The Fedor/Rogers event Strikeforce put on gave the promotion a lot of momentum. Strikeforce Evolution looks to pick up where that card left off, and with 4 intriguing matchups on the main card it shouldn’t be a problem. Here are our free picks.

Gilbert Melendez +105 vs. Josh Thomson -115

This fight will be for the Strikeforce lightweight championship. Melendez is the former belt holder. Thomson took it from him over a year ago in a unanimous decision. Since then, Melendez has looked unstoppable. He avenged his only other loss with a TKO victory over Mitsuhiro Ishida and also scored a KO of Rodrigo Damm. Thomson has battled injuries and hasn’t fought for over a year. Melendez will get his belt back. Take Melendez +105.

Mike Whitehead +405 vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal -450

Whitehead has been around the block several times, and has fought some of the big names in the sport. Lawal has run through all his competitors in Sengoku and is one of the most heralded prospects in years. Whitehead is a solid wrestler, but the problem here is that Lawal was the NCAA Div. I All-American wrestling champ at Oklahoma State back in 2003. Add in his fierce stand-up game and Whitehead really has no chance. Take Lawal -450.

Matt Lindland +240 vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza -250

Lindland takes a lot of flack from MMA fans for being a boring fighter, but he’s no joke. “Jacare” will find that out come Saturday night. Though Lindland is cut out of the Randy Couture mold with inside boxing and wrestling (detractors will call it “lay and pray”), “Jacare” will be more than happy to let Lindland do both. He’ll be looking to submit Lindland…and he will. The only question is how. Take Jacare -250.

Cung Le -320 vs. Scott Smith +300

Cung Le makes his return to Strikeforce in his hometown of San Jose. If there were a list of the top 10 exciting fighters, Le and Smith would likely make the list — which is why fans are so jacked for this brawl. Le has been off making movies and hasn’t fought since March of 2008. Smith is a brawler and could have been the champ in the John L. Sullivan days — he just doesn’t stop. The best advice here is to proceed with caution. Conventional wisdom says to take Le and his many weapons. But he’s been away for almost 21 months and like Smith, won’t back down from a brawl. Which is where he’ll err. Smith puts people to sleep with that big right hand. He’ll do it on Saturday and hand Le his first loss in MMA. Take Smith +300.

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