Strikeforce Planning Nick Diaz v. Hayoto Sakurai and Bobby Lashley v. Brett Rogers

MMAFighting.com with word of two major fights that Strikeforce is planning:

Nick Diaz vs. Hayoto Sakurai: Most people thought Jay Hieron earned a shot at the welterweight title by defeating Joe Riggs, but Coker said it’s more likely that Sakurai will be the challenger in Diaz’s first title defense. Sakurai fights for Dream, and Coker said Strikeforce’s co-promotional arrangement with Dream ensures that “I could get it done.” Hieron’s win over Riggs was the last fight on his Strikeforce contract, and it’s not clear whether Hieron will return to the promotion.

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Bobby Lashley vs. Brett Rogers: I was surprised when Coker mentioned this fight as a serious possibility, but he says it absolutely could happen, and that he wants it to happen. Personally, I’d be shocked if Lashley agrees to face Rogers, and even more shocked if Lashley makes it out of the first round against Rogers if this fight gets booked. But Coker said a huge step up in quality of opposition is coming for Lashley, and that Lashley will stay active and get back into the cage soon.

The article also mentioned Shinya Aoki vs. Gilbert Melendez and “Cyborg” Santos vs. Erin Toughill.

Diaz/Sakurai is an interesting fight but almost as interesting is what happens with Hieron. Jay had suddenly become everyone’s favorite hard luck story when his bout against Joe Riggs was relegated to the undercard of Saturday night’s Miami event. Then the fight was announced to be broadcast on EASports.com, but the feed had problems that allowed almost no one to see it. This may be for the best, however, as all reports are that the fight was less than spectacular and Hieron didn’t exactly look like a major contender.

As for Bobby Lashley, he continues to win but look bad doing it. He didn’t have any real problems taking care of Wes Sims but again we didn’t see him have to strike and his wrestling has yet to look impressive. The double-leg takedown Bobby used to get the fight to the floor wasn’t as much a “shot” as it was Lashley dropping and simply muscling Sims down. I’d bet the farm on Rogers should that fight get booked.