By FCF Staff

Fresh off his unanimous decision win over Eric Wisely on August 12^th, Pat Healy informed FCF that he was hoping to fight again in September, and Strikeforce has announced that the veteran has gotten his wish. The promotion has confirmed that Healy will step in for the injured Josh Thomson, September 10^th versus Maximo Blanco. (Pictured: Healy trying to choke out Lyle Beerbohm)

The lightweight bout will be part of Strikeforce’s upcoming “Barnett vs. Kharitonov” card in Cincinnati, Ohio, which will feature the semifinals of the promotion’s ongoing heavyweight grand-prix.

Healy (25-16) heads into the event having won back-to-back bouts over Lyle Beerbohm and the aforementioned Wisely, after being submitted by Thomson last June. Healy is 4-1 in his last five fights.

Blanco (8-2-1) will make his Strikeforce debut having won six straight fights while competing for Sengoku and Pancrase in Japan. The Venezuelan fighter hasn’t fought since December, when he worked his way to a unanimous decision win over Won Sik Park at Sengoku’s “Soul of Fight.”

The upcoming September 10^th card will be hosted by Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena and will be broadcast live on Showtime. The preliminary card will be aired by HDNet.

Here is the line-up to date for “Barnett vs. Kharitonov.”

Heavyweight Grand-Prix Semifinals

Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov

Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio Silva

Middleweight Championship

Ronaldo Souza* vs. Luke Rockhold

*champion

Roger Gracie vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal

Maximo Blanco vs. Pat Healy

Mike Kyle vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero

Jordan Mein vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

Alexis Davis vs. Amanda Nunes

Picture: Esther Lin / Strikeforce