Strikeforce today officially announced its expected return to CBS, which is scheduled for April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee and headlined by the Strikeforce debut of veteran Dan Henderson vs. middleweight champion Jake Shields.

The event will also feature light heavyweight title-holder Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki.

Strikeforce will return to CBS for its recently-confirmed April 17 event in Nashville, Tennessee, while an event is also in the works for May 15 in St. Louis, Missouri that would air on Showtime.

The April 17 event is set to include Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson, and is also likely to feature Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and the return of Herschel Walker, while Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum is in doubt for the May 15 card.

An expected matchup between Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields and Dan Henderson has finally been signed to take place at an April Strikeforce event and is rumored to headline an April 17 CBS-televised card in Nashville, Tennessee.

Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields and former WEC lightweight title-holder Rob McCullough will appear as assistant coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter 11, which debuts on Spike on March 31 following UFC Fight Night 21.

On the latest installment of ESPN’s MMA Live, Brock Lesnar’s trainer, Greg Nelson, confirmed that the UFC heavyweight champion will “definitely” fight again and has resumed training, but that an exact timetable hasn’t been determined for his return to the Octagon.

Former UFC fighter Dan Henderson also appeared on the show and confirmed that he’ll make his Strikeforce debut against Jake Shields for the middleweight title. Watch the full episode after the jump…

A recently-reported April Strikeforce event on CBS is likely to be headlined by top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum, and is also expected to feature Dan Henderson’s promotional debut against middleweight champion Jake Shields, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced on Saturday.

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.