Cavalcante, a training partner of Anderson Silva who was on track to challenge for EliteXC's first 205-pound title in November when the company folded, will now face Jared Hamman on the June 6 bill, Sherdog.com reported. Hamman, who trains with Vladimir Matyushenko, fought on three ShoXC cards that aired on Showtime in the Pro Elite era.
AOL’s MMA Fanhouse reported that new Strikeforce signee Kevin Randleman was first offered the fight with Cavalcante, but turned it down. The June 6 Strikeforce card will be headlined by a middleweight fight between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields.
It’s the second time Strikeforce has had its second-billed fight for a Showtime event fall through. The promotion’s April 11 premiere was hampered by the loss of a lightweight title rematch between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez after Thomson pulled out due to a fractured tibia. Thomson is expected to be ready in August, while Melendez stepped in against Rodrigo Damm and won via second-round knockout to claim the interim title. Speculation continues that Melendez will be matched up with Mitsuhiro Ishida before getting the Thomson fight.