''Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event held by

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

. The event took place on December 17, 2011 at the

Valley View Casino Center Pechanga Arena (historically known as the San Diego Sports Arena) is an indoor arena built in 1966 and located in the Midway area of San Diego, California. The arena seats 12,000 for indoor football, 12,920 for ice hockey, indoor soccer a ...

in San Diego, California, United States.

Background

The main event between Melendez and Masvidal was briefly in question with Dana White's announcement that Melendez was UFC bound, but the match went on as planned.

Keith Jardine Keith Jardine (born October 31, 1975) is an American actor and retired mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the UFC and Strikeforce. Jardine was known for upset victories in bouts he took at short notice against highly rated fight ...

was expected to make his

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

debut at this event. However, he would instead debut at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine the following year. The Bowling/Peoples bout was supposed to be fought at Welterweight, however it was changed to a 179-pound catchweight. Peoples still missed weight and the fight went on as a 181-pound catchweight fight with Peoples fined 20 percent of his purse. The bout between Devin Cole & Gabriel Salinas-Jones was the last heavyweight fight in

's full

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. Two days after this event was held,

announced the end of the division (save for Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament finalists Josh Barnett & Daniel Cormier) due to a lack of depth, and six of the promotion's remaining heavyweight fighters were folded into the UFC shortly afterwards. Former World Extreme Cagefighting announcer Joe Martinez announced this event in place of

Jimmy Lennon Jr. Jimmy Lennon Jr. (born August 5, 1958) is an American boxing ring announcer who is employed primarily by Showtime (TV network), Showtime and Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports as ring announcer for their ''Showtime Championship Boxing'' and P ...

, as Lennon was announcing that same night's Showtime-broadcast Super Six World Boxing Classic boxing card headlined by Carl Froch & Andre Ward.

Results

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or locker room bonuses. * Gilbert Melendez: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Jorge Masvidal: $23,000 * Cris Cyborg: $66,000 (includes $33,000 win bonus) def. Hiroko Yamanaka: $8,000 * Gegard Mousasi: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Ovince St. Preux: $17,000 * KJ Noons: $65,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Billy Evangelista: $20,000 * Caros Fodor: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Justin Wilcox $12,000 * Roger Bowling: $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Jerron Peoples: $2,000 * Devin Cole: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones: $3,000 * Eddie Mendez: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Fernando Gonzalez: $3,000 * Herman Terrado: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Chris Brown: $3,000

References

{{Strikeforce Events Melendez vs. Masvidal 2011 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in San Diego 2011 in sports in California Sports competitions in San Diego