Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez had to bow out of his title defense due to an injury.   Strikeforce and Showtime axed the rest of the show.   Title contender, Pat Healy, discusses the cancellation with bloody elbow starting with his recollection of Matt Lindland breaking the news to him:

“I was sitting down, I had made myself a little camp fire in my backyard and I was sitting out there and my phone rang. Usually, I have this thing where, especially before a fight, I don’t really answer the phone after 9 o’clock, but I knew Matt calling at that time, literally my heart sunk. I knew. I had this bad feeling.  Matt usually doesn’t call me later like that. I knew it couldn’t be good news.”

All I know is that they called my manager Matt Lindland and said Gil was out and they’re not going to try to put anybody else in. They didn’t even tell me the whole card was canceled.  And I won’t be fighting again until Gil is healthy to fight.

I was 110 percent going into this fight. I’ve been so excited, so ready. I don’t see any upside. Even trying to be as positive as I can, I don’t see any upside to this fight stopping.

Going into camps, you spend a lot of money on food, I eat all organic, grass-fed meat, you bring guys in, pay guys money. I’m working with a couple guys three times a week who I pay for the sessions. It definitely hurts you financially. And when you have nothing to recoup it, it’s pretty devastating.”

Healy’s answer to fighting Josh Thompson who he spent lots of time with during BJ Penn’s camp & getting in the November show:

“Yeah, sure, man. This is business. I’m in the fight business, I’m down to fight whoever.

Shoot, me and Josh, they do the interim titles in the UFC, so why not do it if Gil’s going to be out of a long time? Me and Josh can do a five-round fight for the interim title in November and that can be a good main event or co-main event, depending on what happens with that card.”

Read more:  Strikeforce(News), MMA(News)

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