxanne Modafferi.
Also, MMA legend Matt Lindland (22-7), a former UFC contender and Olympic medalist, will take on American Kickboxing Academy’s Luke Rockhold (7-1) in a middleweight contest.
Lindland had lost two fights in a row, both first round setbacks against Strikeforce middleweight title-holder Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and former UFC light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort, before beating Kevin Casey by third round TKO at Strikeforce Challengers on May 21.
Rockhold, meanwhile, is riding a six fight win streak and is undefeated under the Strikeforce banner. His most recent victories include a rear-naked choke submission of The Ultimate Fighter alum Jesse Taylor and a TKO of Paul Bradley. All seven of Rockhold’s victories have come in the first round.