Josh “The Punk” Thomson was set to defend his Strikeforce lightweight title against Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez. Melendez was the former champion, but it was the Thomson who took that belt away from him in a Strikeforce event held on June of 2008. The highly anticipated rematch bout was scheduled as the co-main event for the April 11 ‘Shamrock vs. Diaz’ fight card.
Unfortunately, plans have changed as Thomson broke his left leg during a training session. The rematch bout has been canceled but a new opponent for Melendez is underway for this same card. A terrible setback for this upcoming Strikeforce event, but hopefully there will be a good replacement come April 11.
Snip from The Punk himself:
“I was sparring hard and I broke my (left) leg, above my ankle, during an exchange. I’m very upset. All the hard work was done and it was time to fight. I was looking forward to putting on a great show for the fans. All I can say is that I’ll be back when I get healthy.”
