With the abdication of former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson, and the recent positive steroid result for Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal, the Zuffa owned promotion is running out of available fighters to contend for the vacant title.
One of those hoping for a shot at the belt, is former champ Rafael ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante (11-3) who has been sitting patiently since his win last September over Yoel Romero Palacio. The two met in Ohio as part of the Barnett vs. Kharitonov event and saw Cavalcante end the fight by second round knockout.
‘Feijao’ is hoping to return to action this April, and had been training to face ‘King Mo’ for the 205-lbs strap, but with Lawal out the Brazilian figures he’ll have to compete one more time before he gets a shot at reclaiming his belt.
“I’ll probably fight in April. I was training to fight King Mo for the title, but it was canceled and I decided to back off… I want to fight more, that’s all. If they give me three fights a year, I’m good to go”, explains Cavalcante, who does not like to pick out names.
Rafael had been matched up for a dispute of the interim title against the also former champion King Mo Lawal, but the American anti-doping test forced the organization to change plans.
After that, he doesn’t believe he’ll fight for the championship. “Who would be my opponent for the title fight? Of course I would like to do it, but it’s unlikely. I think they will put me to fight one more time before I fight for the title”, regrets.
Cavalcante is 4-1 in his last five matches, defeating Romero last fall and losing to Dan Henderson, as well as the title, last March in Columbus, Ohio.