In the co-feature, undefeated STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight World Champion Sarah Kaufman (12-0) will make the second defense of her 135-pound title against No. 1 contender and Dutch superstar Marloes Coenen (17-4).

Another featured fight will pit an emerging star from the STRIKEFORCE Challengers series, up-and-coming Luke Rockhold (7-1), against the vastly more experienced, 2000 Olympic Games wrestling silver medalist, Matt “The Law” Lindland (22-7), in a middleweight (185 pounds) contest.

Tickets go on sale to the general public this Saturday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. PT online at Ticketmaster.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/insider.html> , at HP Pavilion ticket office, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

A special presale opportunity for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers begins today, Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. PT.   Sign up to become a “STRIKEFORCE Insider” at http://www.strikeforce.com/insider.html.

Diaz has not lost a fight since he first faced Noons, losing via disputed first-round TKO on Nov. 7, 2007.  Diaz has been devastating in recent outings notching seven in a row.  The talented, outspoken, no-nonsense brawler also boasts a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

The always-dangerous Noons is an aggressive and prolific striker who has won his last six fights, including the thrilling slugfest against Diaz that ended when the cageside physician halted  the proceedings due to excessive cuts around Diaz’ eyes.

Since that fight, there has been no love lost between the pair of brash fighters.  Seven months after their first fight, on June 14, 2008, the fighters and their camp members nearly came to blows in the cage after the fighters registered victories in separate bouts.

“Nick has no class, he’s a bum, a piece of (expletive) and he and his team disrespected my family and I with their gestures and trash talk and tried to upstage my fight,” said Noons after the near-fracas.

Offered Diaz: “I’m sorry about what happened in the cage afterward, but I didn’t start it. His guys were talking (expletive) to us.”

Diaz is coming off a first-round submission (armbar) over fellow superstar Hayato “Mach” Sakurai last May 29 at DREAM 14 in Japan. The six-foot, 27-year-old Diaz won the STRIKEFORCE title with a convincing first-round TKO (punches) over Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis on Jan. 30, 2010.

The 5-foot-11, 27-year-old Noons, who was born and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, registered a spectacular, crowd-pleasing second-round knockout over Jorge Gurgel during last Saturday’s STRIKEFORCE: Houston, live on SHOWTIME.

Kaufman, a former ballet dancer, retained her belt for the first time with an explosive third-round body slam KO over Roxanne Modafferi at STRIKEFORCE Challengers in Everett, Wash., on July 23.

The personable, hard-hitting, 5-foot-5, 24-year-old Kaufman, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has scored knockouts in nine of her 12 victories.

Coenen, 29, will appear before an audience for the first time since suffering a hard-fought third-round TKO loss to Cris Cyborg for the STRIKEFORCE Women’s Middleweight (145 pounds) Championship at STRIKEFORCE: Miami last Jan. 30.

The game and courageous, 5-foot-9 Coenen gave Cyborg one of her toughest fights. A member of Holland’s Team Golden Glory, Coenen has been a mixed martial artist since the age of 14. She will be moving down in weight to challenge for the title.

Rockhold of Santa Cruz, Calif. will bring a six-fight winning streak into what figures to be the toughest assignment of his career. Many feel the 25-year-old is one of STRIKEFORCE’s next great middleweight stars. He has been victorious by submission in all but one of his wins. A member of Team AKA in San Jose, Rockhold won his last start with a first-round TKO (knees to body) over Paul Bradley on Feb. 26, in San Jose.

Lindland of Oregon City, Ore, brought home the silver in Greco-Roman wrestling. He’s fought the best in a 13-year MMAs career, including the famed Fedor Emelianenko. An All-American at the University of Nebraska before turning pro in 1997, Lindland holds victories over Pat Miletich <http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Pat-Miletich-188> , Jeremy Horn, former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton <http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Carlos-Newton-7>  and remains one of only two men to submit Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Travis Lutter <http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Travis-Lutter-4586> .

In his most recent fight, the six-foot-tall Lindland scored a third-round TKO over “King” Kevin Casey on May 21 during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers in Portland, Ore.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.  In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Source: Mike Afromowitz/StrikeForce

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT tomorrow/Saturday, May 1, at STAPLES Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> ) and STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ).  Tickets will also be sold at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE box office on days when events take place there.

The first-ever STRIKEFORCE event scheduled for mid-week will take place in the midst of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA SPORTS(tm) will exhibit its highly anticipated title, EA SPORTS MMA, in which STRIKEFORCE is featured as a premier league.

Sobral’s start will be his first since he relinquished his STRIKEFORCE crown to superstar Gegard Mousasi, who stopped the Brazilian fighter one minute into their meeting at San Jose, Calif.’s HP Pavilion on Dec. 19, 2009.  Prior to the loss, Sobral had reeled off five consecutive victories.

