Strikeforce: "Destruction" is set to take place LIVE from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, tonight on HDNet starting at 10 p.m. ET.

Lightweight champion Josh Thomson, originally scheduled to defend his title for the first time against MMA veteran Yves Edwards, will instead be replaced by the venerable Duane "Bang" Ludwig after "The Punk" was forced to withdraw as a result of an injury.

Ludwig and Edwards will meet at a catch weight of 164 pounds on the main card.

The light heavyweight championship fight between champion Bobby Southworth and challenger Renato "Babalu" Sobral will remain the co-main event, and the middleweight battle between Terry Martin and Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith will take over at the featured main event of the night.

A welterweight scrap between jiu-jitsu stud Luke Stewart and UFC veteran Joe "Diesel" Riggs, as well as a female fight between Kim Couture - wife of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture - and Lina Kvokov will round out the main card action for the HDNet telecast.

It should be a very exciting night of fights. To help get you better prepared for the show, I've given out my thoughts and predictions for each of the main card bouts.

Let's get to it:

Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith (13-5) vs. Terry Martin (18-5)

Picking this fight for me is like flipping a coin. Everybody knows this is going to be a stand up battle, but nobody is quite sure who's going to win.

Smith is going to need to use a lot of kicks in this fight to keep Martin away from him, because if he lets Martin inside, things could end up bad for him.

I think Smith, as the all-around striker, should be able to score better with the judges throughout the fight, but with Terry Martin, a fight is always one punch away from being over. If Smith doesn't want to end up like Cory Devela, he'll need to keep his composure the entire three rounds.

As long as he can do that, I see Smith winning a decision here. No matter what, if the fight goes to the scorecards, I don't see Smith losing. I just can't really see a short boxer like Martin outpointing a kickboxer like Smith. If Terry Martin wins this fight, it'll be by knockout or TKO. For Smith, he can be smart in this fight. He doesn't have to come straight forward.

His team is smart. They'll have him prepared to outpoint Martin in this fight.

Final Prediction: Scott Smith via unanimous decision.

Light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth (9-5) vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7)

Southworth has been the champ for about two years now, but the 38-year-old has only defended his belt one time - against Anthony Ruiz last June at Strikeforce: "Melendez vs. Thomson." It can be argued that Southworth has never really faced a fighter as well rounded and experienced as Babalu.

The Brazilian is coming off three straight wins including a unanimous decision victory over Mike Whitehead on the Affliction "Banned" card back in July. This will be the first world title fight for him since losing to Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell for the second time at UFC 62.

Southworth is a smart fighter. He uses a lot of takedowns and control to win his fights. He's underrated both on the ground and standing and he says his strength and conditioning have never been better in his near ten year career.

I think at some point in this fight the better talent is going to prevail, and Babalu for my money is the much more talented fighter. I don't really see an area in this fight where he doesn't have the edge other than the takedowns. But the problem for Southworth there is that if he takes Babalu down he's only taking the fight to where the challenger wants it to go.

This is a huge opportunity for Southworth even though he's the champ, so I see him coming out game early on. But it'll only be a matter of time before Sobral has him tapping out.

Final Prediction: Renato "Babalu" Sobral via submission (rear naked choke) in round three.

Yves Edwards (34-14-1) vs. Duane "Bang" Ludwig (17-8)

Yves hasn't fought since getting creamed by KJ Noons back in June in a match that was for the Elite XC lightweight strap. Ludwig on the other hand is coming off a victory over Sam Morgan in his last fight - the main event of Strikeforce: "Payback" in his hometown of Denver, Colorado.

This fight should be a stand up battle for the most part. Both guys are experienced on the ground, but both prefer to take their chances in the stand up in most of their fights.

For Yves, the loss to Noons was his first since making the move to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Working with that camp has revitalized his career and a big win here against Ludwig should keep him in line for a shot at Thomson when he finally gets healthy.

That's easier said than done though. Ludwig also has a ton of experience in big fights. He'll be at the top of his game tonight and won't be an easy out for Yves.

However, I think Yves should be able to pull off the win. I look for him to use a lot of leg kicks and body shots to wear down Ludwig and either score a late knockout or earn the decision.

Final Prediction: Yves Edwards via unanimous decision.

Joe "Diesel" Riggs (28-11) vs. Luke Stewart (6-1)

This fight will mark Riggs' return to the 170 pound class since losing to Diego Sanchez by first round knockout at Ultimate Fight Night 7 in December of 2006. Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Luke Stewart is the one who will be looking to spoil that return as he makes his eighth career start under the Strikeforce banner.

Riggs is a large welterweight with good power in the stand up, a strong submission game and a whopping 38 fights worth of experience. Stewart on the other hand is improving his stand up daily, but is clearly at a disadvantage in that department. He has a great submission game, but nowhere near the experience of a guy like Riggs.

On paper, this is a fight that Riggs should be able to win. I like Luke Stewart because he's a very gifted grappler with a bright future in MMA, but this is a bad match up for him right now. It wouldn't totally surprise me if he came in and beat Riggs, but at this point in their respective careers this seems like a fight Riggs is going to win.

I look for Riggs to try and avoid letting the fight go to the ground and for him to win most of the stand up exchanges en route to a decision win.

Final Prediction: Joe Riggs via unanimous decision.

Kim Couture (0-1) vs. Lina Kvokov (0-1)

Not much is known about Kvokov. This looks like a fight that Strikeforce has set up to be favorable to Couture, but again I just don't know enough about Kvokov to say that for certain.

Regardless, this fight would not be on the main card and it would not be being televised on HDNet if it weren't for Kim Couture. She's the one being showcased here, not Kvokov.

I'm taking Couture by TKO.

Final Prediction: Kim Couture via technical knockout (strikes) in round two.

Here's the full lineup of undercard bouts not scheduled to air during the HDNet telecast:

175 lbs.: Lemont Davis (2-1) vs. Brian Schwartz (0-1)
135 lbs.: Brad Royster (1-1) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (4-2)
185 lbs.: Tony Johnson (3-0) vs. Eric Lawson (7-2)
145 lbs.: Alvin Cacdac (4-4) vs. Jose Palacios (3-1)
155 lbs.: Bobby Stack (5-1) vs. Cyrillo Padilha (2-2)
155 lbs.: Zakary Bucia (0-1) vs. Jaime Rodriguez (0-0)
185 lbs.: Kurt Osiander (3-1) vs. Raul Castillo (5-0)
185 lbs.: Nik Theotikos (5-1) vs. Luke Rockhold (2-1)

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