Strikeforce has decided to pass on using a tournament to settle their new middleweight champion after releasing their former champ, Jake Shields.

Squaring off will be rising Strikeforce star Tim Kennedy (12-2) and Brazilian Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (12-2).

The promotion made the bout official on Friday to Sherdog.com, who confirmed the fight will take place at the “Strikeforce: Houston” event on Aug. 21 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Tex. A second title will be on the line at the August event, with light-heavyweight champ Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal taking on Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.

Kennedy, a former member of the US Special Forces, has risen quickly through the Strikeforce ranks by winning all three of his bouts under their banner. He recently defeated Trevor Prangley last month at the “Strikeforce: Los Angeles” event, marking his first appearance on one of the promotions main televised show instead of their Strikeforce Challenger series.

“Jacare” Souza earned a unanimous decision victory over Joey Villaseñor in May’s “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” event, matching Kennedy’s record of 12-2. The Brazilian submitted Matt Lindland in his only other Strikeforce appearance in December at the “Strikeforce: Evolution” event. He’s had notable bouts against Jason Miller and Gegard Mousasi under the DREAM banner.

Strikeforce had been talking about holding an eight man tournament to decide it’s next middleweight champion so the recent announcement comes as a bit of a surprise. This probably means the promotion failed to find eight middleweight fighters willing to face-off for the belt, which may be an ill-omen for Strikeforce’s future.

All bouts rumored for the Aug. 21 event:

Light-heavyweight title bout: Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (for light-heavyweight title)
Middleweight title bout: Tim Kennedy vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (for vacant middleweight title)
Lightweight bout: Jorge Gurgel vs. K.J. Noons
Heavyweight bout: Bobby Lashley vs. TBA

The post-Jake Shields era has begun in earnest for Strikeforce.

With the promotion's former middleweight champion recently released and
likely heading to the UFC, Strikeforce officials announced late Friday
night that top middleweight contenders Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo "Jacare"
Souza will meet at "Strikeforce: Houston" with the winner claiming the
promotion's now-vacant 185-pound title.

Previously reported bouts of light heavyweight champ Muhammed "King Mo"
Lawal vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Jorge Gurgel vs. K.J. Noons
were also made official, and Bobby Lashley will also appear on the
card.

While a Strikeforce event in Houston has been on the forecast for some time now, the promotion had yet to make the card official, until today.

Strikeforce recently revealed that “Strikeforce: Houston” will in fact take place from the Toyota Center in Texas on August 21.

FiveOuncesofPain.com recently first revealed that the card would be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, while bouts including Sergei Kharitonov vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Tim Kennedy vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and K.J. Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel are also looking likely for the event.

A press conference formally announcing the card is slated for July 13.

Pre-sale for tickets to the event will go on sale the day of the press conference, July 13, while ticket sales will become available to the general public on July 16.

“Strikeforce: Houston” is set to broadcast live on Showtime.

Strikeforce's long-rumored Texas debut will take place Aug. 21 at the
Toyota Center in Houston.

Strikeforce officials today announced a July 13 press conference to
officially announce the event, and the featured bouts of "Strikeforce:
Houston" are expected to be revealed at that time.

Tickets for the Showtime-broadcast event go on sale to "Strikforce
Insider" e-newsletter subscribers on Tuesday, July 13, while the general
public can purchase tickets beginning Thursday, July 15.

Another pound of dynamite could be added to Strikeforce's upcoming eight-man middleweight tournament.

Scott Coker, the promotion's CEO, told MMAjunkie.com today that he plans to invite fearsome striker Melvin Manhoef to the field, which is expected to begin Aug. 21 at "Strikeforce: Houston."

Coker added that former middleweight champion Cung Le will not participate in the tourney and will stick to "superfights."

When Strikeforce makes its Texas debut next month, the organization likely will do so at Houston's Toyota Center.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today told MMAjunkie.com the 18,000-seat arena is expected to host the Aug. 21 event, which airs on Showtime.

The Toyota Center is home to the NBA's Houston Rockets and the AHL's Houston Aeros.

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal has an opponent for his first title defense.

Lawal, who recently won the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title from Gegard Mousasi, next meets Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante in August at "Strikeforce: Houston."

Although bout agreements have not been signed, a source close to one of the competitors told MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are in place for the title fight.

The newly crowned Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will be putting his championship crown on the line for the first time against dangerous Brazilian striker Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in August.

FiveOuncesofPain.com recently learned of the anticipated match-up through sources close to the promotion. 

The title clash is expected to take place on August 21 from Houston, Texas, while no venue for the event has been announced as of this writing.

Undefeated and widely considered to be among the best light heavyweights in the business, Lawal (7-0) stripped the Strikeforce championship from the waist of Gegard Mousasi during “Strikeforce: Nashville” with a convincing one-sided unanimous decision victory on April 17 of this year. While respected as one of the most dangerous wrestler’s in MMA, Lawal has established a reputation as a knockout artist during his less than two years spent in the sport, finishing 5 of his 7 victories via KO or TKO.

