UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship (topic ufficiale)

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With Heavyweight Herschel Walker forced out of his planned December 4 Strikeforce bout with WEC veteran Scott Carson due to a deep cut he sustained training with Daniel Cormier on Friday, a Middleweight scrap between Lucas Lopes and Benji Radach has been put together at the last minute to help fill in the dwindling "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" fight card.

Earlier in the week yet-to-be matched up Jesse Finney, who was originally slated to face Scott Smith before "Hands of Steel" was instead matched up with Strikeforce newcomer Paul Daley, was forced to bow out of the event due to an eye injury.

Sources close to the situation told us Thursday that Lopes (19-10), who is one of Finney's training partners and holds a win over UFC standout Thiago Alves, has agreed to face Radach on the card. Radach (20-5), whose record includes wins over Murilo Rua and Gerald Harris, hasn't fought since being knocked out by Smith last year, but he is a crafty veteran Lopes would regret taking lightly.

Another source we spoke to informed us that Strikeforce was unable to find a suitable opponent in time for Carson, so the 4-1 veteran who was to return from a nine-year layoff from MMA to face Walker, will not be fighting on the card.

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Another "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" competitor has been lost due to injury.
Valentijn Overeem, older brother of Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, has suffered an elbow injury that has forced him off the December 4 Strikeforce card. The news was first reported by MMAweekly.com, and we have confirmed the story with sources close to the bout. Though the specific nature of Overeem’s elbow troubles remains unknown, he is reportedly awaiting the results of X-rays that will illuminate the severity of the injury.

Overeem was scheduled to face former EliteXC Heavyweight Champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the main card. No word has been given regarding a replacement for the Dutchman.

The event, which will go down at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, has now had three fighters pull out of their respective bouts. The show took two body blows earlier this week when St. Louis native Jesse Finney withdrew from his match with an eye injury and heavyweight competitor Herschel Walker was sidelined after suffering a cut under his left eye in training.

Overeem is coming off back-to-back wins. The veteran began his career back in 1996 and holds notable victories over Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Ian Freeman and five-time UFC champion Randy Couture. The Golden Glory product holds all but one of his 28 career victories by way of stoppage. His bout with Silva would have marked the 34-year-old’s Strikeforce debut.

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AKA Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Mike Kyle will step in to fight contender Antonio Silva on this Saturday's "Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu" card, Strikeforce revealed Monday to MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani. Kyle replaces Valentijn Overeem, who recently pulled out of the card due to an elbow injury.

"[Kyle] talked to us about fighting at Heavyweight about a month now or six weeks, about taking bigger fights," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said on The MMA Hour. "So we think it could be a great matchup and we're happy to put it together."

Kyle (18-7-1), who has settled in as a Light Heavyweight this year, will return to his original Heavyweight class with this fight. The UFC veteran will enter the fight undefeated in six fights (one was a no contest) since the loss to Fabricio Werdum in August 2009. Labeled a bad boy for frequent poor sportsmanship in the mid-2000s, Kyle has as of late been trying to clean up his image with wins in Strikeforce: Challengers, XMMA in Australia and several King of the Cage events.

"Bigfoot" Silva (14-2) is coming off a win over Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision in May, evening his Strikeforce record to 1-1. Silva shares with Kyle a most recent loss to Werdum. Prior to Arlovski, Silva lost in his Strikeforce debut to the two-time ADCC grappling champ by decision.

The December 4 Strikeforce card in St. Louis, the promotion's year-end show, also features Dan Henderson vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland and Paul Daley vs. Scott Smith in televised action.

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