'Smokin' Joey Villasenor signs new four-fight deal with Strikeforce

No good deed goes unrewarded.

Joey Villasenor -- who is always exciting whenever he competes, which has recently not been very often -- has finally received a guarantee that he will consistently be stepping inside a cage over the next year and beyond.

In a video released on Jacksons.tv, the cyber home for Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting Camp, "Smokin" Joe announced that he has just signed a new four-fight contract extension with Strikeforce.

Here's a snip:

We're finally doing this. It took us a while but we're here now... What this means is that I'm guaranteed to have three fights within the next year. Four fights total, but three in the next year, so I'm gonna be active... I'm really pleased with it... We're looking at late March for a return. 

Villasenor made his debut for the promotion against Evangelista Santos, defeating "Cyborg" via split decision at Strikeforce: "Challengers Series 2" in June 2009.

When he makes his return to the Strikeforce cage this spring, he'll certainly have to knock off some rust -- it will be just his fourth fight in the last two years. Especially with stiff competition such as division champion Jake Shields, Dan Henderson, Melvin Manhoef, Robbie Lawler, Cung Le and Frank Shamrock, among others, now part of perhaps the promotion's strongest weight class.

The good news is Villasenor trains alongside fighters like Georges St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt and other superstars under Jackson, ensuring that he will be as prepared as possible for whoever stands in his way.

MMAmania will have more on his opponent and an official date for the fight when they are announced.