Roger Gracie vs Keith Jardine middleweight fight booked for July Strikeforce event

Why kill the promotion when you can still get exciting match-ups like this?

According to MMAFighting.com, Roger Gracie will make his middleweight debut later this year against Keith Jardine at a July Strikeforce event that is still without a date or location, though Portland, Oregon is apparently a leading contender.

A 185-pound championship bout pitting titleholder Luke Rockhold against Tim Kennedy is expected to headline the event.

Gracie makes the drop down in weight following his first career loss in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition last September, a knockout defeat at the hands of Muhammed Lawal at the "Barnett vs. Kharitonov" event in Cincinnati.

Jardine, meanwhile, has had little luck since making his way back into the fold under the Zuffa banner. He fought Gegard Mousasi to a draw in his Strikeforce debut before being awarded a middleweight title shot against the previously mentioned Rockhold for reasons that are still unclear.

As expected, he was knocked out in the first round.

Now he gets to welcome Gracie to the 185-pound weight class later this summer. Joy.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for any future updates to the pending July Strikeforce event. And for all the latest Strikeforce news and notes click here.