Lightweight fighter, Chris Horodecki is expected to sign with the WEC very soon. Jeff Curran has recently signed a contract with Strikeforce. Middleweight Robbie Lawler is expecting a December return to action in Strikeforce.

Details on these stories, and many more in our MMAFrenzy Quick Hits.

With Nick Diaz sidelined from fighting California for the immediate future after recently declining to take a mandatory drug test, the Strikeforce welterweight could fight in Japan for DREAM in October, with Hayato Sakurai being discussed as a potential opponent.

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.

Strikeforce welterweight Nick Diaz, whose recent refusal to take a mandatory drug test forced him out of a welterweight title bout at Saturday’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” card, has signed a boxing deal with veteran promoter Don “War-a-Week” Chargin.

For the second time in less than a week, Nick Diaz failed to show for a mandatory pre-fight drug test, with his Monday no-show causing him to be removed from his Saturday Strikeforce middleweight championship matchup against Jay Hieron.

As reported earlier Monday, Diaz will be replaced on the August 15 “Carano vs. Cyborg” card in San Jose by one-time UFC fighter Jesse Taylor, who is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak. Taylor and Hieron will meet in a three-round, non-title fight on the Showtime-televised card.

One-time UFC fighter and controversial TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor has reportedly been approved by the California State Athletic Commission to replace Nick Diaz and fight Jay Hieron at Saturday’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” Strikeforce event in San Jose should Diaz fail to be licensed for the bout.

A plea deal by Jeff Monson on charges of painting graffiti on the Washington Capital could force him to withdraw from several scheduled fight abroad, while a trio of bouts has been added to the lineup for the September 2 WEC 43 event in Youngstown, Ohio.

Details on these stories and the latest MMA news and notes in MMAFrenzy.com’s latest quick hits…

Nick Diaz will likely fight Jay Hieron at Strikeforce’s August 15 event in San Jose after his original opponent, Joe Riggs, was forced to withdraw from the bout last week.

Strikeforce has yet to confirm the reported matchup and whether it will be for the promotion’s newly-created welterweight title.

Joe RiggsJoe Riggs has been forced to withdraw from his rematch with Nick Diaz after suffering a “bad reaction to an as of yet undisclosed drug,” according to GracieMag.com.

The bout for the newly-created Strikeforce Welterweight Championship was set to be featured on the Showtime-broadcast of Strikeforce’s August 15 event, which takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Diaz will reportedly remain on the card, taking on an opponent to-be-named, which is expected to be announced soon.

When welterweights Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs square off in a rematch at Strikeforce’s August 15 event the promotion’s newly-created 170-pound title will be on the line, according to MMA Weekly.

The Showtime-televised event, which takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, features three other title bouts as Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos meet for the Strikeforce 145-pound Women’s Championship, heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem takes on Fabricio Werdum, and lightweight champions Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez unify their titles.

Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs are likely to square off in a welterweight bout on the Showtime-televised main card at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15 in San Jose.

Though not yet signed, the bout is reportedly in the works for the event and both fighters are expected to agree to the rematch of their early-2006 meeting at UFC 57 which was won by Riggs via unanimous decision.

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.

Nick Diaz, who defeated former Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock via second-round TKO in a 179-pound catchweight bout in April, will return to the 170-pound welterweight division following his June 6th 180-pound catchweight showdown with Scott Smith.