Arlovski to Strikeforce, Promotion Signs Spring Fights

There are plenty of good matches for Andrei Arlovski in the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion, and at last Arlovski’s management agrees: the fighter has signed a 16-month deal with the promotion. A May debut against Antonio Silva is under consideration.

The legend of Arlovski’s “glass chin” has gained steam over the past year, but fighting at heavyweight is a thankless task. Both Brett Rogers and Fedor Emelianenko hit like police tasers. Arlovski is still worth a betting slip in a rematch with either one.

His signing was just one of many announcements from the promotion yesterday, which formalized an April 17 CBS card headlined by three title fights involving Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson (a stern test for Shields), Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed Lawal (a big Q&A for two next-generation fighters), and Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (by any standards, an incredible match).

Strikeforce is essentially turning into a early-‘00s-era UFC, running five or six big shows a year instead of 20. Because of that frequency, their cards are getting increasingly substantial without the pay per view surcharge. It’s hard to find fault with that.