The Weekly Wrap: May 2 – May 8

Matchmaking Notes

Houston Alexander has pulled out of his UFC 98 fight against Andre Gusmao due to a broken hand. Krzysztof Soszynski will step in to face Gusmao, a fellow International Fight League veteran.

Kevin Randleman will make his Strikeforce debut June 6, when he faces Mike Whitehead at a show in St. Louis. A catchweight fight between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields will headline the event.

Rising undefeated female prospect Sarah Kaufman will face Miesha Tate at the ShoMMA “Strikeforce Challengers Series” premiere on May 15 in Fresno, Calif. Kaufman replaces Kim Couture. A powerful striker, Kaufman has never been the distance in her eight professional wins. Strikeforce also announced that female MMA veteran Shayna Baszler will face the Tate-Kaufman winner at the next ShoMMA event on June 19 in Kent, Wash. That show also began to take shape, as Strikeforce announced a main event between Joey Villasenor and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.

Zuffa confirmed several fights for UFC 101 on Aug. 8, including Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks, Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida and Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino.

Former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga will face Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 102 on Aug. 29, according to MMAWeekly.com. Tuchscherer trains with reigning heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in Minnesota and competed in the infamous YAMMA Pit Fighting tournament last year.

A fight between Travis Lutter and Dean Lister, expected at the May 15 Maximum Fighting Championship show in Enoch, Alberta, Canada, was called off. Lutter told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show that Lister did not sign a bout agreement and a replacement opponent would not be sought.

Blagoi Ivanov, the Bulgarian who defeated Fedor Emelianenko in a Sambo match last year, will make his MMA debut against wily veteran Kazuyuki Fujita at Sengoku’s next show in August, according to a report from Tokyo Sports. Ivanov has indicated in interviews that he has signed a three-fight deal with Sengoku.