(Careful, Gegard. If he bites you, you become one of them. Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Strikeforce)
According to a new report, former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi could meet Mike Kyle at the promotion’s September 10th card (venue TBA).
The two fighters were originally scheduled to meet at the ‘Diaz vs. Daley’ card in April, but Kyle was forced to withdraw due to a broken hand; Mousasi wound up fighting to a disappointing draw against late-replacement Keith Jardine. The “Armenian Assassin” is already slated to defend his DREAM light-heavyweight belt against Hiroshi Izumi in Tokyo on July 16th.
As for Kyle, the American Kickboxing Academy moneyweight vet most recently suffered a TKO loss against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva — after stepping in as an injury replacement for Valentijn Overeem last December — but he’s 2-0 as a light-heavyweight under the Strikeforce banner, with stoppage wins over Rafael Cavalcante and Ron “Abongo” Humphrey. In other booking news…
Jorge Gurgel has confirmed that he will face Joe Duarte in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 18 (August 12th; Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas). In March, Zoila’s husband snapped a two-fight Strikeforce losing streak by choking out journeyman Billy Vaughn in 44 seconds. Duarte, who you may vaguely remember from TUF 8, is on a four-fight win streak, most recently submitting Saad Awad in April.
