A light heavyweight title bout was announced Monday night by Strikeforce officials, pitting Mike Kyle (19-8-1, 1NC) and Rafael ‘Feijão’ Cavalcante (11-3) against one another for the promotions upcoming May 19th show.
This bout will be a rematch of their first meeting back in July 2009 when Cavalcante debuted with the promotion, losing via second round knockout to Kyle.
Although no mention was made in the event announcement release, it’s very likely that the winner will move on to fight for the vacant 205-lbs title which was abdicated by former champ Dan Henderson last year.
Strikeforce 40 is expected to take place on May 19, 2012 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The main card will air on SHOWTIME at 10pm EST/PST (delayed on the West Coast) and the prelim card will air live on Showtime Extreme at 8pm EST/PST (delayed on the West Coast).
Kyle dropped back to light heavyweight for his last match, earning a decision over Marcos Rogerio de Lima at the Barnett vs. Kharitonov show last September. The win erased a loss at heavyweight to Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva in December 2010, when the Brazilian finished him via second round TKO. Currently Kyle is 6-1-1 in his last eight.
Cavalcante, a former Strikeforce champion, is one match out since his title loss to Henderson in March 2011. ‘Feijão’ also fought at the same September event as Kyle, picking up a second round knockout win over Yoel Romero Palacio at the Cincinnati show. Cavalcante is 4-1 in his last five matches which includes capturing the Strikeforce title from Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal in Houston in August 2010.