Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth has
been forced to withdraw from his planned title defense against Renato “Babalu”
Sobral at the promotion’s Sept. 20 return to the Playboy Mansion.
Strikeforce representative Mike Afromowitz told MMAWeekly.com
that Southworth suffered a strained, or possibly torn, anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL). The full extent of the injury is unclear, but it has made it impossible
for Southworth to train.
As reports have suggested, Afromowitz confirmed that Anthony
Ruiz will step in to face Sobral at the Playboy
Mansion.
Despite defeating Southworth in a non-title bout this past
November, Ruiz lost to Southworth in his championship bid in June. He has since
bounced back with a win over Jeremy Freitag under the EliteXC banner in July.
Since his exile from the Ultimate Fighting Championship late
last summer, Sobral has added two more victories to his final Octagon win. He
competed most recently on the debut of Affliction’s mixed martial arts event “Banned”
on July 19, defeating Xtreme Couture light heavyweight Mike Whitehead.
Afromowitz said that the promotion has not yet made a
determination as to whether or not the winner of the bout would be granted a
future title shot.
STRIKEFORCE
SEPT. 20 FIGHT CARD
