Strikeforce light-heavies collide

A light-heavyweight matchup between Gegard Mousasi and Mike Kyle has been announced for Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on March 3. Kyle announced the matchup on his Twitter Monday.

Mousasi (32-3-2) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Ovince St. Preux on Dec. 17. The 26-year-old is the former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion and prior to losing his belt to Muhhamed (King Mo) Lawal in April of 2010 he was considered to be one of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.

Kyle (19-8-1-1) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima in September. Kyle often fights at heavyweight and his last loss was to Antonio Silva, who cuts weight to make the 265-pound limit.

Mousasi and Kyle are considered to be two of the most talented 205-pound fighters outside of the UFC and were supposed to meet last April at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, but Kyle had to pull out just days prior to the fight with a broken hand.

The headliner on March 3 is a women's bantamweight title bout between Miesha Tate and former Olympian Ronda Rousey.

An all-Canadian affair between former Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman and Alexis Davis is also scheduled for the card.

Kaufman (14-1) of Victoria, B.C., was thought to be the next title challenger for Tate, whom she has a win over, but Rousey was given the shot instead. Even champion Tate thought Kaufman was deserving of the title shot.

Davis (11-4) of Port Colborne, Ont., is coming off a TKO win over Amanda Nunes in September. In Davis' MMA debut she fought Kaufman and lost by third-round TKO.

Other bouts on the card include UFC castoff Paul Daley taking on Pride veteran Kazuo Misaki; K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson; Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy; and Conor Heun vs. Ryan Couture.