Thomson vs Melendez II Cancelled

by Robert Sargent

Just days before he was scheduled to defend the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship in a rematch with Gilbert "El Niņo" Melendez, Josh "The Punk" Thomson has suffered a broken leg during training and will be unable to compete on the card.

The injury marks the second time that the proposed Thomson-Melendez rematch has been cancelled, but Strikeforce has announced that Melendez will still compete on the card.

Thomson (16-2-0, 1 NC) suffered a broken leg just above the ankle during final training sessions earlier today, which will force him out of the bout with Melendez (14-2-0) at Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs Diaz" on April 11th. In their previous bout, Thomson completely dominated the fight for 25 minutes, scoring a Unanimous Decision with scores of 50-45 across the board. It was the most lopsided loss of Melendez's career.

The rematch with Thomson would have been Melendez's first fight since he lost the title to Thomson last June, but he will remain on the card. A victory will solidify his spot as the #1 contender for Thomson's belt.


Strikeforce: "Shamrock vs Diaz" is headlined by a catchweight bout between trash talkers Frank "The Legend" Shamrock and Nick Diaz, and also features a middleweight contest between heavy hitters Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith and Benji "Razor" Radach. The event airs live on Showtime on April 11th.