Cox Says Carano’s Future May Determine Lawler’s

In the gold rush of fights being put together for Strikeforce’s Showtime cards in April and May, manager extraordinaire Monte Cox is working towards a number of deals with CEO Scott Coker.

One Cox’s most high profile clients–and subject of great speculation–is Robbie Lawler, Elite XC’s former middleweight champion.

Initially, Cox told MMAWeekly his fighter was not a done deal with the San Jose-based organization, but has since met minds with Coker on Lawler’s move.

On Sunday, Coker suggested to MMAInsider a rematch between Lawler and Joey Villasenor, but after Monday teleconference with Cox, that idea was struck down.

“He’s not going to fight Villasenor,” Cox told MMAInsider. “That I know for sure. We don’t have any interest in that.”

While Cox says there have been “discussions” for Lawler to face Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef, nothing has been confirmed.

It also remains to be seen which card Lawler will grace–the Apr. 11 card in San Jose, or a possible May card in Tacoma, Wash. According to Cox and other sources close to negotiations, Gina Carano’s plans with the organization are not set.

“We don’t know when he’s going to fight, because they’ve been waiting on Carano to see when she can get ready,” said Cox. “So they’ll talk to her and then Robbie will fight either in April or May depending on what she’s doing.”

If Manhoef is not acquired for the April or May cards, Cox has another suggestion for Coker.

“I like (Kazuo) Misaki,” said Cox. “He’s ranked in the top 5, he’s beat Dan Henderson, he’s a legitimate guy, and I think it’s a really good match-up for us.”