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  - THOMSON VS MELENDEZ 2 SET FOR SHOWTIME DEBUT
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com
It's a little sooner than most had anticipated, but Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson will defend his belt against the man who he won it from, Gilbert Melendez, when the promotion premiers on Showtime on April 11.
Strikeforce had been searching for other opponents for both fighters, but when no other top names became available, the promotion's brass decided it was time to put Thomson and Melendez back in the cage together.
"There were other guys we were looking at, but we want to make a big splash when we go on Showtime in April, and this was a great fight the first time around," Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz told MMAWeekly.com, confirming the fight first speculated by FiveOuncesOfPain.com.
"They fought to a decision before and it was a great fight, so it's a good one to do again, both for us and for the fans."
Afromowitz stated that Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz would still headline on April 11, but Thomson and Melendez will be a five-rounder and be the main featured bout on the card outside of the main event.
"We already had the main event lined up and went on sale with it, and started promoting that, so (Shamrock vs. Diaz) will still be the main event," he informed MMAWeekly.com.
"But I think this is going to be an exciting fight again and it really adds to a great card on Showtime."
Previously announced for the televised portion of the card is a bout between Benji Radach and Scott Smith, as well as the participation of Christian "Cyborg" Santos. A bout between top welterweight Jake Shields and Joe Riggs is also expected to don the card on Showtime, but it has yet to be officially confirmed.
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