FiveOuncesofPain.com has recently confirmed that Melvin Manhoef will be making his Strikeforce debut during “Strikeforce: Miami” through sources close to the fighter.

Manhoef will be throwing down for the first time under the Strikeforce banner during “Strikeforce: Miami”, which is set for January 30 from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, and will air live on Showtime, along with The Super Channel in Canada.

No opponent has been named for Manhoef as of this writing, but stay tuned to 5 Oz. as we continue to keep you up to date on everything “Strikeforce: Miami”.

The appropriately nicknamed “No Mercy” is widely regarded to be the most ferocious knockout artist the sport has ever seen, with twenty three of his twenty-four victories being finished by either KO or TKO. Manhoef has won seven of his last nine bouts, with his most recent victory coming over the highly regarded Kazuo Misaki during the year end “Dynamite!! 2009″ card.

FiveOuncesofPain.com was recently able to obtain a full list of the disclosed payouts for the event from the California State Athletic Commission.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza displayed that he’s in very good hands with his current management team as the decorated submission specialist took $65,000 home to Brazil for his first round arm-triangle submission of Matt Lindland.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal had 10% of the $10,000 he had been guaranteed to show up due to his post-fight celebration that saw the undefeated superstar spraying Rockstar energy drink over portions of the cage canvas.

Daisuke Nakamura seems to have come up on the really, really short end of the stick for his unanimous decision losing effort at the hands of Justin Wilcox, apparently making the trip all the way from Japan to scoop up a disclosed $200 paycheck.

Below is a full list of the disclosed salary information for “Strikeforce: Evolution”:

Scott Smith: ($55,000) def. Cung Le: ($150,000)

Gilbert Melendez: ($55,000) def. Josh Thomson: ($30,000)

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza: $65,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Matt Lindland: $50,000

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal: $19,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)* def. Mike Whitehead: $30,000

Antwain Britt: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Scott Lighty: $5,000

Justin Wilcox: $5,000 def. Daisuke Nakamura: $200

Alex Crispim: $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. AJ Fonseca: $2,000

*Lawal was docked 10 percent of his $10,00o “show money” for dousing the canvas with Rockstar energy drink during his post-fight celebration.

Below is a series of photos from the battle courtesy of Strikeforce and Esther Lin (click any of the pics to enlarge) Make sure to pay close attention to the second pic, as if you look close, neither fighter is touching the ground with either foot:

When it was all said and done it was Melendez who had his hand raised in victory via unanimous decision; Extracting revenge on Thomson for a prior defeat, grabbing the Strikeforce lightweight crown and setting up an inevitable rubber-match between the two in the process.

Below is a series of photos from the epic battle courtesy of Strikeforce and Esther Lin (click on any pic to enlarge):

Check out Mo in action below courtesy of Strikeforce and Esther Lin (Click on either photo to enlarge):

Jacare put the entire Strikeforce middleweight division on notice as he took the fight to Lindland from beginning to end before tightening up the fight ending arm-triangle choke from the top position.

Below is a series of photos from the fight courtesy of Strikeforce and Esther Lin (click on any of the pics to enlarge):

Also on the card was a bout that has potential to grab the 5 Oz. Fight of the Year award, as Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson waged absolute war for the Strikeforce lightweight crown. When the dust had a chance to settle at the end of five ultra-violent rounds, it was Melendez who had his hand raised in victory; Grabbing the 155 pound title and setting up a possible rubber match in the process.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza showed that he will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with at 185 pounds in the future as he made submitting a world class wrestler in Matt Lindland look easy, slapping on an arm-triangle choke from the top position to force the tapout in the very first round.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal showed exactly why he is widely touted as one of the fastest rising prospects in the game, improving his record to 6-o with a devastating first round knockout over the vastly more experienced, and normally extremely  durable Mike Whitehead.

A full list of the results from Strikeforce: Evolution are below:

ALEX CRISPM def. A.J. FONSECA via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

JUSTIN WILCOX def. DAISUKE NAKAMURA via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

ANTWAIN BRITT def. SCOTT LIGHTY via TKO – Round 1

MUHAMMED “KING MO” LAWAL def. MIKE WHITEHEAD via TKO -Round 1

RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA def. MATT LINDLAND via submission (arm-triangle) – Round 1

GILBERT MELENDEZ def. JOSH THOMSON via unanimous decision (49-47, 49-46, 49-46)

SCOTT SMITH def. CUNG LE via knockout – Round 3

FiveOuncesofPain

Headlining the card will be Cung Le vs. Scott Smith, along with a lightweight title bout between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead and more.

5 Oz.‘ coverage of the card is set to kick off at right around 8:00 pm ET (5:00 pm PT) when the first preliminary fighters touch gloves, and the main card is set to begin at 10:00 pm ET (7 pm PT).

