Tim Kennedy vs Trevor Smith added to Nov.3 SF in OKC

After his July middleweight title fight setback, Tim Kennedy will return to work in November.

Kennedy (14-4 MMA, 5-2 SF) is set to meet Trevor Smith (10-2 MMA, 2-1 SF) when Strikeforce heads to Oklahoma City on Nov. 3. Company officials on Thursday announced the new fight booking.

The show takes place at Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City with a main card on Showtime and prelims on Showtime Extreme.

Daniel Cormier, a former standout wrestler at Oklahoma State University, originally was set to headline against former UFC champ Frank Mir. But Mir suffered a knee injury earlier this week and was pulled from the card. Strikeforce is seeking his replacement, and Cormier still is expected to fight in the main event.

Kennedy in July dropped a unanimous decision to middleweight champ Luke Rockhold in Portland, Ore. That loss dropped him to 0-2 in Strikeforce title fights after a loss to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in August 2010 for the then-vacant 185-pound belt.

After the loss to Souza, Kennedy looked impressive with a first-round submission of Melvin Manhoef and a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler in 2011. But he missed nearly a year with injuries before finally returning to face Rockhold for the title.

Smith returns to the Strikeforce banner after a win outside the promotion this past June. Smith started his Strikeforce career 2-0 with back-to-back submission wins in 2011 of Ketih Berry and T.J. Cook. But in January, he was finished by Gian Villante in just 65 seconds in Las Vegas.

Of Smith's 10 wins, nine have come by submission, and eight in the first round. The lone win that wasn't a tapout was a 37-second knockout in his pro MMA debut in January 2009.

ufc needs to get someone else to replace mir, I am not satisfied with werdum. If the UFC wants to usher in Cormier do it with style.

Cu Bu wrote:

ufc needs to get someone else to replace mir, I am not satisfied with werdum. If the UFC wants to usher in Cormier do it with style.

STFU

Werdum >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mir

yeah its a strikeforce fight, we had a real ufc guy fighting in strikeforce I like werdum but its a letdown so you stfu you aggie

Cu Bu wrote:

yeah its a strikeforce fight, we had a real ufc guy fighting in strikeforce I like werdum but its a letdown so you stfu you aggie

I think you're a little too caught up in the brand. Werdum is better than Mir. Its a better fight. The only thing Mir has on Werdum is power.