Report: “JZ” Cavalcante Signs 4 Fight Deal With Strikeforce

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 […]

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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.

Demian Maia Believes Bout With Alan Belcher Next

After Alan Belcher’s recent ‘dude was that a f–kin piledrive?’ victory over Patrick Cote, the rising middleweight was quick to call out champion Anderson Silva, after all, Belcher has looked pretty damn impressive lately and clearly he knows it. Will he get the winner of the upcoming August 7th Silva vs. Chael Sonnen? Well, according […]

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After Alan Belcher’s recent ‘dude was that a f–kin piledrive?’ victory over Patrick Cote, the rising middleweight was quick to call out champion Anderson Silva, after all, Belcher has looked pretty damn impressive lately and clearly he knows it. Will he get the winner of the upcoming August 7th Silva vs. Chael Sonnen? Well, according to Demian Maia, the answer is ‘negativo.’ In a recent interview with the Brazilian MMA outlet Tatame.com, the jiu-jitsu champ said this, when asked if he could be facing Belcher next.

“It seems it will happen, that’s what I heard. I haven’t signed anything yet, but I believe he will be my opponent”

“Man, I’ve seen him fighting, once he fought in the same card as I did, I saw his last fight against (Patrick) Cote, he certainly is a tough guy, one of the tops of the division. For me, it’s an excellent thing to come back with a guy from his level.”

Now it remains to be seen how Belcher feels about possibly fighting a guy who, at least for a couple of rounds, was outgunned big time by Silva (we apologize if you’ve tried to erase the memories of UFC 112 from your mind). Really, in our less than humble opinion, Belcher should welcome it; Maia may still be a ways away in the stand-up game, but just ask Sonnen what happens if he gets you to the ground. To read the entire Tatame interview head here.