A light heavyweight bout between Mike Kyle (19-8-1 MMA, 2-3-1 SF) and former champion Gegard Mousasi (32-3-2 MMA, 3-1-1 SF) is being targeted for January’s “Strikeforce: Champions” event.
The two fighters have been slated to do battle on three prior occasions, but none of those proposed fights came to fruition, as a result of injuries.
Kyle fights for the first time since suffering a 33-second loss to Rafael Cavalcante in May. However, “Feijao” failed his post-fight drug test and the fight result was overturned to a no-contest. Prior to that bout, Kyle had gone 5-1 in his past six fights, with his lone loss coming against heavyweight contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Meanwhile, Mousasi fights for the first time in over a year due to an ACL injury. Most recently, the former Strikeforce champion earned a decision victory over Ovince St. Preux. Since losing his Strikeforce belt to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in 2010, Gegard has gone 4-0-1 in his past 5 bouts.
“Strikeforce: Champions” takes place January 12 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The main card fights will be live on Showtime, following the prelims which are set to air on Showtime Extreme.
The latest “Strikeforce: Champions” card now includes:
- Champ Luke Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin (middleweight title fight)
- Champ Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine (welterweight title fight)
- Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
- Ryan Couture vs. K.J. Noons
- Pat Healy vs. TBA