Mike Kyle photo courtesy of Strikeforce.com

UFC and Strikeforce veteran Mike Kyle (18-7) will step in for the injured Valentijn Overeem against Antonio Silva (14-2) in a heavyweight bout at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu on Dec. 4.

Kyle, who trains at American Kickboxing Academy, beat current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in his debut with the promotion, but suffered a first round submission loss to Fabricio Werdum. Since then, Kyle has won five fights in a row, including a rear naked choke victory over Ron Humphrey at Strikeforce Challengers 9.

Silva also came up short against Werdum, losing a decision in his first Strikeforce match, but followed that up with a decision win over former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski.

Valentijn, who is the brother of Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, had to withdraw from the bout due to an elbow injury.

The Dec. 4 fight card will also feature a welterweight bout between Paul Daley and Scott Smith, a middleweight clash between Matt Lindland and Robbie Lawler, and a light heavyweight main event of Dan Henderson vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral.

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