Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will make his Strikeforce debut against Brett Rogers this fall, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced at an open workout for Emelianenko on Wednesday in New York City.

A date and location have not yet been confirmed for the matchup, though Coker previously stated Emelianenko’s debut would likely headline a November Showtime event.

A light heavyweight matchup between Sengoku veteran and former NCAA wrestling champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (4-0) and two-time UFC tournament winner and former NCAA All-American Mark Kerr (15-10) headlines Friday’s “M-1 Global: Breakthrough” event at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City.

The HDNet-televised event also features a special sparring exhibition between top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi.

Fedor Emelianenko’s Strikeforce debut has been pushed back from a rumored October date to November, with Brett Rogers and Fabricio Werdum the front-runners to fight the top-ranked heavyweight.

In other Strikeforce news, the promotion is planning a Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron welterweight title fight by year’s end and 145-pound women’s champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos could fight Marloes Coenen in her first title defense. Read about these stories and more after the jump in MMAFrenzy.com’s Strikeforce roundup.

Fedor Emelianenko’s Strikeforce debut will headline an October 10 Strikeforce event at a location to-be-announced, according to MMA Fanhouse, with rumors making the rounds that Emelianenko could fight Ricco Rodriguez in the Showtime-televised card’s main event.

The UFC is reportedly considering adding a second October event to its schedule, potentially setting up a head-to-head showdown between the UFC and Strikeforce on October 10.

First reported by Dana White at Friday's UFC 101 Q&A session, and officially announced Monday by Spike TV, The Best of Pride Fighting Championships series starts January 11, 2010 at 11pm on Spike. The show will be a weekly one hour series following a similar format to that of the UFC Unleashed, and will be hosted by former Maxim Magazine "Hometown Hotties" finalist Kenda Perez.

On Saturday, MMAFrenzy.com reported that Don Fry had pulled out of his M-1 Breakthrough bout, which had been moved from Los Angeles to Kansas. A replacement has been found to face his scheduled opponent, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal at the event, in another aging legend, Mark Kerr.

Also added to the August 28th card is a special exhibition match between Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi.

Middleweight submission expert Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will fulfill his first fight on the contract “in the fall”, the promotion announced on Wednesday.

“Jacare” will reportedly make his Strikeforce debut at an October 25 event in Fresno, California, which could also host the Strikeforce debut of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

Fedor Emelianenko’s recently-announced deal with Strikeforce is an exclusive contract for three fights over one year, according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who discussed a variety of Strikeforce topics yesterday on TapouT Radio and the Carmichael Dave Show.

Coker said Strikeforce is planing a Thursday press conference to announce details on Fedor’s debut, and also announced that Jake Shields will be fighting for an interim middleweight title in October and that Strikeforce had formed a “alliance” with DREAM.

UFC President Dana White was in Abu Dhabi yesterday on business when news broke that top-heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko would pass on the UFC’s lucrative offer by accepting a contract with Strikeforce that offered co-promotion.

“Fedor is a [expletive] joke. [He] turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies, for no money. Fedor is a [expletive],” said White on Monday.

Fedor Emelianenko has signed a “historic, multi-fight agreement” with Strikeforce that will see him headline Strikeforce events co-promoted by M-1 Global. Strikeforce announced the signing on Monday, ending more than a week of speculation and negotiation that ensued following the collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion late last month.

Fedor’s first Strikeforce fight will air live on Showtime this fall, with a date, location, and opponent to-be-announced.

UFC President Dana White made several announcements during a Friday press conference, including confirmation that Vitor Belfort will be returning to the Octagon to headline UFC 103 against Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson is next in line for a middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva, and Tito Ortiz is officially returning to the UFC, likely facing Mark Coleman at the promotion’s New Year’s show.

Both the UFC and Strikeforce have apparently made formal offers to top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, who was left without an upcoming fight or a promotion to call home following last weeks cancellation of Affliction: Trilogy and subsequent collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion.

Though the UFC’s offer was called “very good” by Fedor’s M-1 Global management on Wednesday, the UFC’s reluctance to co-promote events with M-1 to bring Fedor has caused talks to stall. Strikeforce’s reported offer, though less lucrative than the UFC’s, is still very good and allows M-1 to co-promote Fedor’s events.

Outside of the announcement that Fedor Emelianenko would headline EA Sport’s upcoming MMA video game, there was little news and few answers at today’s press conference in Anaheim, California featuring the top-ranked heavyweight and M-1 Global officials.

An offer received on Tuesday from the UFC was called “very good,” but M-1’s insistence on co-promoting with the UFC remains a roadblock in the apparently stalled negotiations.

Fedor Emelianenko, the near-unanimous top-ranked heavyweight in the world, will headline EA Sport’s upcoming MMA video game, it was announced during a Wednesday press conference.

Gegard Mousasi and Renato “Babalu” Sobral were also confirmed to be appearing in the game, which is slated for a 2010 release on the Xbox 360 and PS3.