ALEX CRISPM def. A.J. FONSECA via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

JUSTIN WILCOX def. DAISUKE NAKAMURA via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

ANTWAIN BRITT def. SCOTT LIGHTY via TKO – Round 1

MUHAMMED “KING MO” LAWAL def. MIKE WHITEHEAD via TKO -Round 1

RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA def. MATT LINDLAND via submission (arm-triangle) – Round 1

GILBERT MELENDEZ def. JOSH THOMSON via unanimous decision (49-47, 49-46, 49-46)

SCOTT SMITH def. CUNG LE via knockout – Round 3

FiveOncesofPain

Headlining the card will be a lightweight title bout between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, along with other bouts such as Cung Le vs. Scott Smith, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead and more.

The first fighter is expected to hit the scales right around 8 pm ET (5 pm PT).

*Weigh-ins were supposed to begin at 8 pm ET, but as of 8:15 none of the fighters have hit the scale just yet….. It looks like the weigh-ins are starting at 8:30

Below is a full list of the weigh-in results for the event:

Josh Thomson (153) vs. Gilbert Melendez (154)

Cung Le (184) vs. Scott Smith (185.6)

Matt Lindland (185.2) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (185.4)

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (218.6) vs. Mike Whitehead (261.6)

Antwain Britt (205.6) vs. Scott Lighty (203)

Daisuke Nakamura (154.4) vs. Justin Wilcox (155.6)

Bobby Stack (153.8) vs. David Douglas (157.5)*

Alex Crispim (146.2) vs. A.J. Fonseca (143.2)

*Tarzan has two hours to cut 1.5 pounds

FiveOuncesofPain.com

“Strikeforce: Evolution” will be going down tomorrow evening, December 19, from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, featuring an anticipated slugfest between Cung Le and Scott Smith as the headliner, a lightweight championship rematch pitting Josh Thomson up against Gilbert Melendez, and much more.

So come along as Brady tells Andrest exactly where he went wrong with his predictions, and as always, please feel free to put up or shut up by posting a quick set of your own picks in the comment section below.

CUNG LE VS. SCOTT SMITH

David Andrest: Scott Smith is one of my favorite fighters to watch. While best known by many for his spectacular highlight knockout of Pete Sell in the UFC, Smith is no stranger to the “lucky” punch. When you have grasped victory from the jaws of defeat as many times as Smith, luck has little to do with it. Cung Le is coming off nearly a two year lay off, and while his record remains unblemished, father time, and inactivity are not a fighters best friend. I think we will see Cung Le beat on Smith for the better portion of three rounds. Smith does an interesting job of setting up his big right hand by taking 30 shots to the face. For some reason my gut is telling me Smith will find a way ( right hand to the chin) to win this fight.

Winner: Scott Smith via Knockout (Late third round)

Cory Brady: Knockout lovers unite, this fight is for you guys. There is absolutely no way this fight makes it to the judges. Cung Le has never been to the scorecards, and a little known fact about Smith is that he has only gone to a decision once in a total of twenty-three fights. That’s along with “Hands of Steel” finishing every single one of his sixteen victories on his own terms, meaning neither fighter has EVER won a mixed martial arts bout by decision, and tomorrow evening will be no exception to the rule.

The most significant difference here, as it is in all of Cung’s fights, will undoubtedly be the large gap in the striking department. Smith’s a great striker for MMA, but Le is leaps and bounds past where Smith can hope to be technically in the stand-up category. Smith could score a takedown, but I doubt it because Cung comes from a wrestling background, and he COULD land a miracle punch like David described before me, but don’t bet on it. Le told me in a recent conversation that he is well aware of Smith’s potential to end a fight at any moment, and I feel confident his experience in similar situations against better strikers than Smith will enable Cung to pick apart Scott on the feet in this one, with little worry of the infamous “come from behind punch”.

Winner: Cung Le via TKO

JOSH THOMSON VS. GILBERT MELENDEZ - STRIKEFORCE LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

David Andrest: Losing the Lawler fight from this card will not be the end of the world. As much as I hate to say it, I just don’t see this fight ending outside of 25 minutes. This is about as well matched as you could hope for in a lightweight title fight. The downside to that is the potential for a less than exciting fight from an action standpoint. Thomson is coming off  injuries that have kept him out of the cage for an extended time.

Winner: Gilbert Melendez via Decision

Cory Brady: While I don’t agree with the man Andrest believes will end up on the winning side of things in this match-up, I can agree with him in feeling that it’s highly probable that this bout makes it all five rounds. Of course anything can happen in this crazy sport and both guys can finish fights, but I don’t feel like they can finish one another. Styles make fights and I expect a closely contested fight between two extremely talented and well rounded lightweights, who’s strengths will cancel the others out in a battle that will look a lot like the first between the two.

Winner: Josh Thomson via Decision

RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA VS. MATT LINDLAND

David Andrest: This fight has a potential to be revisited by FiveOunesofPain in the form of a major award on Christmas Day. If you are familiar with Matt Lindland you already know  ( cue politically correct David) he has a methodical style that wears his opponents down. Lindland has employed this style with success so I can’t see things going different in this fight.  Lindland will not submit Jacare, and I don’t think he will knock him out.  I think Lindland will spend the majority of this fight in top position of Jacare’s guard.  Lindland has good enough submission defense to stay out of trouble.

