Fabricio Werdum remains on card, fights Mike Kyle at Aug. 15 Strikeforce event

by Dann Stupp on Aug 03, 2009 at 6:00 pm ET
Although initially thought to be off the Aug. 15 card after opponent Alistair Overeem, Strikeforce's current heavyweight champion, was a late scratch, Fabricio Werdum will, in fact, fight at the upcoming event.

The UFC veteran will make his Strikeforce debut when he meets Mike Kyle in a heavyweight bout at next week's show.

Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Werdum (11-4-1) was off the card but later clarified there was still a chance he could fight. Now, Werdum's manager, Richard Wilner, said the Brazilian fighter has agreed to fight Kyle (12-6-1).

The Aug. 15 event, "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg," takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs on Showtime with four title fights, including the main event of Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for Strikeforce's first-ever 145-pound women's title.

Afromowitz said the Werdum vs. Kyle fight probably won't get TV time because of the four title fights.

Werdum, a four-time UFC veteran, last fought in a first-round TKO loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 in October 2008. Werdum had figured to factor into the UFC's heavyweight title picture after he rebounded from a loss to Andrei Arlovski in his octagon debut with back-to-back wins over Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga. However, the organization surprisingly elected to release the Brazilian following the loss to dos Santos.

Kyle, meanwhile, recently returned from a near-year-long layoff at Strikeforce's June show. There, the WEC and UFC veteran stunned the St. Louis crowd with a second-round TKO over highly touted prospect Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, a former EliteXC fighter expected to contend for Strikeforce's light-heavyweight title.

Kyle will move back up a weight class for the fight with Werdum, and a victory could put him in title contention in a weight class that recently expanded with the signing of Fedor Emelianenko.

The latest Aug. 15 Strikeforce card now includes:

* Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (for Strikeforce women's 145-pound title)
* Champ Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (for Strikeforce interim lightweight title)
* Champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi (for Strikeforce light heavyweight title)
* Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron (for first-ever Strikforce welterweight title)
* Mike Kyle vs. Fabricio Werdum*
* Isaiah Hill vs. Poppies Martinez
* Ricardo Barros vs. Scott Lighty
* James Terry vs. Jason Von Flue*

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