Despite being bloodied in the opening seconds of the fight, top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko did what most predicted he would, scoring a second-round knockout of previously undefeated Brett Rogers on Saturday in the main event of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.

In the evening’s co-headliner, Jake Shields was crowned Strikeforce’s middleweight champion with a unanimous decision victory over Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

All 20 fighters who will be in action at tomorrow’s CBS-televised Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers event in Hoffman Estates, Illinois successfully made weight today for their bouts.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko tipped the scale at 232 pounds, while his main event opponent, Brett Rogers, came in 32 pounds heavier at 264 pounds.

Cung Le has vacated the Strikeforce middleweight title he’s failed to defend since winning it early last year and contenders Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller are now set to square off for the belt on November 7 on the undercard of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers on CBS.

A lightweight matchup between UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel and undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista will headline a November 6 “Strikeforce Challengers” event, which airs live on Showtime from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

More Strikeforce news, including the release of heavyweight Paul Buentello, the signings of Brian Travers and Antwain Britt, the debut of Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier, and updates on Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller, are after the jump…

Jason “Mayhem” Miller will square off against Jake Shields for the interim Strikeforce middleweight title, Miller announced on Monday.

A date and location was not disclosed for the matchup, though the fight is expected to appear on the same card as Fedor Emelaienko’s Strikeforce debut, likely in November.

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.

One of the nagging questions for MMA fans over the past sixteen months has been "When will Cung Le defend his middleweight title?" The answer to that question seems to be, "Not any time soon." It is now being reported that former EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields will be challenging for an interim belt at middleweight, while the promotion waits on Le to return to fighting.

Jake Shields needed less than half a round to submit Robbie Lawler in the main event of Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields on Saturday, forcing Lawler to tap to a guillotine choke 2:02 into the opening round of their catchweight headliner. In other main card action, Brett Rogers knocked out Andrei Arlovski in just 22-seconds and Nick Diaz submitted Scott Smith.

The Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 7:45pm ET with the main card, featuring Lawler-Shields and Arlovski-Rogers, commencing at 10pm ET. Live results are available after the jump...

All twenty-two fighters scheduled to fight at Saturday's Strikeforce event, including headliners Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith as well as main card fighters Andrei Arlovski, Brett Rogers, Nick Diaz, Scott Smith, Phil Baroni, Joe Riggs, Kevin Randleman, and Mike Whitehead, successfully made weight at Friday's weigh-ins.

A match between top-ranked fighters Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields has been set for Saturday, June 6, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., it was announced today by Strikeforce Founder and CEO Scott Coker.

The anticipated Strikeforce welterweight bout between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields will take place on June 6th in St. Louis, according to Matt Hughes, not May 16th in Tacoma, Washington as previously rumored.

The reported bout between Jake Shields and Joe Riggs at Strikeforce's April 11th Showtime debut is now off. Instead, Shields will look to make his promotional debut in a middleweight bout with former EliteXC champion Robbie Lawler in May.

Ever since ProElite closed its doors in October, there have been a lot of people expressing their hopes that Jake Shields would be able to make the move to the UFC. It looks like they will have to wait a bit longer to see if that possibility will ever become a reality. Yesterday [...]