Jake Shields and
Joe Riggs will meet in a featured welterweight bout at Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Mike Afromowitz, Director of Communications for Strikeforce, confirmed that the bout has been agreed to by both fighters. Aroundtheoctagon.com first reported the matchup on Tuesday.
The 170-pound bout is currently not scheduled as a title fight, said Afromowitz. Strikeforce does not have a welterweight champion, although it does have plans to crown a 170-pound king in light of its recent agreement to produce 16 events a year for Showtime and CBS.
Shields was the EliteXC titleholder prior to parent company Pro Elite’s financial collapse. Shield’s contract was one of 42 purchased by Strikeforce in a select assets acquisition deal finalized nearly three weeks ago. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has stated that he would give all EliteXC champions the opportunity to compete for Strikeforce titles.
Shields, 30, went 4-0 for the EliteXC promotion. His last victory, a second-round armbar submission against brawling Brit
Paul Daley, was televised on CBS last October. Shields (24-2-1), a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, boasts wins over UFC middleweight contender
Yushin Okami, as well as welterweight standouts
Mike Pyle,
Nick Thompson, and former WEC champion
Carlos Condit.
Riggs (29-10) has buoyed between the 170- and 185-pound divisions since 2005. A rugged competitor noted for his iron fists, Riggs has bested
Nick Diaz and
Chris Lytle. Riggs dropped a controversial second-round stoppage to Japanese standout
Kazuo Misaki last September, but bounced back with a dominant win in November over local prospect
Luke Stewart at Strikeforce “Destruction.”
Shields and Riggs join an already announced fight between middleweights
Scott Smith and
Benji Radach. Former UFC middleweight champion
Frank Shamrock and EliteXC welterweight contender Nick Diaz will face off at a catch-weight of 179 pounds in the evening’s main event.
Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” will air live on Showtime.
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