A middleweight bout between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (15-3 MMA, 5-1 SF) and Derek Brunson (9-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) is planned for Strikeforce's August event.
Multiple sources close to the bout on Tuesday confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com. The fight booking first was reported by MMAWeekly.com.
Souza, a former Strikeforce middleweight champ, and Brunson are likely to fight on the main card of the promotion's Aug. 18 event, which is expected to take place at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. The main card will air on Showtime with prelims set for Showtime Extreme.
The two fighters were expected to meet this past March on Strikeforce's card in Columbus, Ohio. But Brunson was pulled from the fight when the Ohio commission wouldn't allow him to fight with contact lenses in, as he had in previous fights in his career.
Souza last saw action in March, when he submitted Bristol Marunde, who subbed for Brunson, with an arm-triangle choke in the third round in Columbus. That bout was his first fight back after losing his middleweight belt to current champ Luke Rockhold this past September in a five-round unanimous decision.
Souza initially won the title with a unanimous decision win over Tim Kennedy in August 2010 after Jake Shields vacated the belt to sign with the UFC. In January 2011, he submitted Robbie Lawler in his lone successful defense of the title.
Brunson earlier this month took a short-notice fight against Kendall Grove at ShoFIGHT 20 when Terry martin pulled out the week of the fight. But in the promotion's middleweight title fight, Brunson, who got dispensation from Strikeforce to take a bout outside the organization, dropped a split decision. The loss was the first of his career.
Prior to the setback against Grove, Brunson started his career 9-0 – including seven first-round stoppage victories. As a Strikeforce middleweight, Brunson is 3-0 with a pair of decision wins and a rear-naked choke submission of Lumumba Sayers in July 2011.
The latest card now includes:
Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman (for women's bantamweight title)*
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Derek Brunson*
Roger Bowling vs. Tarec Saffiedine*
T.J. Cook vs. Ovince St. Preux*
* - Not officially announced
Source: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza vs. Derek Brunson planned for Aug. 18 Strikeforce card