List of Strikeforce champions
Lightweight Championship

List of Strikeforce champions

Section Title: Lightweight Championship
Table Section Text: None

No.	Name	Event	Date	Defenses

1	United States Clay Guida def. Josh Thomson	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie San Jose, CA, USA	March 10, 2006

2	United States Gilbert Melendez	Strikeforce: Revenge San Jose, CA, USA	June 9, 2006	1. def. Gabe Lemley at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le on March 29, 2008 in San Jose, CA, USA

3	United States Josh Thomson	Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson San Jose, CA, USA	June 27, 2008

United States Gilbert Melendez def. Rodrigo Damm for interim title	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz San Jose, CA, USA	April 11, 2009	1. def. Mitsuhiro Ishida at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on Aug 15, 2009 in San Jose, CA, USA

4	United States Gilbert Melendez (2)	Strikeforce: Evolution San Jose, CA, USA	December 19, 2009	1. def.

The Strikeforce Lightweight Title was unified with the UFC Lightweight Title on April 20, 2013, when Benson Henderson defeated Melendez at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs.

Sentence(s)

Strikeforce: Evolution is a lightweight Championship unification bout.

final_sentence: Strikeforce: Evolution is a lightweight Championship unification bout.