While Strikeforce took a recent hit with the loss of Renato "Babalu" Sobral for its June 6 event in St. Louis, the organization has rebounded in style with the addition of a 180-pound catchweight bout between Nick Diaz and Scott Smith.

Both Diaz and Smith were victorious at Strikeforce's April 11 StrikeForce: Shamrock vs Diaz event in San Jose, Calif.

Headlined by a 182-pound contest between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, Strikeforce's June 6 StrikeForce: Lawler vs Shields event from the Scottrade Center will be broadcast on Showtime.

The signing of the bout was first reported by Sports 1140 KHTK-AM in Sacramento, Calif., and MMAjunkie.com was able to confirm the addition to the card with Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz.

Diaz is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including a second-round TKO of MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock at Strikeforce's April 11 event. While Diaz is one of only three Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black belts, his current streak has been built on the strength of four TKO wins.

While looking forward to the contest, Diaz stated in an official release from the organization that he's upset that he'll be forced to hurt Smith in the presence of his children.

"I think this is a great fight for me, but I really hate that [Smith] brings his kids to every one of his fights because now I'm going to be made out to be the bad guy or some sort of villain after I beat him up," Diaz stated.

Smith is currently riding a two-fight win streak of his own. Both victories were earned under the Strikeforce banner, including a stunning, come-from-behind win over Benji Radach at the April 11 event.

"Diaz is a great fighter," Smith stated. "He's going to come in there and out-grapple me and out-strike me so what I have to do is go in there and beat him up. I actually think this is more of a dangerous fight for him than it is for me."

While Smith typically fights as a middleweight, "Hands of Steel" has admitted in the past that he believes he could compete below the 185-pound weight class. Thirteen of the California native's 15 wins have come via knockout or TKO.

While the original report from KHTK-AM stated that Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was set to return to action in a title defense against undefeated challenger Brett Rogers, Afromowitz said that report was simply untrue.

"We're looking at a lot of options for both Overeem and Rogers right now," Afromowitz said. "Nothing has been signed for either of them."

Afromowitz said that a bout between the two heavyweight sluggers was certainly a possibility but that neither fighter was currently guaranteed to appear at the event. Overeem hasn't fought for Strikeforce since winning the title in October 2007.

Source: mmajunkie.com