LAS VEGAS – Strikeforce is back. Well, sort of.
Thursday night at Quintet Ultra, five of Strikeforce’s most notable veterans will compete against teams representing the UFC, WEC and PRIDE.
The openweight elimination challenge takes place at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.
Strikeforce’s team is comprised of lightweight champ (and team captain) Gilbert Melendez, welterweight champ Jake Shields, light heavyweight champ Muhammed Lawal, light heavyweight champ Renato Sobral and lightweight Gesias Cavalcante.
Wednesday, the five Strikeforce alumni reunited for a media scrum with MMA Junkie. The Strikeforce group of five fighters declared themselves the “best looking team,” joked about having to go up against Team WEC’s Mark Munoz, and reminisced on how far they’ve come.
The tournament will first pair Strikeforce up with WEC. In the opening round, Cavalcante will face off with former UFC title challenger Chad Mendes.
Roster orders are selected by each team behind closed doors and submitted simultaneously. Not knowing the orders of other quintets, each team will have to stick to its order if members of its team get eliminated.
In addition to the team competition, Quintet Ultra will feature singles matches. Gordon Ryan meets Aleksei Oleinik, while Cynthia Calvillo – who replaces a previously announced Pearl Gonzalez – takes on Danielle Kelly. A prelims single match between Craig Jones and Fredson Paixao also is set.
