Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

Top-10 welterweight Jake Shields put his foot firmly in the middleweight door on June 6, submitting former EliteXC 185-pound titleholder Robbie Lawler with a brisk guillotine in the first round. The bout headlined the latest offering from Strikeforce, which emanated from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., the promotion’s first card in the market. The event, broadcast on Showtime, drew 8,867 fans. While well down from the 15,211 fans the promotion drew for an April event and their Showtime debut in their San Jose home base, the numbers were encouraging enough to ensure a return to the city.

Shields, who hasn’t lost a fight since 2004 and has expressed interest in challenging the UFC’s welterweights, has said he is specifically seeking marquee opponents while under the Strikeforce banner. He called out middleweight champion Cung Le after victory over Lawler; Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog.com this week that an interim belt could be in the works as Le tries to balance movie commitments. Shields also mentioned Frank Shamrock as a potential foe, who along with Le, has the strongest track record of drawing big crowds for Strikeforce.

Shields told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show that he approached Shamrock after the June 6 show about a potential fight, but Shamrock demurred.

Shields’ stablemate Nick Diaz continued to impress, swarming Scott Smith with his trademark high volume of punches, landing several body shots that stopped Smith in his tracks. Diaz sunk a rear-naked choke in the third round after a left hook to the liver to finish the fight. Diaz threw 397 strikes in the fight compared to Smith’s 93. Like Shields, Diaz has been campaigning in interviews for big fights irregardless of weight class. Trainer Cesar Gracie told FightHype.com that Diaz may be willing to go as high as 205 pounds but not lower than 170.

Joe Riggs, who defeated Phil Baroni via unanimous decision on the June 6 card and has a history with Diaz, would likely be the foil for a welterweight fight in Strikeforce, which does not currently have a title in the division.

Elsewhere on June 6, Brett Rogers picked up by far the biggest win of his fledgling career, knocking out former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in the first round. Rogers went wild on Arlovski shortly after the opening bell, lighting him up with a three-punch hook combination to end it in a flash. Arlovski was placed on a 60-day medical suspension for suffering the knockout; meaning Arlovski’s June 27 professional boxing debut is off. Rogers, who debuted at No. 7 on Sherdog.com’s heavyweight rankings with the win, is expected to face Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem for the title.

In other action in St. Louis, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante collapsed against Mike Kyle via decisive second-round TKO. Cavalcante was originally slated to challenge Renato "Babalu" Sobral for the light heavyweight title. The bout did not air on Showtime.

The televised card kicked off with a sluggish affair between Mike Whitehead and Kevin Randleman, which Whitehead won by unanimous decision despite being floored by a Randleman left hook in the third.