Dan Henderson To Battle "Babalu" Sobral in Main Event, 
Paul "Semtex" Daley To Face Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith,
Herschel Walker To Make Second MMA Start

NEW YORK (Oct. 5, 2010) - Two fighters seeking a return to top-contender status in the deep STRIKEFORCE middleweight division will clash when "Ruthless "Robbie" Lawler (17-6, 1 NC) faces 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist Matt "The Law" Lindland (22-7) in a 185-pound match Saturday, Dec. 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

             "Ruthless "Robbie" Lawler                              Matt "The Law" Lindland

Mixed martial arts superstar Dan Henderson will take on former STRIKEFORCE world champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral at light heavyweight (205 pounds) in the main event. In a battle of explosive hard-hitters, Paul "Semtex" Daley (25-9-2) of Nottingham, England, meets power puncher Scott "Hands Of Steel" Smith (17-7, 1 NC) of Elk Grove, Calif., in a featured welterweight (170 pounds) clash.

In other bouts, football legend and unbeaten MMA fighter, the remarkable Herschel Walker (1-0), will be opposed by an opponent to be determined in a televised heavyweight bout and popular St. Louis native, welterweight Jesse Finney, will take on a foe to be announced in the top non-televised undercard scrap.

Southpaw Lawler, who hails from the St. Louis area, in nearby Granite City, Ill., is returning to middleweight after losing a close decision to Sobral in a catch weight fight at 195 pounds in his last start on June 16 in Los Angeles. The defeat, by the scores of 29-28 three times, was only the second in nine outings for Lawler since September 2006.

The athletic, well-conditioned 5-foot-11, 28-year-old Lawler is known for his aggressiveness. The former two-time world champion's 14 of 17 victories have come via knockout or TKO, including a dramatic, come-from-behind 3:33, first-round KO over highly regarded Melvin Manhoef on Jan. 30, 2010.

But Lawler may have outsmarted himself against Babalu by feigning an injury in a ploy to get the Brazilian to exchange. The strategy backfired. It may not have cost him the decision, but Lawler conceded afterward that he "could have done much more."

Lindland is coming off an impressive third-round TKO (punches) over Kevin Casey in the headlining bout of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event last May 21, in Portland, Ore. An All-American wrestler at the University of Nebraska and the 1993 NCAA Big Eight conference champion, Lindland captured the silver medal in Greco Roman wrestling for the United States.

During a stellar 13-year career, Lindland has fought and defeated the best. He has been in with the famed Fedor Emelianenko, and has triumphed over a number of all-time greats, among them former UFC champions Pat Miletich and Carlos Newton.

Tickets for the event are on sale at Scottrade Center, online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone (800) 745-3000.

Doors at Scottrade Center will open for the event at 6 p.m. CT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first SHOWTIME televised main card fight will begin at 9 p.m.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.