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Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (15-7 MMA, 0-1 SF) has signed a multi-fight, 16-month deal with Strikeforce and is expected to fight former EliteXC title-holder Antonio Silva (13-2 MMA, 0-1 SF) at the organization's May 15 event in St Louis, Mo.
Arlovski announced the deal on his official Web site.
The Silva fight, first reported by Sherdog.com, was and later confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) by a source close to the Brazilian who said the fight will be part of the night's Showtime-televised main card.
Strikeforce, of course, hosts its next major show on April 17 when middleweight champ Jake Shields takes on recent signee Dan Henderson in a CBS-televised main event.
Arlovski fights for the first time since Strikeforce's initial St. Louis show, which took place in June 2009. There, he suffered a 22-second TKO loss to Brett Rogers, which followed a first-round knockout to Fedor Emelianenko at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" six months prior.
Prior to the back-to-back losses, the former UFC superstar had posted five consecutive wins and reemerged as one of the world's top-five heavyweight fighters.
He can get his career back on track against Silva, whose six-fight win streak recently came to an end with a close but unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum at Strikeforce's November 2009 debut on CBS. Silva posted the win streak with now-defunct EliteXC promotion (where he defeated Justin Eilers for the title) and World Victory Road's Japanese-based Sengoku event series.
A source close to the fighter told MMAjunkie.com Silva was also under consideration for a fight with Rogers
Arlovski announced the deal on his official Web site.
The Silva fight, first reported by Sherdog.com, was and later confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) by a source close to the Brazilian who said the fight will be part of the night's Showtime-televised main card.
Strikeforce, of course, hosts its next major show on April 17 when middleweight champ Jake Shields takes on recent signee Dan Henderson in a CBS-televised main event.
Arlovski fights for the first time since Strikeforce's initial St. Louis show, which took place in June 2009. There, he suffered a 22-second TKO loss to Brett Rogers, which followed a first-round knockout to Fedor Emelianenko at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" six months prior.
Prior to the back-to-back losses, the former UFC superstar had posted five consecutive wins and reemerged as one of the world's top-five heavyweight fighters.
He can get his career back on track against Silva, whose six-fight win streak recently came to an end with a close but unanimous decision loss to Fabricio Werdum at Strikeforce's November 2009 debut on CBS. Silva posted the win streak with now-defunct EliteXC promotion (where he defeated Justin Eilers for the title) and World Victory Road's Japanese-based Sengoku event series.
A source close to the fighter told MMAjunkie.com Silva was also under consideration for a fight with Rogers
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