JZ fighting soon for Strikeforce

[keithlewis]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/tem ... &zoneid=13

It's been a rough couple of years for Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante.

After running roughshod through much of the lightweight division in Japan, Cavalcante suffered some serious injuries that kept him on the shelf, and possibly cost him wins in a couple of fights.

Now back and healthy Cavalcante looks to get back to the top of the lightweight division fighting for Strikeforce. The Brazilian and American Top Team fighter hopes to debut there in the coming months.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says Cavalcante was offered a fight against Josh Thomson for the show that took place on June 26, but the timing didn't work out.

"We signed him and we offered him the fight on this card that just happened. I don't think he felt he could be ready in time, and some other things were going on with him, so he didn't fight," Coker said recently on MMAWeekly.com Radio.

The last time Cavalcante fought was in May 2009, losing a decision to current No. 1 Dream contender Tatsuya Kawajiri. Injuries sidelined "JZ" again after that fight, but Strikeforce may be just what the doctor ordered.

According to Coker, he hopes to see Cavalcante debut in one of his promotion’s next couple of shows.

"I think we'll probably have him fight (in) 60 days, 90 days," said Coker. "He's a tremendous talent."

The list of possible opponents could include several names, but with Josh Thomson dealing with injured ribs following his fight with Pat Healy, another name that could fall into the mix is Lyle Beerbohm, fresh off of his win over Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro.

Regardless of the opponent, Cavalcante will be a major addition to the Strikeforce lightweight roster of fighters.