Winner:  Matt Lindland via Smothering Decision

Cory Brady: David can play the PC until he’s blue in the face, but I’ll come right out and say it, Lindland has been near the very top of my least favorite fighters to watch for many years running because I happen to find his style of fighting…. boring as all hell to be quite honest. Howevr, obviously boring has been known to win fights, and Lindland can be pointed to as a direct example of this. I feel like Matt may have won this fight like three years ago, but I haven’t seen anything out of the aging and one dimensional Lindland since he TKO’d Jeremy Horn in 2006. I feel like Jacare is the superior striker, he’s obviously better with the submissions, and most importantly, he has youth and explosiveness on his side. Lindland is a world class Greco Roman wrestler, but I’ve said it before, I’ll end up saying it a million times: Good at everything trumps great at one thing every single time.

Winner: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza via Submission

MUHAMMED “KING MO” LAWAL VS. MIKE WHITEHEAD

David Andrest: What can be said about King Mo that he and his pundits haven’t already said about him?  Young, charismatic, explosive, outstanding wresting, underrated stand up; However, the thing that is most often overlooked is the record. At 5-0 as a professional Lawal is still just getting started.   Lawal holds a 10th degree black belt in media relations, and on that statistic alone finds himself  an incredible -600 on some notable Vegas sportsbooks. Whitehead on the other hand is  15-1 in his last 16 with his lone loss coming by decision to Babalu Sobral. The one determining factor in this fight for me might just be Lawal’s management. Ryan Parsons has done a wonderful job guiding the young fighter, and appears to have systematically placed Lawal in positions where he can excel. I am of the belief this will be the first true test for “”King Mo”, and it will not be an easy one.

Winner: Muhammed Lawal via decision.

Cory Brady: For Mo to be coming in as a -600 is absolutely ridiculous to me. I don’t feel like it’s fair to put those type of expectations on a fighter with a fraction of the experience as his opponent. An opponent in Whitehead that Andrest pointed out has a 15-1 record entering this fight. Whitehead’s only defeat in his last sixteen bouts was to former Strikeforce champ Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and the guy went the distance. Yet there are still those that would be happy with nothing less than a first round knockout, because those are the type of unreal expectations the hype surrounding a talented, up and coming can produce. While I still feel like Mo will win this fight, and win it impressively, lets give him the credit he’s due if he turns Whitehead into a highlight reel, and not look down on him if it ends up going to the scorecards. This is a great test for Lawal at this point in his still developing career, and a test I expect for him to pass with flying colors.

Winner: Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal via TKO

The undefeated Cung Le, one of the most dynamic fighters in MMA, will enter the cage for the first time since relinquishing the STRIKEFORCE middleweight (185 pounds) title to concentrate on an acting career. Le will face Scott Smith, a hard-hitting puncher and contestant on season four of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter reality show, in the main event.

Josh Thomson will square off with Interim Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez in a long-awaited rematch to determine the undisputed king of STRIKEFORCE’s 155-pound division. Thomson seized the lightweight crown by earning a five round, unanimous judges’ decision over Melendez at HP Pavilion on June 27, 2008.

In other SHOWTIME televised fights, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal will make his STRIKEFORCE debut when he meets Mike Whitehead, Matt Lindland will battle Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at middleweight, and “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will face an opponent to be determined.

Tickets, priced from $30, are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

San Jose Marriott – San Jose Ballrooms 1-4

301 South Market Street, San Jose, Calif. 95113,

(408) 280-1300

Thomson edged out Melendez via unanimous decision in the first battle between the California based rivals in a bout that took place more than a year ago in June of 2008, but according to “The Punk”, he didn’t even bother to review his previous victory as he fully expects a new and improved “El Nino” on December 19 when the two slug it out live on Showtime.

“This is a completely different fight than the last fight,” explained Thomson during a recent media call. “I didn’t even watch the last fight. Gilbert, I think, is a different fighter. I think he’ll come in with a different mentality and a different mindset.

“I don’t want to look at the past. I have to be sure I bring it home again and I’m not really looking at the last fight as a measuring stick whatsoever. It’s going to be a different Gilbert and a different fight.”

No excuses. That’s how Thomson wants it, and honestly, that’s just the way it’s going to be this time around. While Josh has been forced to pull out of two bouts prior to this one due to a broken ankle and the rehabilitation process that followed, he’s ready to go in this one.

“I don’t want the media to make any excuses if I go out there and he beats me fair and square,” said Thomson. “I don’t want people thinking that he beat me because I had all this time off or ring rust or whatever. I’m telling you right now I’m 100 percent. I’m ready to fight and if he beats me it’s because he was the better fighter that night. There is nothing else to it.

“I want to make that clear to the media now and to everyone who talks to me and to all my friends even and even to the guy who comes up to me in an alleyway and says something to me. I’m 100 percent, I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to bring my title home. If he beats me it’s because he was the better fighter.”

Apparently Radach hasn’t been cleared to begin training again according to his manager Ken Pavia, citing a recent surgery to Benji’s right hand as the reason for his time away from the gym.

The good news is that Lawler is still expected to compete during the event which has been scheduled for December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, according to his manager Monte Cox, with an announcement of his opponent for the card coming in the coming days according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker.

