A bout featuring heavyweights Mike Kyle and Wayne Cole has been scheduled to replace a postponed EliteXC welterweight title match between Jake Shields and Drew Fickett that had been planned for Saturday's co-promoted card by Strikeforce and EliteXC.

Fickett will remain on the card against an unnamed opponent. His bout has been removed from the televised portion of the show, but could still air, time permitting. It is believed that Fickett needs to win the fight in order to guarantee a future title fight against Shields.

ProElite.com's homepage initially listed the replacement bout as Cole vs. Mike Pyle, but this blog has since learned that the homepage report is not correct.

Kyle's inclusion on the card will no doubt be met with controversy. He was just recently reinstated by the California State Athletic Commission after having been suspended following his WEC 20 bout against Brian Olsen in May of 2006.

Kyle illegally kicked Olsen while he was down and then threw repeated blows after the referee attempted to stop the fight. It took a second referee, Herb Dean, to help break the action. Olsen suffered multiple fractures to his face due to the illegal strikes.

Cole went 0-2 while competing for the IFL in 2007. He suffered a second round knockout against Antoine Jaoude during the IFL's Los Angeles event last March and lost a unanimous decision to Bryan Vetell during the IFL semifinals last August in New Jersey. Currently on a two fight win streak, Cole has also competed for the Masters of the Cage, Cage Fury Fighting Championships, and Cage Combat Championships promotions.

ProElite.com has also confirmed that former UFC fighter Ryan Jensen has been signed to replace Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos in a middleweight bout vs. Joey Villasenor during Saturday's show, which will be held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Jensen was 0-2 during his brief stint in the UFC, submitting to Thales Leites in the first round at UFC 74 in August and losing again due to a first round submission against Demian Maia at UFC 77 this past October.

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Sam Caplan

Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com

SamCaplan.ProElite.com