Former dual Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, Dan Henderson, will likely make his Strikeforce debut a meaningful one, taking on current 185-pound champion Jake Shields in April 2010.
Nothing is official at this time; however, Henderson revealed today that he will "probably" battle the Cesar Gracie-trained fighter and then defend the belt at least once before setting his sights on other big guns -- in heavier weight classes -- such as Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi, among others.
Strikeforce President Scott Coker, who was alongside the UFC veteran at this afternoon's press conference, did or said nothing to indicate that Henderson's plan wasn't a good one. In fact, he was in complete agreement.
This more than likely does not come as a big surprise -- Shields was number one on Henderson's hit list when he recently signed a four-fight, 16-month contract. And after his most recent (and emphatic) performance, knocking out Michael Bisping on the main card of UFC 100 back in July, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 coach will likely be itching to achieve similar results in front of a major television audience on CBS.
Shields, on the other hand, 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.
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