The 34-year-old Sobral, who resides in Orange County, Calif., has faced and defeated some of the sport’s toughest competitors during his 13-year career.  On Sept. 6, 2003, he defeated three consecutive, first-rate opponents – Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua, and Jeremy Horn – in one night of single-elimination tournament action.

Also slated for action on the card are former WWE champion turned undefeated heavyweight MMA sensation Bobby Lashley (5-0) and lightweight star K.J. Noons (8-2). Doors at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE will open for the event at 5:15 p.m. PT.  The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m. and the first main card fight will begin at 8 p.m. The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

About  STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.  In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT tomorrow/Saturday, May 1, at STAPLES Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> ) and STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ).  Tickets will also be sold at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE box office on days when events take place there.

The first-ever STRIKEFORCE event scheduled for mid-week will take place in the midst of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA SPORTS(tm) will exhibit its highly anticipated title, EA SPORTS MMA, in which STRIKEFORCE is featured as a premier league.

Sobral’s start will be his first since he relinquished his STRIKEFORCE crown to superstar Gegard Mousasi, who stopped the Brazilian fighter one minute into their meeting at San Jose, Calif.’s HP Pavilion on Dec. 19, 2009.  Prior to the loss, Sobral had reeled off five consecutive victories.

The 34-year-old Sobral, who resides in Orange County, Calif., has faced and defeated some of the sport’s toughest competitors during his 13-year career.  On Sept. 6, 2003, he defeated three consecutive, first-rate opponents – Trevor Prangley, Mauricio Rua, and Jeremy Horn – in one night of single-elimination tournament action.

Also slated for action on the card are former WWE champion turned undefeated heavyweight MMA sensation Bobby Lashley (5-0) and lightweight star K.J. Noons (8-2)

Doors at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE will open for the event at 5:15 p.m. PT.  The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m. and the first main card fight will begin at 8 p.m. The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

About  STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.  In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network.  The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Source: Mike Afromowitz/StrikeForce

Zaromskis is coming off an utter destruction of Myeon Ho Bae, winning by 0:19, first-round KO on Oct 25. The victory earned Zaromskis the 2009 DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix crown. Remarkably, it was the third consecutive time Zaromskis won a fight with a head kick in the opening round. On July 20, 2009, he defeated both Jason High (2:22) and heavily favored Hayoto Sakurai (4:03) with head kicks to win DREAM’s 170-pound tournament.

Zaromskis turned pro on Feb. 4, 2000. He fought several times for UK-based Cage Rage before joining DREAM in early 2009. Two of his three losses came against former Cage Rage British champion in Che Mills <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Mills> .

STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the premium cable television network, SHOWTIME.   Next Saturday, November 7, STRIKEFORCE will make its live debut on CBS with its “Fedor vs. Rogers” mega-fight that it is co-promoting with M-1 Global.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

Source: Mike Afromowitz, StrikeForce

“Mixed martial arts is quickly becoming one of the most dynamic and popular sports in the world. The

Strikeforce brand already represents the absolute best of this business domestically, and Shine International is thrilled to help them extend their brand internationally,” said Chris Grant, President of Shine International. “Strikeforce attracts the world’s best fighters and their events are superior to any others being offered to international broadcasters today. They are ideal partners for us.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring STRIKEFORCE fights to the homes of MMA fans throughout the world,” said STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO Scott Coker. “Shine International is a world renowned leader in the international television business and, with their support, we are confident that we will be able to greatly expand the scope of the STRIKEFORCE brand.”

The STRIKEFORCE library of programming includes 30 episodes of previously recorded fights that have aired on NBC and more than 56 hours of fights that have aired on SHOWTIME®. The deal between STRIKEFORCE and Shine International also encompasses new, upcoming live fights through February 2012 as well as STRIKEFORCE Challengers fights, pitting STRIKEFORCE up-and-comers against each other. STRIKEFORCE recently announced its first broadcast on CBS to air live fights on the U.S. network, further increasing the leagues exposure, with the first event slated for November 7, 2009 at Chicago’s Sears Centre Arena.

STRIKEFORCE has experienced significant growth since it launched its MMA series with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event that played host to a capacity crowd of 18,265 at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion on March 10, 2006.  After signing a landmark deal to air live events on SHOWTIME earlier this year, STRIKEFORCE earned the premium network its highest MMA rating ever on August 15, 2009 with “Carano vs. Cyborg.”  Shortly before the live telecast, the main event principals-Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Santos-were the most searched terms on Yahoo! and Google, while the fight was the most discussed subject on Twitter.

About Shine International

Shine International is the sales and distribution arm of the Shine Group, a leading independent production and distribution company focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through scripted and alternative television formats. Shine International distributes programming from the growing library of programming of the Shine Group, including Reveille, Kudos, Dragonfly, Princess Productions and Metronome, along with a broad array of programming acquired from independent producers and U.S. networks, to more than 150 countries worldwide.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <https://mail.svse.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

Photo: Esther Lin/STRIKEFORCE

Source: Mike Afromowitz, STRIKEFORCE