The bout will be Lawler’s first return to action since the guillotine choke loss suffered at the hands of current Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields in June of this year. Prior to the bout with Shields the UFC veteran hadn’t seen defeat in his previous six fights, notching wins over the likes of Joey Villasenor, Frank Trigg and Scott Smith along the way.

Honor when it comes to making the right choices for his family regardless of the criticism he should fall under, and respect in stepping down from his position at the top of the Strikeforce middleweight division to allow others to share the same spotlight and have the same opportunity to achieve what has done so much for his career away from the cage.

Whether it has been Kickboxing, Sanshou or Mixed Martial Arts, Le has yet to see defeat in his professional fighting career. Yet Cung knows as well as anyone that no man is invincible, and accordingly, Le is currently deep in training for his upcoming middleweight clash with Scott Smith like it’s the most important bout of his career.

With all things considered, being thirty-seven years of age with a bright movie career in frot of him and coming off of a year and a half layoff to face arguably his toughest opponent to date, it very well be the most important fight of Le’s career in the cage, or ring for that matter. If not the most important, definitely the most pivotal in regards to the future of a man that will likely be considered one of the greatest pure martial artists of our generation in years to come.

This is more than just a fight for Cung. this fight is about proving the critics wrong. This fight is about proving to himself what Le already knows deep in his heart; That he can hang and still belongs banging it out with the top fighters of today. This fight is about an undefeated legacy of accomplishment in the martial arts, ending at the pinnacle of combat sports: Mixed Martial Arts.

FiveOuncesofPain.com recently had the opportunity to speak with Cung about a variety of subjects including his upcoming showdown with “Hands of Stone” at “Strikeforce: Evolution” on December 19th (of course), his boy Anthony Johnson’s performance against Josh Koscheck, along with gathering Le’s reactions to current Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shield’s statements that Cung has been ducking him.

FiveOuncesofPain: The last time I spoke to you was just prior to the release of “Pandorum”, and I wanted to tell you: I’ve seen it, and I loved it. It was kind of like “The Descent” meets any of the “Alien” films for me. Really claustrophobic, and really freaky. Do you have any other movie plans lined up for the near future?

Cung Le: I have a couple projects for next year. Nothing is signed or locked in yet, but they brought me in and talked to me about being interested in a couple of projects.

FiveOuncesofPain: This is kind of a random question but Tony Jaa happens to be one of my favorite martial arts/action stars; What are your thoughts on Mr. Jaa?

Cung Le: I think he’s really fantastic with the action. I haven’t had a chance to see the new “Ong Bak II” but he definitely made a big splash with “Ong Bak” part one.

FiveOuncesofPain: Yeah part two’s pretty awesome man. Maybe one day we’ll be able to see Cung and Tony side by side.

Cung Le: You know, you never know. I’m sure that once I get the chance to choreograph all of my fight scenes that there will be some really cutting edge stuff there too.

FiveOuncesofPain: So is that kind of the idea you have for yourself in the future; Kind of doing the whole Jackie Chan choreographing all of your action scenes type of thing?

Cung Le: Yeah definitely. Like with a lot of “Pandorum” and “Fighting” I had a chance to offer some advice on some of the scenes, and next thing I know they’re using it, so…

FiveOuncesofPain: That’s cool man. Well we’re just a few weeks away, and it seems like such a typical boring question, but it has to be asked; How are you feeling right now, are the reflexes and everything still where they need to be?

Cung Le: I’m feeling good. I’m excited, I’m nervous, and I have the jitterbugs. It’s all part of the game.

FiveOuncesofPain: But being nervous is normal, right?

Cung Le: For me it is.

FiveOuncesofPain: Then I guess that’s a good thing. Everything seems like it’s going according to plan so far.

Cung Le: Yeah, everything seems good. I think the best person to ask would be Javier Mendez though. He’s the most honest about my training. It’s hard for me to tell how I’m doing. I’m just going to push it as hard as I can, and if he pushes me I’m going to push back.

FiveOuncesofPain: So are you going down to the American Kickboxing Academy or is Javier coming over there to train with you?

Cung Le: Actually he’s coming down to my gym and he’s been bringing some guys over. A couple of weeks ago I wrestled with Cain Velasquez, Trevor Prangley and Josh Thomson. I’m really thankful for them coming down to train with me because it makes it a lot easier on me with my schedule.

FiveOuncesofPain: What are your thoughts on Scott Smith and what he brings to the table? Obviously he’s a bit of a striker like yourself. How do you feel you guys match up?

Cung Le: I think we match up great. I think it’s going to be an exciting fight, Scott Smith is going to be dangerous from round one to round three. I’ve obviously seen quite a few of his fights in the past, and he’s dangerous. He’s got that really big punch. I’m just going to go in there and blank out my mind and just react.

FiveOuncesofPain: Right, and I was going to say that I’m sure you’ve studied quite a bit of tape on Scott and have seen his ability to remain dangerous at all times; Will it be a situation where if you hurt him, you’re going to have to be just a little more cautious due to history of coming back out of nowhere?

