A toe injury forced lightweight champion Josh Thomson to withdraw from his first title defense against Yves Edwards at Strikeforce “Destruction” on Nov. 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Strikeforce officials announced the change to their main event on Wednesday. UFC veteran Duane Ludwig will meet Edwards in Thomson’s stead.

Thomson, who tore ligaments in his toe while training, has not competed since he stopped Ashe Bowman on strikes in 74 seconds at the Playboy Mansion two months ago. The 30-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product has rattled off eight consecutive victories since his decision loss to Clay Guida in 2006, re-establishing himself as one of the world’s premier 155-pound fighters. Thomson (16-2) captured the Strikeforce lightweight crown from Gilbert Melendez in a career-defining performance in June.

The bout against Edwards (34-14-1) represented a chance for Thomson to avenge one of his two career losses. Edwards knocked out the Californian with a highlight-reel head kick at UFC 49 four years ago.

Ludwig (17-8) -- who Thomson submitted with a guillotine choke during his current winning streak -- remains one of the lightweight division’s most-feared strikers. He holds a first-round knockout victory against former UFC champion Jens Pulver and other high-profile wins against Jonathan Goulet and Genki Sudo. A veteran of 25 bouts, Ludwig has tested himself against some of the sport’s top competitors, including reigning UFC lightweight king B.J. Penn, rising UFC lightweight contender Tyson Griffin and former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Takanori Gomi.

Thomson’s withdrawal provides a significant jolt to what figures to be Strikeforce’s last major show of 2008. The lone remaining title fight on the card will see Bobby Southworth defend his light heavyweight crown against Brazilian veteran Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

In welterweight action, the well-traveled Joe Riggs will collide with Luke Stewart. Also on the card, Kim Couture, wife of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, will make her promotional debut against Lina Kvokov.