STRIKEFORCE NEWS: Tim Kennedy "pissed" that Strikeforce booked Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland after he requested a fight with both

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce announced this week that middleweights Robbie Lawler and Matt Lindland will meet on the December 4 Showtime event in St. Louis; but while the fight on the surface looks to make a lot of sense, there's one person who is none too happy with the development: Tim Kennedy.

After losing a decision to Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in August in a bout for the vacant Middleweight Championship, Kennedy says he requested a fight with both Lawler and Lindland.

"I'm so pissed," Kennedy wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday. "I asked for Robbie Lawler or Matt Lindland (in addition to a bunch of other guys) if I didn't get Jacare, and now they are fighting each other?!?!?"

Kennedy is not yet set for a fight on any of Strikeforce's currently scheduled events, and there isn't that large of a list of viable candidates available, making his frustration understandable.

Penick's Analysis: When we talked to Kennedy ahead of his fight with Jacare in August, he seemed like the consummate company man, and refused any commentary on the state of Strikeforce with Jake Shields leaving the middleweight division. Apparently that may be changing, as his frustration is more than clear and it's very justified. Either Lawler or Lindland would have been big names for him to get his next fight against, and the fact that he was asking for both and Strikeforce went the other was has got to be irritating. Of course, it's what happens every day in the sport, and few get the fights they ask for on a consistent basis. And most just keep their thoughts private in this type of situation, so Kennedy getting vocal shows just how much the move has gotten to him.

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