Strikeforce co-main off

Strikeforce suffered its first promotional blow in ramping up for its premiere card on Showtime on April 11, as the night's co-main event, a five-round lightweight title fight between Josh Thomson and Gilbert Melendez, was cancelled this week. Thomson, the champion, reportedly broke his leg above the ankle training this week and is expected to be out of action for two to three months. The cancellation of the fight, a rematch of a 25-minute battle between the two in June 2008, leaves a sizable hole in the Showtime card, which is headlined by Frank Shamrcok vs. Nick Diaz. There was no word about a replacement bout by week's end, though Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Fightticker.com that Dream fighter Mitsuhiro Ishida’s name was a possibility.

Also this week, Strikeforce confirmed its next event will take place on June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to the anticipated Robbie Lawler vs. Jake Shields catch-weight fight, the event will also feature Renato "Babalu" Sobral defending the Strikeforce light heavyweight title against Rafael Feijao, the Anderson Silva training partner who was on course to becoming the first 205-pound EliteXC champion before that promotion folded late last year.