Cung Le: Yeah, definitely. You know, a lot of people rush in, but I’ve been in situations where I’ve hurt guys and I’m very really smart about it. Also when I do smell blood I’m able to stay very controlled.

FiveOuncesofPain: Neither of you guys are known for your flying armbars or gogoplatas; Is there pretty much no question in your mind this will turn into a slugfest or are you anticipating Scott trying to take you out of your strong point, and maybe trying to take you to the mat?

Cung Le: Yeah, well me and my team are always preparing for the worst so I’ve been working a lot on my ground game, just in case. I’ve been working my ground game for a while now, so I just have to maintain it. You have to stay a complete fighter and not just work the stand-up because you think it’s going to be a stand-up fight. You never know what to expect from Scott Smith. I’m sure he has a good camp, and I’m sure that if he gets into a little trouble standing that he’s going to try to take the fight to the ground, and you know, I’m comfortable there too.

FiveOuncesofPain: Right, for sure.

Cung Le: You won’t see a gogoplata, but you might see something (laughs).

FiveOuncesofPain: Would you say that it’s safe to say that Scott is the most dangerous striker in MMA that you have faced up until this point?

Cung Le: Ummm, yeah I guess so. I would have to say that Scott Smith is the most dangerous MMA fighter I have fought, but during my time in Sanshou I faced many very dangerous strikers. So I’ve been in there with the best of the best in Sanshou, but I have to realize that those fights were with 10 oz. gloves and these are with 4 oz. gloves. It’s a different sport. Anyone can get knocked out with these gloves. You get hit right and it’s goodnight.

FiveOuncesofPain: Now obviously you have Scott in front of you right now so I’m sure you have tunnel-vision on him, but are you thinking about getting back into the title fray in a matter of time, or are you more just taking things one fight at a time right now?

Cung Le: Just one fight at a time. Scott Smith is definitely at the end of that tunnel right now, and I have to get past him before I even think about anything else. It’s good to be back and train hard . Well it’s good and bad I guess because some things can linger and (laughs) sometimes I’m like, ‘Man, now I know why I enjoy making the movies’, (laughs) because you’re not always sore. But you have to keep with it. I’m enjoying what I’m doing as a fighter and a martial artist, and it’s because of MMA that I’m able to do all of these other things. It’s pretty cool to be able to do both.

FiveOuncesofPain: But there’s pros and cons to both I’m sure. I mean when you’re fighting, you probably want to be acting, and when you’re acting, you probably want to be fighting. I guess it’s just the way it works…

Cung Le: Yeah (laughs), you can’t win.

FiveOuncesofPain: I have to ask you your thoughts on Anthony Johnson’s performance; At just 25 yrs old, do you feel like he will learn more from that recent loss to Koscheck than if he had won?

Cung Le: You know, when we took this fight we knew that he had more to gain whether he won or lost because even if he did lose, which he did, he would gain experience. I thought he was controlling the fight pretty well, but at such a high level of fighting, it’s all about momentum. If the momentum changes and you can’t just switch it back on, then you’re going to lose the fight. Unforunately there were a few things like Johnson getting a little overexcitied with that knee, and Koscheck not closing his hand when he threw a jab. I think that he just got caught in the eye and the whole momentum changed. It is what it is, you know.

FiveOuncesofPain: Oh yeah, but does Anthony seem to be taking it pretty well, like a learning experience?

Cung Le: Actually he’s been taking it fantastic. It was on Sunday, just the next day, that he called me and said that he wanted to come back and start training on Monday, and I’m like, ‘Man, take a couple days off’. Of course he’s like, “Well I can come in and hold pads for the guys”, because there’s a couple of our guys with fights coming up, and I told him, ‘Just take the week off’. So he’s taking the week off and he’ll be back in on Monday.

FiveOuncesofPain: I know you guys are in separate weight classes and fighting for different promotions, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on Lyoto Machida? He seems to have a similar style to you in the aspect of taking little damage while dishing out a bunch?

Cung Le: I think his traditional background gives him a lot of different angles and a lot of tricks that a lot of other fighters aren’t really familiar with. I think he represents his style and mixed martial arts really well, and I think he’s a good champion.

FiveOuncesofPain: What were your thoughts on Jake Shields performance in his win over Mayhem?

Cung Le: I thought it was a good performance on the ground for Jake Shields. I thought “Mayhem” Miller had awesome defense against Shleds submissions, and I also thought that if there was ten more seconds in the third round that Jake Shields would have been asleep.

FiveOuncesofPain: Now I have to ask you; Jake Shields has been making statements that you have been ducking him in some way? What are your thoughts on those statements? Do you think he’s just trying to hype an eventual fight between you guys, or do you feel like there’s any bad blood there?

Cung Le: You know, it’s not the first time that guys like Jake Shields have used my name for publicity, and it’s not going to be the last. Jake and I come from different backgrounds. I’m more respectful due to my traditional roots in martial arts, and Jake has to promote himself the way he promotes himself. It doesn’t bother me at all. I have really thick skin and I’ve been through a lot so something that Jake says is not going to bother me at all to be honest. He’s the champion now but he has to use my name all the time, so ‘Thanks Jake’, for all of the free publicity. It doesn’t bother me at all. For me, whether you have the belt or not, you just have to have the championship attitude. I hope he understands how to promote himself better and has more of a champion’s attitude now that he’s the belt holder.

