Veteran Paul Buentello (Pictures) announced that he will face Dutch striker Alistair Overeem (Pictures) for the vacant Strikeforce heavyweight title on Nov. 16 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Buentello, 33, has claimed four consecutive wins since being stopped in the first round by Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) at UFC 55 in Oct. of 2005. With a mixed marital arts career that spans more than a decade, the Amarillo, Texas, native has claimed 16 knockouts while racking up a record of 23-9-0.
"Yes, it's going to be another striking war, but that's fine with me," Buentello declared in a video newsletter. "All I got to do is hit him before he hits me."
Overeem, 25-11-0, recently suffered a disappointing technical knockout at the hands of Russian Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) for the K-1 HERO's promotion on Sep. 17. It has been on a rough stretch of late for the veteran, dropping four of his last five bouts. The 27-year-old has had his best success at 205 pounds, but has competed at heavyweight numerous times in his career with mixed results.
Nov. 16's card will also feature California's first sanctioned one-night tournament, which touts to crown a 185-pound contender for Frank Shamrock (Pictures)'s Strikeforce middleweight crown. Faliniko Vitale has been the only fighter announced in the four-man draw. Potential participants include Trevor Prangley (Pictures), Yuki Sasaki (Pictures), Joe Riggs (Pictures) and Jorge Santiago (Pictures).
Expected to compete on the card in non-tournament bouts are Cung Le (Pictures) (who is rumored to fight Kazuo Misaki (Pictures)), Luke Stewart (Pictures), and promotional light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth (Pictures).
Buentello, 33, has claimed four consecutive wins since being stopped in the first round by Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) at UFC 55 in Oct. of 2005. With a mixed marital arts career that spans more than a decade, the Amarillo, Texas, native has claimed 16 knockouts while racking up a record of 23-9-0.
"Yes, it's going to be another striking war, but that's fine with me," Buentello declared in a video newsletter. "All I got to do is hit him before he hits me."
Overeem, 25-11-0, recently suffered a disappointing technical knockout at the hands of Russian Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) for the K-1 HERO's promotion on Sep. 17. It has been on a rough stretch of late for the veteran, dropping four of his last five bouts. The 27-year-old has had his best success at 205 pounds, but has competed at heavyweight numerous times in his career with mixed results.
Nov. 16's card will also feature California's first sanctioned one-night tournament, which touts to crown a 185-pound contender for Frank Shamrock (Pictures)'s Strikeforce middleweight crown. Faliniko Vitale has been the only fighter announced in the four-man draw. Potential participants include Trevor Prangley (Pictures), Yuki Sasaki (Pictures), Joe Riggs (Pictures) and Jorge Santiago (Pictures).
Expected to compete on the card in non-tournament bouts are Cung Le (Pictures) (who is rumored to fight Kazuo Misaki (Pictures)), Luke Stewart (Pictures), and promotional light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth (Pictures).