FanHouse Rodrigo Damm

Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson and interim champion Gilbert Melendez will look to unify the belts in a rematch on the Strikeforce: Evolution card on Dec. 19 in San Jose, Calif.

The fight has been rumored for quite some time, but the website of Melendez's Cesar Gracie camp has finally confirmed the bout. The rematch has already been twice promoted and canceled both times this year due to Thomson's ankle and leg injuries.

Get live updates for tonight's Strikeforce fight in St. Louis now.

Strikeforce is back Saturday night with its first show of 2009, and the fights are over. I tweeted the results if you want to follow me on Twitter, and the full results of all 10 fights are below.

Strikeforce was put in a difficult position when its lightweight champion, Josh Thomson, suffered an injury that forced him to pull out of Saturday night's scheduled title fight with Gilbert Melendez. Strikeforce responded to that difficult situation by announcing that Melendez will fight Rodrigo Damm in a five-round fight for the interim lightweight championship. I think that's a mistake.

In MMA, five-round fights have a special status: Only title fights go five rounds, and that means they should be reserved for bouts that match top fighters against each other. With all due respect to Damm, he just hasn't accomplished enough to merit being in a title fight.

Strikeforce will put on its first MMA event of the year Saturday night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, and the fights will air on Showtime.

But watching on TV isn't the only way to see the fights if you won't be in the arena. It might not even be the best way.