FiveOuncesofPain: And as far as you ducking him goes; If they were to offer you that fight on down the road, there’s no reason for you to turn down a fight against Jake Shields, correct?

Cung Le: Why would I? The worst that could happen to me is if he takes me to the ground and submits me. But then the worst thing that could happen for him would be for him to run into my shin or some vicious strikes. The thing is that on the ground I can tap, but there’s no tapping when you’re standing up.

FiveOuncesofPain: Well I think it’s kind of apparent that Jake’s stand up isn’t exactly his strong point.

Cung Le: No. Mayhem got the better of the striking in their bout.

FiveOuncesofPain: I think that bout kind of showed what we’ve seen in the past from Shields in bouts with guys like Paul Daley. If the other guy is a better striker, he’s not going to invest a lot of time standing up with the him. And no disrespect to Jake, he’s a heck of a fighter, but he’s not what I’d consider to be a high level striker. In a fight with someone like you I fel like he’d have no choice but to rely on that one dimension; I guess it’s just a case of: Can Jake Shields get you to the ground? I feel like your takedown defense is really underrated, but at the same time we haven’t had a chance to see that much of it yet.

Cung Le: Yeah, you know, me and Jake sparred in practice and I landed a lot of kicks, and he took me to the ground a few times, but that’s practice, you know. In a fight it’s not going to be like everytime he shoots in he takes me down.

FiveOuncesofPain: Right, and you’re not exactly trying to kick him in the head as hard as you can during sparring by a longshot.

Cung Le: Yeah, I feel like a have really good control during sparring. A lot of the times the reason I’m being taken down is because I’m pulling my kicks to the head and they’re just running me down with my foot on their face and getting the takedown. If I let things go, I don’t think that the other fighters would have that much respect for me because they’re preparing for a fight too, and I don’t want to hurt anyone during training. Training is training, and when you’re in a fight, it’s a fight.

FiveOuncesofPain: Cool, thanks Cung, anyone you want to thank?

Cung Le: Yeah absolutely, I want to thank my promoter Scott Coker and my trainer Javier Mendez. I also want to thank all of my sponsors, Zebra Mats, ADX, Knox Fight Gear, BR Flooring and High Octane Energy. I also want to thank the Oush! Fight Team and Team AKA.

Since the first round beating Mo put on Travis Wiuff during Sengoku VI, Lawal has gone on to put together an unblemished record of 5-0 while rocking what is disputedy the game’s best ring entrance prior to every beatdown served up.

It was just over a year ago when Mo caught my attention, and since that time a series of interviews and off the record conversations have served to deepen my belief that Lawal will have a tremendous impact on whichever weight class he chooses to compete at for as long as he sees fit.

Last night FiveOuncesofPain.com had the chance to catch up with Mo to gather his thoughts on his highly anticipated Strikeforce debut against the always dangerous Mike Whitehead and a few other topics, but staying true to form, the “interview” I was supposed to conduct with Mo turned into more of a conversation. A conversation that included topics such as the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, Dan Henderson and much more.

FiveOuncesofPain: So what made you sign with Strikeforce. I know the UFC kind of had you on their radar as well, but what made you make the ultimate decision to take the road you did?

King Mo: I like to stay busy and I can stay busier with Strikeforce. Plus they had that open contract. It just made more business sense to me because if you’re fighting with the UFC, you’re fighting three times a year, you know, if that. If you’re lucky.

FiveOuncesofPain: And this way I guess you could still fight in Japan. Are you still planning on fighting for Sengoku again at all in the future?

King Mo: Yeah, I’m going to fight somewhere in Japan, whether it’s Sengoku or DREAM. I just want to stay busy because I need fights. I’m only 5-0, but a lot of people look at me like I’m a veteran or something (laughs). You know what I’m saying? I’ve only had five fights.

FiveOuncesofPain: I know man, it’s only really been about a year since you’ve even been training. When was your first fight with Travis Wiuff? It was in September right?

King Mo: September 30th was my first fight, so it’s been about a year and two months.

FiveOuncesofPain: So what are your thoughts on Mike Whitehead and what he’s going to bring to the table on December 19th?

King Mo: He’s solid. He’s a solid veteran, He’s solid pretty much everywhere and doesn’t make many mistakes. He used to wrestle at heavyweight back in college. I was wrestling freestyle at the time so I didn’t know him, but I knew of him.

FiveOuncesofPain: Yeah for sure. That’s the thing with Mike; He’s been around for a while, and he’s fought a bunch of tough dudes, but it doesn’t seem like he’s really spectacular in any single area.

King Mo: Yeah, and the thing is that we’re fighting at heavyweight because he didn’t want to make the cut to 205. He’s like 245 or 250 right now. I’ll fight him anywhere. He wanted to fight at heavyweight, I’m like… whatever.

FiveOuncesofPain: Alright, well we know he’s a wrestler and he has decent striking, but you have to feel like you’re going to have the edge in the wrestling department if it goes there.

