K.J. Noons Returning to Lightweight, Expects to Fight on April 9 Strikeforce Card

K.J. Noons

With a broken hand now recovered, K.J. Noons is ready to get back to business, and he expects it to be on the upcoming April 9 card in Strikeforce.

Noons confirmed the news with MMAWeekly.com on Monday, stating that while nothing is set in stone, he expects to end up on the show in April which will also mark his return to the lightweight division.

Noons went up to 170lbs for his last fight, a decision loss to current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, where he broke his hand during the bout and had to take an extended time away to recover.

Now that he’s healthy, Noons will make the move back down to his natural weight class at 155lbs, where he hopes to challenge Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce lightweight belt at some point in 2011.

The California based fighter says he has not received an opponent yet for the April card, but there are plenty of options for his return bout.

Strikeforce has yet to reveal any solid details for the April card, but all signs are pointing towards two title fights headlining the show with Nick Diaz facing Paul Daley and Gilbert Melendez squaring off against Tatsuya Kawajiri.

MMAWeekly.com also first reported a proposed bout between Roger Gracie and Gegard Mousasi for the April card as well.

Adding Noons to the mix almost locks the fact that the April 9 show will not be a featured card for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. There has been much speculation about when the next round of the Grand Prix will take place, but for now it appears April 9 will not be the date.

MMAWeekly.com will have more information on Noons’ potential opponent when it becomes available.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.
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