Eddie Wineland

Quick Hits: Kyle to Replace Hamman at Strikeforce, Thomas Signs With WEC & More

Here are your quick hits for the evening of May 27, 2009.

— Heavyweight knockout artist Mike Kyle has reportedly been tapped to replace Jared Hamman against Brazilian light heavyweight prospect Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on the preliminary portion of Strikeforce’s “Lawler vs. Shields” event on June 6. Hamman was forced to withdraw after suffering a broken nose during a recent training session. Kyle last competed at JG and TKT Promotions “Fighting 4 Kidz” event last August, where he won a unanimous decision over Mychal Clark. [MMA Weekly]

— World Extreme Cagefighting announced on Wednesday that TKO Championship Fighting and Ring of Fire featherweight champion Noah Thomas, a cast member on the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that was actually kicked off the show and banned from the UFC for fighting castmate Marlon Sims on the show, has signed a deal with the promotion. He will replace injured former WEC bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland on the WEC 41 undercard and take on Frank Gomez. [MMA Junkie]

— Streaking Brazilian prospect Ronny Torres is expected to make his long-awaited UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 19 in September against an opponent yet to be determined. Torres was originally slated to face “Ultimate Fighters” alumnus Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight Night 18 in April, but was forced out of the bout after suffering torn ligaments in his right knee during training. [Tatame.com]

Wineland Set to Return to WEC Against Yahya

After a year of fighting in smaller shows, former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland will likely make his return to the organization against jiu-jitsu champion Rani Yahya at WEC 40, which is scheduled to take place April 5 in Chicago, Illinois.

MMA on Tap was able to confirm the bout with sources close to the fight. Both fighters have agreed to the matchup and it is expected to be finalized shortly.

Wineland originally defeated Antonio Banuelos to claim the vacant WEC bantamweight title at WEC 20 three years ago and Zuffa opted to keep Wineland as their title holder when they purchased the promotion soon after.

However Wineland fell in his first and only title defense, losing a hard-fought unanimous decision to Chase Beebe at WEC 26. He has since won two straight fights, most recently defeating Wade Choate at a Corral Combat Classic event in November.

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