With Strikeforce no more, two of the most heavily anticipated bouts in recent memory will become a reality inside the Octagon.
At UFC on FOX 7 in April, UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will defend his belt against the last Strikeforce 155-pound title holder, Gilbert Melendez. Additionally, Daniel Cormier will take on Frank Mir in a heavyweight tilt.
Cormier is the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner while Mir is a former UFC heavyweight champ.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the news on Tuesday shortly before the UFC announced both fights.
Melendez has been clamoring for a fight with “Bendo” for roughly one month now and it looked likely that the bout would come to fruition for weeks.
The only x factor was former Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. However, due to the ongoing legal struggles with his former employer, he remains a free agent and looks like it will be a while before he is able to sign with the UFC.
“El Nino” is the winner of seven straight, but has endured a great deal of scrutiny in the past seven months or so.
While he defeated rival Josh Thompson in a rubber match in May, many pundits felt it was a bad call by the judges that night and Thompson deserved the “W.” Additionally, he was twice slated to defend his title against Pat Healy, but withdrew both times due to a lingering shoulder injury.
A number of fans and analysts believe the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu fighter could have fought Healy if he wanted to, but instead opted to see where he would factor into the deep waters of the UFC’s 155-pound division.
Meanwhile, after easily dispatching of relative unknown Dion Staring, Cormier called out Mir for a match up at UFC on FOX 7. Obviously, “DC” got his wish. The two were linked to a fight in Oklahoma City in November, but Mir withdrew due to an injury.
Cormier is a perfect 11-0 as a professional mixed martial artist, earning eight finishes along the way.
Mir is 4-3 in his past seven match ups, only losing title fights to the likes of Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin (for an interim title) and Junior dos Santos.
His most recent accomplishment is his 2011 “Submission of the Year” over fellow highly-regarded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, snapping his arm with a kimura.
Looks like this event, which takes place at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California, is shaping up to be a big one.