King Mo: Yeah, yeah, I feel like I’m better, but I don’t think I’m going to have to use my wrestling. If I see the opportunity to use it though, I’m going to use it. I’m going to take whatever he gives me because he’s a solid guy. I’m not going to force anything. Fighting isn’t about forcing it, you just take what they give you.

FiveOuncesofPain: Oh, for sure. Especially against a guy as tested and seasoned as a Mike Whitehead. He’s been in there with some of the best fighters in the sport, he’s 15-1 in his last sixteen, and he’s coming off of a win over Kevin Randleman. He’s legit, no question.

King Mo: Yeah, but the thing is that a lot of people are saying, “Why isn’t Mo fighting someone that’s legit?”, and I’m thinking, ‘Who has Jon Jones fought that was legit besides Matt Hamill?’. You look at GSP and who he fought in his first few fights. A lot of people just don’t understand how the fight game goes, and how someone needs time to develop properly.

FiveOuncesofPain: Right, and this is your first real fight back coming off of a serious knee injury. A serious knee injury. The Mark Kerr fight was what it was, which was a test bout to some extent, but this is a pretty serious opponent to be taking off of the injury in my opinion. Like I said before, Mike has a record of 15-1 in his last sixteen where he’s beaten respectable fighters like Zak Jensen, Krzysztof Soszynski and Kevin Randleman in the mix, he has over forty fights, and you have, what, five fights over the last year. Of course you’re fight with Kerr wasn’t even really a fight; You scooped him up, dumped him on his head and punched his face. Whitehead is for real and I’m sure you’re expecting for this one to go a couple rounds at least. Mike’s a tough guy, and if you beat him you’re going to have to beat him up a bit first.

King Mo: I’m going to have to beat him up. You know how I see it, right. I beat Whitehead and people are going to be like, “Oh, Whitehead… he wasn’t even that good, you know…. Mike’s not even in the top ten”. Then I beat [Gegard] Mousasi and it’s like, “Oh, Mousasi was overrated…. this and that”. You know, that’s all I feel like I’m going to get right now. I won’t get any credit until I’m in the UFC, and even then people will probably find reasons not to give me credit for anything anyways, you know what I’m saying?

FiveOuncesofPain: But if you beat Whitehead, people are going to have to give you a certain amount of credit. They’re not going to start saying that you are without a doubt the future of the sport with an impressive win over Whitehead, but they’re going to have to respect you. Anyone that follows the sport closely know that Mike is no joke, but the thing with that is: You have to know from Strikeforce’s position with their current roster, if you beat Mike Whitehead, that’s going to be the last Mike Whitehead you’re going to face from here on out. I’d expect a fight with someone like Bobby Southworth, Babalu or Mousasi to be on the near horizon for you.

King Mo: If you compared Mike Whitehead to Travis Wiuff, Travis had much more impressive wins than Whitehead when I fought him. Whitehead has Randleman and Soszynski.

FiveOuncesofPain: Oh yeah, I mean it’s not like the guy hasn’t lost before, but one thing that’s for sure is that Mike is just a tough son of a b****. You just know you’re going to be in for a fight.

King Mo: The one thing with him is his conditioning though. He’ll do good early in fights, but then he gasses. I feel like my slowest is faster than Whitehead’s fastest.

FiveOuncesofPain: I know you have plans of competing at light heavyweight in the future so I have to ask: What are your thoughts on Gegard Mousasi. A lot of people are touting him as the next big thing. I feel like your wrestling could possibly present him some problems….

King Mo: On top of that, he’s been fighting for so long; What has really changed in his game? If you watch his fights from back then and now, what’s changed? I just don’t think he’s that powerful. I don’t think he has that much power, and I don’t think he’s that strong. I don’t think his conditioning is all that great either.

FiveOuncesofPain: I’ve got to ask you about Dan Henderson. What are your thoughts on the possibility of him winding up with Strikeforce?

King Mo: That’s would be great if he came over to Strikeforce. He’s a great fighter and he carries a big name, so I think it would be great if he came to Strikeforce.

FiveOuncesofPain: Is that someone you’re going to want to fight at some point? I mean he’s a big name and that’s what it’s all about right? Eventually of course…

King Mo: Yeah eventually. I like Dan too. He’s a really cool guy, but eventually, if it made sense for the fight to happen, then yeah, that would be a good fight, and I’d take it.

FiveOuncesofPain: At the same time it seems like Strikeforce is going to have to build up their light heavyweight division a little bit because who do they have? he have Mousai, Babalu, Southworth… I think, but really it’s not even fair to you to even be considering a fight with someone like Dan Henderson at this point in your career. But I think Whitehead’s a perfect opponent for you right now. I don’t really think you want a guy you’re just going to blow through right now. I’m sur you’d rather have a tough guy in front of you so you can get some work in, test the knee out, and just kind of gauge where you’re at right now.

King Mo: Yeah, for sure.

FiveOuncesofPain: So what were your thoughts on your boy Daniel Cormier’s first performance with Strikeforce? It wasn’t anything too groundbreaking really, but at the same time I felt like it was a really solid performance against a tough guy.

