As MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, Strikeforce women's featherweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (10-1 MMA, 4-0 SF) will fight on Dec. 17.
Japanese product Hiroko Yamanaka (12-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) will look to unseat the current titleholder.
Strikeforce officials announced the booking during Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers 19 broadcast on Showtime.
The company did not announce which event will host the bout, but MMAjunkie.com has confirmed with multiple sources that the contest is scheduled for a Dec. 17 event at Valley View Casino Center (formerly San Diego Sports Arena) in California.
The as-yet-unnamed card is expected to feature a lightweight title bout between current champ Gilbert Melendez and Jorge Masvidal, as previously reported. As usual, Showtime airs the night's main card.
A Jewels and Smackgirl veteran, Yamanaka carries an impressive eight-fight win streak to the cage. The 5-foot-11, 32-year-old's lone loss came in an April 2008 loss to Hitomi Akano, but Yamanaka avenged the result in March 2010.
Fighting professionally since 2006, Yamanaka has earned eight of her 12 career wins via decision.
Meanwhile, Santos fights for the first time since June 2010. A contract dispute had left the dominant champion sidelined in recent months, but "Cyborg" recently reached a new deal with Strikeforce officials.
Santos, arguably the world's top female fighter, fought twice for EliteXC before signing with Strikeforce, where she defeated Gina Carano for the vacant belt and then knocked out Marloes Coenen and Jan Finney in subsequent title defenses.
Source - MMAJunkie
