Strikeforce cancels Nov. 3 event

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Injuries to heavyweight Frank Mir and middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has led Strikeforce to cancel its Nov. 3 event, the promotion announced Friday.

The event was slated to take place in Oklahoma City and air on Showtime. Strikeforce plans to return to the network in January.

"While we're disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking forward to an even bigger Strikeforce event on Showtime early next year," Showtime executive vice president and general manager Stephen Espinoza said.

Mir, a two-time UFC champion, was to face Strikeforce Grand Prix Heavyweight winner Daniel Cormier. Rockhold was looking to defend his 185-pound title against Lorenz Larkin.

A left wrist injury forced Rockhold to pull off the card earlier this week. Mir withdrew last month with an undisclosed injury.

The Nov. 3 cancellation becomes the third Zuffa-based promotion to be scratched in less than two months. Strikeforce and UFC are run by Zuffa, LLC.

In August, UFC 151 was canceled when light heavyweight contender Dan Henderson suffered an injury and champion Jon Jones refused to face substitute Chael Sonnen on eight days' notice.

UFC 151 was to be held in Las Vegas.

Strikeforce canceled a card slated for Sept. 29 in Sacramento, Calif., after lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez withdrew after separating his right shoulder during a training session.

Melendez was to defend his 155-pound title against Pat Healy.

It is not yet known if the Mir-Cormier, Rockhold-Larkin or Melendez-Healy bouts will air on Showtime's broadcast in January.

"(We) are already working to put together a stacked card in January," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said.

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Franklin McNeil

Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts

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• MMA columnist for ESPN.com
• Analyst for "MMA Live"
• Covered MMA/Boxing for The Star-Ledger