King Mo: Here’s the thing with Daniel that a lot of people don’t understand. Some people are trying to compare him to Tyron Woodley, but Tyron’s had nine amateur fights, and he’s been fighting since 2005. So of course Tyron is going to look a little bit sharper right now, but Daniel had only been training for like three weeks, maybe a month up until that fight (laughs).

FiveOuncesofPain: Have you had a chance to train with him at all since that fight?

King Mo: Yeah, he’s looking better. We went down and trained with Rashad Evans and Mike Van Arsdale in Denver like two weeks ago. He’s actually going to be down here helping me out with my camp next week.

FiveOuncesofPain: Yeah I think Daniel has a really bright future ahead of him right now. Which reminds me; What is Team Thirsty and what is Team GDP. What do they stand for?

King Mo: It’s all the same. They’re both the same. GDP is Gettin Dat Paper, you know what I’m saying.

FiveOuncesofPain: Alright, that’s what I thought, and thirsty is just…

King Mo: Thirsty for that money or just whatever, you know.

FiveOuncesofPain: Cool, alright Mo, take care and good luck on the 19th.

While nothing has been made official regarding the match-up as of this time, Lawal recently confirmed to 5 Oz. that both he and Mike Whitehead have verbally agreed to the proposed clash.

The two will face off during “Strikeforce: Evolution“, which has been set for December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, and will air live on Showtime.

Although Mo last competed at the heavyweight division and Whitehead previously fought at light heavyweight, apparently it was Whitehead’s wish that the fight between the pair take place at heavyweight.

Lawal is currently doing his training in California alongside fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Benji Radach, Fabricio Werdum and others.

A Big 12 Champion and Division I All-American wrestler out of Oklahoma State where he trained alongside fellow Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier, Lawal burst onto the MMA scene like a stick of dynamite a little over a year ago when he handed Travis Wiuff, a veteran of more than sixty fights at the time, his first loss in his previous nine bouts. Mo has established himself as one of the fastest rising prospects in the sport since that bout, compiling an unblemished record of 5-0 with four of those wins coming by either KO or TKO. The member of both Team Thirsty and Team GDP‘s last outing saw him dispatch of a much larger Mark Kerr in seconds with a huge slam and a series of punches during “M-1: Breakthrough“.

An accomplished wrestler in his own right, Whitehead was a former three-time Division I All-American before he made the transition to mixed martial arts back in May of 2000. Since that time Whitehead has put together an impressive record of 31-7 while notching victories over the likes of Ben Rothwell, Krzysztof Soszynski, and TUF 10‘s Zak Jensen along the way. Mike’s last outing was a unanimous decision victory over Kevin Randleman during “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” in June of this year.

5 Oz. had the chance to catch up with Mo this evening just before he was on his way out the door to hit the weights with “Minotauro” Nogueira and crew. Make sure to check back tomorrow for the conversation where Lawal discusses his choice to sign with Strikeforce, how he matches up with Whitehead, current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, the possibility of Dan Henderson making the big move, and much more.

The two will face off during “Strikeforce: Evolution” on December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The news of the bout was confirmed in a midnight bulletin over at GracieFighter.com early Monday morning.

Thomson was forced to the sidelines in both of the pair’s previously scheduled rematch bouts due to ankle and leg injuries. The December showdown with Melendez will mark The Punk’s first return to action since he TKO’d Ashe Bowman at the Playboy Mansion in September of 2008.

Melendez has seen action twice since the decision defeat at the hands of Thomson in July of 2008, knocking out Rodrigo Damm in April of this year, and avenging a former loss while battering Mitsuhiro Ishida in August.

A full list of the bouts expected for “Strikeforce: Evolution” are listed below:

Josh Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez

Cung Le vs. Scott Smith

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Matt Lindland

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead

Robbie Lawler vs. TBA

Scott Lighty vs. Antwain Brit

Apparently Le has already agreed to face off with middleweight knockout artist Scott Smith according to a recent report on MMAJunkie.com.

The two are expected to square off at the “Strikeforce: Evolution” card set for December 19 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The bout will mark Le’s first return to action since obtaining the Strkeforce middleweight crown during a battle with Frank Shamrock in March of 2008. He sports an unblemished record of 6-0, with all six f his victories coming by either KO or TKO.

Smith will be looking to place himself back in the winner’s circle following his third round rear-naked choke defeat at the hands of Nick Diaz in June of this year. Just prior to his recent loss Smith had racked up consecutive knockout victories over the likes of Benji Radach and Terry Martin.

Scott Coker recently confirmed the event and the announced participants to MMAJunkie.com at recent press conference for “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers“.

The event is tabbed for December 19 from San Jose, California from the HP Pavilion, airing live on Showtime.

While King Mo’s participation has been announced for the event, an opponent for the Sengoku veteran is still in the works.

A decorated submission specialist, Souza will be looking to get back on track following a no-contest ruling in his most recent bout with Jason “Mayhem” Miller and a knockout defeat to Gegard Mousasi following a string of ten consecutive wins, while Lindland was most recently knocked out at the hands of Vitor Belfort following a decision victory over Fabio Nascimento in July of 2008.