Heavyweight MMA prospect Daniel Cormier will return to Strikeforce and take on Devin Cole on Jan. 7 at a Strikeforce Challengers event.
Cormier has confirmed the match up that was originally reported by Five Ounces of Pain.
The two-time Olympian currently holds heavyweight titles for King of the Cage and XMMA promotions. His record currently stands at 6-0. In his last fight, he successfully defended his XMMA heavyweight title by forcing Soa Palelei to submit to strikes in the first round on Nov. 5. On Aug. 13, he defeated Tony Johnson to claim the King of the Cage heavyweight title.
Cormier came to MMA late, after spending several years on the international wrestling circuit. His freestyle wrestling career was highlighted by a bronze medal at the 2007 FILA World Championships. He is also a two-time medalist at the Pan American Championships with a gold medal in 2003 and a bronze in 2007.
Cole got off to a hot start in his career. After winning his first two fights in the IFL against Carlos Cline and Travis Wiuff, many thought he would be a top-ten heavyweight. However, his career then fell on hard times. In his last fight, Aaron Rosa defeated him by decision on the undercard of Shark Fights 13. The loss snapped a seven-fight undefeated streak.