Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Kyle Booked For August 15 Strikeforce
An opponent has been found for heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum as he’ll take on Mike Kyle at Strikeforce’s August 15 event in San Jose, California, according to MMAjunkie.
Werdum had been slated to fight heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem at the Showtime-televised event before he was forced to withdraw last month due to a lingering hand injury.
The PRIDE veteran Werdum (11-4-1) became a heavyweight contender in the UFC following back-to-back wins over Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, but was cut following a knockout loss to up-and-comer Junior dos Santos last October and has not fought since.
Kyle (12-6-1), a former UFC fighter best known for being disqualified in a May 2006 WEC fight for continuing to attack his opponent after the referee had stopped the bout, upset Rafael Cavalcante in his most-recent fight in June via second-round knockout.
The Werdum-Kyle matchup is unlikely to make the Showtime broadcast unless several of the four scheduled championship bouts end quickly.
The event’s current rumored lineup includes:
MAIN CARD
- Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
Strikeforce Women’s 145-pound Championship - Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship - Renato “Babalu” Sobral (c) vs. Gegard Mousasi
Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship - Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron
Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Kyle
- Isaiah Hill vs. Poppies Martinez
- Ricardo Barros vs. Scott Lighty
- James Terry vs. Jason Von Flue
Check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section for the latest Strikeforce rumors.
Pictured: Fabricio Werdum
Tags: Fabricio Werdum, mike kyle
Loading ...
i wouldve liked to see rogers-werdum, but oh well. still a great card imo. im torn between babulu-mousasi, and gina-cyborg as which fight “i am antsy in the pantsy” the most over.
Babalu v Mousasi is what I have asked for on this card and cannot wait for that shhh to happen
Now for me Ishida v Melendez well that is going to be great, the only thing is that this fight is coming a card too late for me they should have fought at the last StrikeForce in the HP Pavilion but I didn’t get my wish then, soo I’m pumped for this now (*last major card in San Jose)
Gina v Cyborg well com’on that is going to be awesome nuff said (is that how the cool kids say enough said now a days?)
Hieron v Diaz is such a step up from Diaz v Riggs I’m amped for this fight as well
4 title fights and I will be right next to the entrance ramp in seat one on the floor, good times will be had
I’m going to have to be honest and say that at this point I really don’t care about this fight. I agree with bigchris here about Rogers, but apparently he is not in shape right now, so it would almost be a fair fight since Werdum hasn’t been in shape since the Gonzaga fight.
While this is certainly a solid card, I’m guessing the “big draw” here will be whether or not Fedor decides to put in a cageside appearance for his new business partner Strikeforce…
Rogers was not ready to fight bottom line and Werdum needs to fight imho he hasn’t fought in 10 or so months, I’m not the biggest fan of his opponent at all but its a fight and if he wins good, if he get a big loss well then he is F’D
If Werdum loses, then Strikeforce threw a bunch of money away signing Fedor for two fights. Presumably v. Overheem and then Rogers.
why? werdum sucks anyway they wouldnt want him fighting fedor
@ petterson-
If you look at Fedor’s list of opponents the last 48 months, you’ll see that a so-so fighter like Werdum is right in Fedor’s wheelhouse, if you follow.
I’m sure M-1 Global will continue to hand-pick Fedor’s Strikeforce opponents just as they did with Affliction, BoDog, Adrenaline, and whoever else rolled the dice with them and crapped out…
Also, if you go over to the story about Coker’s plans for Fedor you will see that he wants him to fight Werdum.