Strikeforce has confirmed that Kevin Randleman has been medically cleared to fight Roger Gracie on May 15, a day after an illness called into question whether Randleman would be able to fight.
Randleman began to feel sick with what he believed was a staph infection while preparing for the Gracie fight, and he feared that he might need to bow out. The 38-year-old Randleman even told Sherdog that he would consider retiring if he couldn't get medical clearance to fight on May 15.
But a doctor has told Randleman he's healthy enough to go ahead and fight on the Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery card in St. Louis, which is headlined by Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem.
Randleman, a former UFC heavyweight champion with a 17-14 record, is much more experienced than Gracie, who has competed more in Brazilian jiu jitsu than in MMA and is only 2-0. But Randleman is just 3-9 since 2003 and has to be considered an underdog, especially after a training camp that was disrupted by an illness.
Randleman began to feel sick with what he believed was a staph infection while preparing for the Gracie fight, and he feared that he might need to bow out. The 38-year-old Randleman even told Sherdog that he would consider retiring if he couldn't get medical clearance to fight on May 15.
But a doctor has told Randleman he's healthy enough to go ahead and fight on the Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery card in St. Louis, which is headlined by Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem.
Randleman, a former UFC heavyweight champion with a 17-14 record, is much more experienced than Gracie, who has competed more in Brazilian jiu jitsu than in MMA and is only 2-0. But Randleman is just 3-9 since 2003 and has to be considered an underdog, especially after a training camp that was disrupted by an illness.