It looks as though Strikeforce has added another notable fighter to its roster, as both MMA Junkie and FightHype are reporting that Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante has signed with the promotion. FightHype was the first to post news about the signing, and in a follow up story from MMA Junkie this afternoon, the outlet is reporting that Cavalcante has signed a one year, 4 fight deal, with Strikeforce.
Now, if you’re only familiar with those fighters that appear in UFC Undisputed, you may very well be asking ‘’who is “JZ” Cavalcante?” and “why should I give an eff?” Well, through 2006 and 2007, Cavalcante took the MMA world by storm, and more specifically Japan, as the American Top Team fighter won back-to-back lightweight grand-prixs will competing for K-1 Hero’s. In other words, at the time, JZ could proudly tell anyone at a cocktail party that he was ‘kind of a big deal.’ The last two years his career has been stifled a bit by injuries, as well as, by fighting dudes like Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
It could turn out that Cavalcante may not deliver on the hype that should accompany him into Strikeforce, similar to guys like Marius Zaromskis and the aforementioned Aoki, but then again, maybe he won’t face someone like Nick Diaz or Gilbert Melendez in his promotional debut. At any rate, it definitely could be a nice score for Strikeforce.