With an elbow injury sidelining Valentijn Overeem, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva’s (14-2) presence on the upcoming Dec. 4th Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II card looked all but gone. Now the promotion has announced a new opponent for Silva in Mike “Mak” Kyle (18-7) with just under a week before the fight is to happen.
Kyle is on a four fight win streak and is undefeated in six bouts. This past year he’s won the XMMA and King of the Cage light-heavyweight titles. His last win was in Australia in November where he earned a first round TKO win over Steve Oliver for the XMMA title, and last appeared under the Strikeforce banner in July, earning a submission win over Abongo Humphrey at a Strikeforce Challengers show.
Here is the full Strikeforce Press Release:
NEW YORK (Nov. 29, 2010) – Streaking STRIKEFORCE star Mike “Mak” Kyle (18-7) will replace the injured Valentijn Overeem and take on former heavyweight world champion Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (14-2) of Coconut Creek, Fla., by way of Brazil, in one of the featured televised fights on STRIKEFORCE: Henderson vs. Babalu this Saturday, Dec. 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
Overeem, the older brother of STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, withdrew Saturday after suffering an elbow injury.
Legendary MMA superstar Dan Henderson (25-8) of Temecula, Calif., will clash with former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) of Cerritos, Calif., via Brazil, in a rematch between world-class 205-pounders in the main event.
Other televised fights: Paul “Semtex” Daley (25-9-2) of Nottingham, England, confronts Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith (17-7, 1 NC), of Elk Grove, Calif., in a matchup of power-punching welterweights (170 pounds) and former world champion and exciting local favorite “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-6, 1 NC), of Granite City, goes up against 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland (22-7) of Oregon City, Ore., in a middleweight (185 pounds) bout.
Tickets are on sale at Scottrade Center, online at Ticketmaster.com and Strikeforce.com or by phone (800) 745-3000. Doors at Scottrade Center will open for the event at 6 p.m. CT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first televised main card fight will begin at 9 p.m.
The 6-foot-3, 30-year-old Kyle, of San Jose, Calif., has gone 5-0 with one No Contest since losing to Fedor conqueror, Fabricio Werdum, on Aug. 15, 2009. In his last start, Kyle scored a first-round TKO (punches) over Stephen Oliver on Nov. 5.
Since April 2008, Kyle is 8-1 with one NC. One of the talented nine-year pro’s most significant triumphs came on a second-round TKO (punches) over current STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in June 2009.
In his last appearance for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME, Kyle submitted (rear-naked choke) Ron “Abongo” Humphrey during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event last July 23.
The 6-foot-4, 31-year-old Silva has won seven of his last eight, including a decisive, lopsided decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski in his most recent outing last May 15.
Silva’s lone loss since December 2006 came when he was narrowly outpointed in a tight fight by fellow Brazilian, Werdum, on Nov.7, 2009.
About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.