Strikeforce
"Feijao" Cavalcante likely to face Gegard Mousasi following Strikeforce win over Mike Kyle
May 20, 2012 - 7:30:09 PM "Feijao" Cavalcante likely to face Gegard Mousasi following Strikeforce win over Mike Kyle

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante avenged one of his three career losses on Saturday night, dispatching Mike Kyle in just 33 seconds with a tight guillotine choke at Strikeforce "Barnett vs. Cormier" in San Jose, Calif.

It was a blitzing performance, with Feijao cracking Kyle with a huge knee to the jaw within the opening seconds of the fight, then locking on the choke after landing several strikes. Though Kyle tried to slam him and get out of the hold, it was on too tight and he was forced to tap.

With the victory, the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion is expected to fight for the title in his next bout, which was vacated by the man who took it from him, Dan Henderson. He also has a likely opponent for that fight, as Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker laid out after the card.

"I think that the likely candidate that you'll see in the future at some point is Gegard Mousasi," Coker said (via USA Today. "I think that's a natural progression for Feijao to fight."

Of course, Mousasi recently underwent knee surgery, and it's not yet known when he'll be able to return. Still, Coker says that's the fight they hope to get together later this year.

Said Coker, "We're going to wait for him to heal up and hopefully put that fight together."

Penick's Analysis: That's the sensible fight, but also probably the only fight available at that level in Strikeforce's light heavyweight division. This is a very real issue permeating throughout Strikeforce as they try to continue to put on "title" fights: they just don't have a ton of fighters on equal footing at the top of their divisions. There are several fighters on the roster who are ready to compete with their counterparts in the UFC, and who could very well be title challengers in the UFC. However, that's a very low percentage of the roster, and that leaves few fights in their "title" picture that make a lot of sense for any divisions.