Strikeforce announced today that former Elite XC fighters and new Strikeforce acquisitions Nick Diaz (19-7) and Scott Smith (15-5) are confirmed for a special 180-pound showdown during the live Showtime telecast of Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields" from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis , Mo., on June 6.
Diaz (19-7) is coming off perhaps the biggest win of his career on April 11. The former UFC welterweight stopped promotion pillar Frank Shamrock via second round TKO in the main event of "Shamrock vs. Diaz" in the first Strikeforce event since putting its new Pro Elite acquisitions to work.
From Diaz:
"I think this is a great fight for me, but I really hate that (Smith) brings his kids to every one of his fights because now I’m going to be made out to be the bad guy or some sort of villain after I beat him up. At the end of the day, I’m going to do what I have to do though and take him out."
"Hands of Steel" lived up to his nickname earlier this month by knocking out the hard hitting Benji Radach with a little over a minute remaining in their three round slugfest. Smith was battered and bloodied, but refused to back down and stunned "Razor" -- and the rest of the crowd with his thrilling come-from-behind win.
Now the two biggest winners from April 11 will meet on June 6 for a chance to crown themselves the King of St. Louis -- and perhaps San Jose -- now that Strikeforce elder statesman Frank Shamrock has dropped two straight.
From Smith:
"I usually take a few weeks off, get out of shape and go up to about 210 pounds and wind up spending a few weeks just getting back in shape, but I decided I wasn’t going to do that this time. I’m 195 pounds right now and I feel great. Diaz is a great fighter. He’s going to come in there and out grapple me and out strike me so what I have to do is go in there and beat him up. I actually think this is more of a dangerous fight for him than it is for me."
The June 6 event will be headlined by former EliteXC middleweight champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler taking on former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields in a 182-pound catch weight bout in the featured main event.
Additionally, "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni (13-10) will collide with Joe "Diesel" Riggs (29-10) in a 170-pound scrap.
Tickets for Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields" are on sale at the Scottrade Center box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).
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