Tim Kennedy and "Jacare" Souza Will Battle for Strikeforce MW Title

Middleweight tournament?  We don't need no stinkin' middleweight tournament!  That, apparently, is the feeling going into Strikeforce's August 21st event in Houston's Toyota Center.  

The San Jose based promotion announced late yesterday that Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza will fight for the Strikeforce middleweight title in the evening's co-main event.

The fact that Kennedy and Souza are fighting for Strikeforce gold puts to sleep any chance of there being a middleweight tournament--a plan that was put into place sometime in June.

Kennedy, a decorated U.S. Army veteran, was last seen slapping a rear naked choke on Trevor Prangley at Strikeforce: Los Angeles on June 16th.  The win was Kennedy's fourth in a row and third under the Strikeforce banner.  A win in Houston would be a career highlight for the talented 185-pounder.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza will be making his third appearance for Strikeforce after making noise in Japan in the Dream promotion.  Souza has gone 2-0 with 1 NC since losing to Gegard Mousasi, via upkick, in the finals of the Dream middleweight tournament in 2008.

With both fighters on relative waves of momentum, the potential for an exciting co-main event is high.  While many speculate the future of Strikeforce after Fedor Emelianenko's loss to Fabricio Werdum last month, the promotion is pushing to put on a stellar show on August 21st.

It will be interesting to see how the promotion finishes out the summer.

Follow Erik Fontanez on Twitter at @ErikFontanez

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