With the announcement that Valentijn Overeem sustained an injury and would be forced to step out of his match with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Mike Kyle (18-7-1 MMA, 2-2-1 SF) has stepped up to plate as a replacement for the brother of Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistiar Overeem.
Kyle vs. Silva will be included on the under card of Henderson vs. Babalu at The Scottrade Center in St. Louis on December 4th.
The 6-foot-3, 30-year-old Kyle, of San Jose, Calif., has gone 5-0 with one No Contest since losing to Fedor conqueror, Fabricio Werdum, on Aug. 15, 2009. In his last start, Kyle scored a first-round TKO (punches) over Stephen Oliver on Nov. 5.
Since April 2008, Kyle is 8-1 with one NC. One of the talented nine-year pro’s most significant triumphs came on a second-round TKO (punches) over current STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in June 2009.
In his last appearance for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME, Kyle submitted (rear-naked choke) Ron “Abongo” Humphrey during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event last July 23.
The 6-foot-4, 31-year-old Silva has won seven of his last eight, including a decisive, lopsided decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski in his most recent outing last May 15.
Silva’s lone loss since December 2006 came when he was narrowly outpointed in a tight fight by fellow Brazilian, Werdum, on Nov.7, 2009.