Standing across from Mo in his quest to successfully defend his title for the first time will be another 205 lb. fighter with a nasty reputation in the business as a knockout specialist.

More commonly known by his nickname “Feijao”, Cavalcante (9-2-1) has finished 8 of his 9 victims via KO or TKO. Feijao trains out of the highly respected Black House Gym that includes UFC notables such as Anderson Silva and The Nogueira Brothers. He is currently riding a two-fight win streak that includes stoppages of Antwain Britt and Aaron Rosa after being knocked senseless at the hands of Mike Kyle during “Strkeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” in June of 2009.

CHICAGO, Ill. (June 23, 2010) — Jessica Aguilar, the American Top Team product and No. 7 flyweight in the world is the latest and final addition to Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

Aguilar, a rising star in women’s MMA, brings an impressive 8-4 professional record to the tournament, which begins this August. In her latest showing just three weeks ago, Aguilar knocked out Catia Vitoria four minutes into the first round.

Aguilar is the eighth and final fighter to be added to the tournament, and all eight are ranked among the world’s 10 best in their respective weight classes. The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii – widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world – 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana , 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez, and 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly.

The tournament begins on Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

“This is my dream,” Aguilar said. “Bellator is giving us 115 pounders a shot at showing the world what we can do. Whoever wins this tournament will have the right to say they are truly the best in the world. I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”

The 28-year-old, who was born in Mexico and raised in Houston, says she happened upon MMA four-and-a-half years ago on a whim. After moving to South Florida and entering the real estate industry, she needed a place to work out and eventually found a gym that offered aerobics classes as well combat training. One night, she decided to stick around for what she thought was a wrestling class.

“It ended up being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, and I loved it … I never looked back,” she said.

One month later, Aguilar was competing and winning BJJ tournaments. She made her pro MMA debut in February 2006 when she was tapped as a late replacement to fight fellow top-ten 115 pounder Lisa Ward. A life-long athlete, Aguilar took the fight without hesitation on just five days notice.

“I grew up with big brothers and I figured, what could another 115-pound woman do to me?” she said.

True to form, Aguilar showed the extent of her tremendous athleticism, taking Ward all three rounds before eventually succumbing to a rear naked choke with just three seconds left in the fight. Although she lost, the fight inspired Aguilar to train full time and fight for a living. At the ATT camp in Coconut Creek, Fla., she now rolls with some of the top male fighters in the world.

“They call me pequeña – I’m like a sister to them,” she says. “Having brothers myself, it felt really comfortable, like a family environment.”

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said Aguilar’s fierce fighting style compelled him to make her the final addition to the Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

“Jessica Aguilar has that athletic X-factor that makes her competitive in almost any match-up,” Rebney said. “She is a great final addition to our Season 3 Women’s Tournament.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.

CHICAGO, Ill. (June 23, 2010) — Jessica Aguilar, the American Top Team product and No. 7 flyweight in the world is the latest and final addition to Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

Aguilar, a rising star in women’s MMA, brings an impressive 8-4 professional record to the tournament, which begins this August. In her latest showing just three weeks ago, Aguilar knocked out Catia Vitoria four minutes into the first round.

Aguilar is the eighth and final fighter to be added to the tournament, and all eight are ranked among the world’s 10 best in their respective weight classes. The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii – widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world – 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana , 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez, and 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly.

The tournament begins on Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

“This is my dream,” Aguilar said. “Bellator is giving us 115 pounders a shot at showing the world what we can do. Whoever wins this tournament will have the right to say they are truly the best in the world. I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity.”

The 28-year-old, who was born in Mexico and raised in Houston, says she happened upon MMA four-and-a-half years ago on a whim. After moving to South Florida and entering the real estate industry, she needed a place to work out and eventually found a gym that offered aerobics classes as well combat training. One night, she decided to stick around for what she thought was a wrestling class.

“It ended up being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, and I loved it … I never looked back,” she said.

One month later, Aguilar was competing and winning BJJ tournaments. She made her pro MMA debut in February 2006 when she was tapped as a late replacement to fight fellow top-ten 115 pounder Lisa Ward. A life-long athlete, Aguilar took the fight without hesitation on just five days notice.

“I grew up with big brothers and I figured, what could another 115-pound woman do to me?” she said.

True to form, Aguilar showed the extent of her tremendous athleticism, taking Ward all three rounds before eventually succumbing to a rear naked choke with just three seconds left in the fight. Although she lost, the fight inspired Aguilar to train full time and fight for a living. At the ATT camp in Coconut Creek, Fla., she now rolls with some of the top male fighters in the world.

“They call me pequeña – I’m like a sister to them,” she says. “Having brothers myself, it felt really comfortable, like a family environment.”

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said Aguilar’s fierce fighting style compelled him to make her the final addition to the Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

“Jessica Aguilar has that athletic X-factor that makes her competitive in almost any match-up,” Rebney said. “She is a great final addition to our Season 3 Women’s Tournament.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.