Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
- Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes was set to make her return to the Strikeforce cage this Saturday.
- She had spent the last several weeks preparing for her match against undefeated Cat Zingano, who had signed with the promotion in August and was also busting her rear to get ready for her debut.
Unfortunately, Showtime, the cable station that broadcasts the Strikeforce events, pulled the plug on the event. The network was informed that Strikeforce Lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez, was injured during training and would pull out for the event.
This is a shame, not only for Strikeforce fans, but also the other fighters who were set to compete on the card.
Showtime released a statement regarding the decision to cancel the event due to lack, of what they believed, was a suitable substitute to the main event title match between Melendez and challenger Pat Healy.
“On Friday night Strikeforce informed us that headliner Gilbert Melendez had sustained an injury and would not be able to compete in the September 29 Strikeforce event. After reviewing the remaining matchups on the card, we concluded that there were no other fights suitable to headline our Showtime telecast. On Saturday morning, we reluctantly informed Strikeforce that we could not continue with our plans to televise the event.”
Although Strikeforce is currently trying to shuffle the remaining fights to different cards, the match between Nunes and Zingano could easily be moved to the next Strikeforce event, which takes place Nov. 3.
The event currently has four matches, including a women’s bout between Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche and the Strikeforce middleweight title match between Luke Rockhold and Lorenz Larkin.
The event was also originally going to feature the UFC-Strikeforce crossover fight between Frank Mir and Daniel Cormier, however, Mir was forced out of the card due to injury.
Putting Zingano vs. Nunes as the undercard on the Nov. 3 card would not only give the card another bout, but also help build anticipation for the McMann vs. Carmouche fight.
Previous Strikeforce events that have featured two or more women’s bouts have been successful.
The Rousey vs. Kaufman event featured two women’s fights on the undercard, Miesha Tate vs. Julie Kedzie and Germaine De Randamie vs. Hiroko Yamanaka.
Although the De Randamie vs. Yamanaka was more of a technical display, the fight between Kedzie and Tate was a highly competitive match that was enjoyed by many fans, including UFC President Dana White.
Back in March, the Tate vs. Rousey event featured a grueling bout between Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis. The fight turned out to be a war in the cage, that was loved by fans, and eventually helped Kaufman’s case for a title shot.
Will Nunes vs. Zingano be as memorable as Tate vs. Kedzie or Kaufman vs. Davis?
Perhaps we will find out if Stirkeforce moves the fight to their next event.
