Ed Herman is likely to replace an injured James Irvin and take on Wilson Gouveia at UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland, according to MMA Weekly.

Irvin withdrew from the matchup with Gouveia on Tuesday after suffering a “massive” knee injury that will sideline him for up to 10 months.

A Strikeforce light heavyweight championship bout between title-holder Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Gegard Mousasi remains on the August 15 “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg” card despite a reported cease and desist letter sent to the promotion by the UFC and rumors that Mousasi was misled by his M-1 Global management about the UFC’s contract offer to the former DREAM champ.

Middleweight submission expert Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will fulfill his first fight on the contract “in the fall”, the promotion announced on Wednesday.

“Jacare” will reportedly make his Strikeforce debut at an October 25 event in Fresno, California, which could also host the Strikeforce debut of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

James Irvin has beed forced to withdraw from his scheduled middleweight debut against Wilson Gouveia, which was to take place on August 29 at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon, after suffering what is being called a “massive” knee injury.

“Irvin is expected to undergo reconstructive surgery sometime in the next few days, and is also expected to miss 6-10 months.”

Fedor Emelianenko’s recently-announced deal with Strikeforce is an exclusive contract for three fights over one year, according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who discussed a variety of Strikeforce topics yesterday on TapouT Radio and the Carmichael Dave Show.

Coker said Strikeforce is planing a Thursday press conference to announce details on Fedor’s debut, and also announced that Jake Shields will be fighting for an interim middleweight title in October and that Strikeforce had formed a “alliance” with DREAM.

UFC President Dana White was in Abu Dhabi yesterday on business when news broke that top-heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko would pass on the UFC’s lucrative offer by accepting a contract with Strikeforce that offered co-promotion.

“Fedor is a [expletive] joke. [He] turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies, for no money. Fedor is a [expletive],” said White on Monday.

A lightweight matchup between Jim Miller and Thiago Tavares has been added to the preliminary card for UFC 103, which takes place on September 19 in Dallas, Texas, the UFC recently announced.

Miller (14-2) defeated Mac Danzig in July in his most-recent bout, while Tavares (14-3) is coming off a January win over Manny Gamburyan.

A welterweight bout between former WEC fighters Brock Larson and Mike Pierce is in the works for UFC Fight Night 19.

Larson (26-2) has won five-straight, including UFC wins over Jesse Sanders and Mike Pyle. Pierce (9-1), also a winner of his last five bouts, won his WEC debut in April and most-recently defeated TUF 7 cast member Paul Bradley.

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.

Werdum (11-4-1) was a heavyweight contender in the UFC following back-to-back wins, but was cut after an October loss to Junior dos Santos, while Kyle (12-6-1) upset Rafael Cavalcante in his most-recent fight in June.

A lightweight bout between Joe Stevenson and Spencer Fisher is in the process of being finalized for UFC 104 on October 24 in Los Angeles, according to MMAjunkie.

Stevenson (30-10) is coming off a “Fight of the Night” unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz in June, while Fisher has won three-straight, most-recently defeating Caol Uno in June.