A lightweight bout between former EliteXC champ “King” K.J. Noons and Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal is now official for Strikeforce: “Overeem vs Werdum” on June 18th in Dallas, Texas. The fight was first reported by MMAjunkie.com earlier this month and confirmed by Strikeforce today.

Also announced for the card this week was a heavyweight bout between standout wrestler Daniel Cormier and MMA veteran Jeff “The Snowman” Monson. Cormier was originally set to face unbeaten prospect Shane del Rosario, but del Rosario withdrew due to injuries from a car accident.

Noons (10-3-0) captured the EliteXC 160-pound title on November 10, 2007 with a first-round doctor stoppage of current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz. He successfully defended the title once before the promotion folded in 2008. Since that time, Noons has won three of his last four fights, but is coming off of a Unanimous Decision loss to Diaz in the pair’s October rematch. The talented striker, who also competes in boxing, sports eight knockout victories on his record.

Masvidal (21-6-0) is also known primarily for his punching power, and has finished ten opponents with strikes to date. He has only been defeated one time by a form of knockout, in a controversial June 2008 Sengoku bout against Rodrigo Damm. Masvidal is 2-2 in his last four fights, with all bouts going the distance, though his defeats came in close decisions against XFC champ Luis “Baboon” Palomino and recent Strikeforce title challenger Paul “Semtex” Daley.

Cormier (7-0-0) will give up a significant amount of experience against Monson (42-11-0), but he has yet to taste defeat since transitioning from wrestling – where he was a two-time Olympian – to MMA. All but one of Cormier’s fights have ended inside the distance and Monson has battled injury woes in recent years. However, Monson has won seven straight fights and remains a threat on the ground, where he has scored 26 submission wins to date.

Strikeforce: “Overeem vs Werdum” takes place on June 18th at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. The event will be headlined by a pair of Strikeforce heavyweight tournament quarterfinal bouts. Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem rematches Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum in one tournament fight, while Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett faces Brett “The Grim” Rogers in the other.

Strikeforce: “Overeem vs Werdum” Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem vs Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum
– Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett vs Brett “The Grim” Rogers
– Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal vs Ovince St. Preux [*]
– Gina “Conviction” Carano vs Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio
– Daniel Cormier vs Jeff “The Snowman” Monson
– Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs vs Valentijn “The Python” Overeem
– “King” K.J. Noons vs Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal
– Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox [*]

*Not yet officially announced.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)