KJ Noons signs with Strikeforce; Could debut as early as Dec. 19
by James Iannotti on Dec 2, 2009 7:29 PM EST
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KJ Noons (7-2) is the latest free agent to be added to the quickly expanding Strikeforce roster, according to Sherdog.com. The former Elite XC lightweight champion agreed to a multi-fight deal earlier today and could make his debut as early as Dec. 19 on the televised "Evolution" event on Showtime.
Noons has been out of mixed martial arts for more than a year after, retiring from the sport in late 2008 after he was stripped of his title for refusing to accept a rematch with Nick Diaz under the terms Elite XC was offering.
"King" felt that his previous performance against Diaz (a first round technical knockout) and his lone title defense -- a first round technical knockout victory over Yves Edwards in June of 2008 -- was enough to at least earn himself a bigger paycheck than Diaz in the rematch.
The promotion, however, apparently disagreed, causing a big mess and ultimately leading to Noons being forced to relinquish his title.
The ex-boxer then decided to make an attempt at a return to his roots inside the square ring, but a disappointing decision loss to James Countryman earlier this year threw a wrench into those plans. The City Boxing product did manage to put together a solid record of (4-1) as a pugilist, but he likely wasn't going to be winning a world title any time soon.
That won't be the case in Strikeforce.
Afterall, how many more times can Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez fight each other? Noons left the sport on top of his promotion's division, and a win or two over some of the talented 155 pounders on Strikeforce's roster should put be right back in the thick of the title hunt.
No official date or potential opponent for his return is known at this time. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com -- you'll know when we do.
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Another solid signing
Not a fan of KJ’s, but you can’t really put him down for what he’s done in the cage…..he has impressed.
Gotta wonder what weight he’ll fight at…….I hope Nick doesn’t drop to ’55 for a rematch. Nick looks like hell at ’55.
"I'll make that [expletive] fight right now for free. Let's do it."
- Dana White on Fedor vs Lesnar
Definitely a good signing
Damn you Dana, get off your ass.
Fedor is the greatest,
Pound 4 pound best ever,
Now get on your knees,
and bow down to the sweater.
I thought
that he thought he was a “boxer” and went back to “boxing,” This tomato can must be broke.
Don't understand the hate
I am a big KJ fan. He won the pride auditions, has excellent hands by MMA standards even though he’s “meh” boxer (which really speaks to the level of striking in mma). We saw him chew up diaz from bell to bell and take a grizzled and slick veteran like my boy Yves to the woodshed. He’s a proven finisher and despite his inexperience has shown plenty of potential. Plus his sister is insane hot.
by NNR (formerly NameNotRequired) on Dec 2, 2009 11:04 PM EST up reply actions
You forgot to mention.....
how great he looked when he gotted KTFO by Krazy Horse!
KJ is definitely good but he really thinks to much of himself overly cocky and shiit hes a guy that just seems to rub many people the wrong way. Definitely a good signing would love to see him vs Gurgel or Billy then maybe move to tougher fights.
If you dont like drugs then dont do them.....give them to me!
The UFC is letting SF win by default
They aren’t doing anything to stop the massive signings being pulled off by SF.
Fedor is the greatest,
Pound 4 pound best ever,
Now get on your knees,
and bow down to the sweater.
So?
No offense, but is this really that impressive of a signing? Any guy at LW with decent takedowns should beat BJ. Yes, his standup is decent, but not that great. Expect him to fight Gurgel and then the loser of Thomson/Melendez for a title shot. I doubt you’ll hear much after that. Also don’t expect Diaz to go back down to LW for a rematch. If anything, KJ will have to come up to WW at the very least.
Not a great signing but a good one
Who has the UFC signed lately? No one!
Fedor is the greatest,
Pound 4 pound best ever,
Now get on your knees,
and bow down to the sweater.
And?
Who is it that they need to sign? Other than Fedor and Mousasi, I honestly can’t think of anyone. The UFC has offered some of the recent signees contracts with no luck. Also, the UFC signed Linhares not that long ago. That’s an impressive signing. Don’t be shocked if Amoussou eventually gets picked up as well.
