Former WEC-champion Cole Escovedo is back to his fighting ways, as he recently signed a deal with Strikeforce.  Escovedo had been missing from the professional fighting circuit for nearly three years due to temporary paralysis.

The contract signing and event booking were confirmed to MMAJunkie.com by Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz.  Escovedo will make his Strikeforce debut on Nov. 6 at the "Strikeforce Challengers" series in Fresno, CA.  No opponent has been named.

In 2006, Escovedo suffered from a dire case of staph infection, which led to temporary paralysis in the lower half of his body.  The infection was initially in his arm, but it was misdiagnosed several times, causing the infection to spread to his spine.  He has since had surgery, physical therapy, and training.

Escovedo fought in his first fight back in May 2009 at the Palace Fighting Championships 13.  He defeated Michael McDonald by a TKO in the second round.

In 2002, Escovedo became the WEC's first featherweight champion.  He held that belt until 2006, where he eventually was defeated by Urijah Faber.

In 2001, Escovedo (12-4) made his professional fighting debut.  He won 11 of his first 12 fights, and is well-versed in jiu-jitsu, as seven of those 11 wins were by triangle choke.  However, his next three professional fights were losses, coming at the hands of Faber, Jens Pulver and Antonio Banuelos.