Former dual Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, Dan Henderson, will indeed make his Strikeforce debut a meaningful one, taking on current 185-pound champion Jake Shields in April 2010.
Henderson announced today on ESPNs "MMA Live" that he will battle the Cesar Gracie-trained fighter as previously speculated when he recently signed a four-fight, 16-month contract with the San Jose, Calif.,-based promotion.
Therefore, this latest news should come as no real surprise.
In fact, Shields became number one on Henderson's hit list after his departure from the UFC, which ended in emphatic fashion, knocking out Michael Bisping on the main card of UFC 100 back in July 2009.
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 coach will likely be itching to achieve similar results in front of a major television audience on CBS.
Shields will be out to prove that his current 13-fight win streak is no fluke. Prior to a decision win over Jason "Mayhem" Miller back in November, Shields stopped eight straight opponents with a mix of submissions and technical knockouts.
He essentially cleaned out the entire 170-pound division not competing inside the Octagon, forcing the former Elite XC welterweight champion to move up a weight class in search of stiffer competition.
It's safe to say that he's now found it in "Hollywood."
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this match up, as well as the still-developing next Strikeforce event on CBS (date, city and venue all still TBD), as it becomes available.