Decent signing for SF if they can get KJ to actually accept the fights that they plan for him. He’s not a bad fighter skillwise but he has one of the worst attitudes in the sport and won’t beat either Melendez or Thomson in my opinion. I’d like Diaz to get the chance to avenge this defeat one day though he can’t make 155 anymore and KJ won’t accept a fight with Nick anyway. Hopefully he gets KO’d in his SF debut, the Krazy Horse KO was one of the most satisfying moments for me as a fan.
Great post David
totally agree! I forgot how much I hate Noons cause his name has been out of the news where it belongs recently but i gotta admit that this is another very good signing by SF.
I would love to see SF lock up mky main man Takanori Gomi and book Gomi vs. Noons for Evolution. Seeing Gomi KO noons is very satisfying and entertaining. Kj isnt good enough to beat THomson,El NIno,Kawajiri,aoki would murder him..Gomi would crush him…but he can make for a QUALITY VILLAIN in SF. They should feed him to my boy Alvarez!
Alvarez-Noons would be awesome, if a comedy character like Krazy Horse can KO you then you don’t have a chance against a well rounded fighter like Eddie. That’s the fight that KJ supposedly wanted when he ducked Diaz, so call his bluff and let a superior fighter make a big name for himself by destroying him. Noons won’t beat any decent fighters in SF, even a past it Gomi would destroy him.
Great Post DAve!!!
It is a decent signing at best. This guy doesn’t compete in the UFC 155 at all. The wrestlers that own that division would make quick work of him. 155# in the UFC is one of the best divisions in all of mma. I would look for Gilbert to exact revenge on KJ for Nick. Nick is huge now, there is no way he gets down to 155# and if he does it may prove to be to much. I would love nothing more to see him get KO’d as well in his debut. Why does everyone feel that the UFC needs him? What do they need him for? Another gate keeper? Another fighter that gets released after losing 2 or 3 in a row to dominating wrestlers? Why all the hate on the UFC as well? With the exception of Fedor(which apparently they tried to get him in anyway possible outside of co-promotion), Mousassi (which broke my heart), and Jacare who else is in SF that makes the UFC a lesser promotion the SF. Winning by Default? Mousassi and Jacare was truly the only massive signing by SF. Outside of Fedor, Jacare, and Mousassi there is no incredible signings, just guys that are finishing out contracts (ie. Melendez, Thompson, Shields, Rogers) and UFC rejects. The only reason there has been any hard times in the UFC is or has been because of injuries, but that is the nature of the sport.
UFC LW division
You can’t tell me that KJ wouldn’t be a good addition to the UFC LW roster.
If BJ walks through Diego like he’s doing with the rest of the division, the UFC needs guys like KJ…….without more signings all BJ is going to end up doing is fighting the same 4 guys over and over.
The UFC’s LW division has solid talent, but when the champ is so far ahead of everyone else……they need more talent…..plain and simple.
KJ would have been a good addition, but as it stands…..good signing for Strikeforce.
"I'll make that [expletive] fight right now for free. Let's do it."
- Dana White on Fedor vs Lesnar
I don’t think he will compete in the UFC lw division. No way does KJ crest the top 10 in mma, nor the UFC’s top 10. Who does KJ beat to get a title shot? The UFC has 5 of the top 10 LW in the world then of the top 15 another 3. From BJ at the #1 spot to Jim Miller rounding out the top 15, all the way down through Pellegrino rounding out the 20 spot-KJ can compete with very few of these guys. It is a great signing for SF, considering they are using 2/3 different promotions to create a LW division of 5 fighters. For the UFC I do not see how he would fit in or even compete to make a run at BJ. He will get domoinated by some/all of the best wrestlers, in all of mma in this UFC LW division. I personally don’t think he will be able to compete with Thompson or Melendez in SF either, let alone anyone in the UFC.
I hope Diaz/Noons II happens down here at the end of January
@fjbar75 on twitter...formerly El Mexicutioner
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