Strikeforce, Lawler Agree to Multi-Year Deal

Strikeforce on Wednesday announced it had agreed to terms on a multi-year contract with former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.

Based at the HIT Squad camp in Illinois, Lawler (Pictured) has won two of his last three fights. The 28-year-old knocked out 2000 Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland at Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu 2” on Dec. 4 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. One of the sport’s most feared stand-up fighters, Lawler has secured 15 of his 18 career victories by knockout or technical knockout. His list of victims includes former Icon Sport middleweight champion Frank Trigg, one-time EliteXC middleweight titleholder Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts standout Joey Villasenor, UFC veteran Scott Smith and Dutch knockout artist Melvin Manhoef.

Lawler will meet Strikeforce middleweight king Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a five-round title bout on Jan. 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“Strikeforce has treated me good, and I am happy to re-sign with them,” Lawler said in a release. “They have given me an opportunity to fight for the title and I’m looking forward to that and to fighting any and all of the top 185-pounders.’’

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Report: Almeida, Pyle Agree to Meet at UFC 128

Ricardo Almeida: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Ricardo Almeida and Mike Pyle are likely to square off on March 19 as part of the as-yet-unannounced UFC 128, an event likely to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

While the bout has not yet been made official by the promotion, both welterweights have verbally agreed to the matchup, according to a report from MMAWeekly.com.

Almeida comes fresh off a Dec. 11 unanimous decision win over T.J. Grant at UFC 124. The victory got the “Big Dog” back on track after suffering the first submission loss of his career in August, when Matt Hughes choked him unconscious at UFC 117. Prior to that defeat, 34-year-old Brazilian had won three straight in the UFC against Matt Brown, Kendall Grove and Matt Horwich.

Meanwhile, Pyle will look to extend his win streak to three, having decisioned John Hathaway at UFC 120 and put Jesse Lennox to sleep with a triangle choke at UFC 115. A 10-year veteran of the MMA scene, Pyle has gone 3-2 inside the Octagon since joining the UFC in May 2009. The submission specialist known as “Quicksand” also holds notable career victories over Jon Fitch, Dan Hornbuckle and Gustavo Machado.

UFC 128 is expected to be headlined by the long-awaited light heavyweight title bout between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former titleholder Rashad Evans. Also rumored for the card is a heavyweight matchup featuring ex-champ Frank Mir and up-and-comer Brendan Schaub, as well as a duel between highly regarded lightweights Gleison Tibau and Kurt Pellegrino.

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Report: Bisping, Rivera Agree to UFC 127 Bout

Michael Bisping: Daniel Herbertson | Sherdog.com

The war of words will soon come to a close, as Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera have agreed to fight.

Bisping and Rivera have agreed in principle to face off at UFC 127, set for Feb. 27 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. The news was first reported Wednesday evening by MMAWeekly.com, and Sherdog has confirmed the report with sources close to the bout. Contracts for the fight have yet to be signed.

The middleweight scrap joins several other interesting matchups scheduled for the event, including two welterweight showdowns, as Carlos Condit faces Chris Lytle and B.J. Penn takes on Jon Fitch in the main event. Additionally, Aussie George Sotiropoulos will return home as he takes on hard-hitting German Dennis Siver in a lightweight tilt.

Bisping is coming off his second straight victory inside the Octagon, as he outpointed Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event of UFC 120 in London, England. Since dropping to middleweight in 2008, the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 3” has gone 6-2 with the promotion, losing only to former Pride champions Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva. Bisping holds notable victories over Chris Leben, Denis Kang and Matt Hamill.

At UFC 122, Jorge Rivera was slated to face Italian striker Alessio Sakara in the co-main event from the Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. However, Sakara fell ill on the day of the event, and Rivera was left without an opponent.

It was during that weekend that reports surfaced regarding the potential Rivera-Bisping encounter. Rivera has won his last three fights, most recently knocking out Nate Quarry at UFC Fight Night 21 in March.

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