Each day, The MMA Corner will provide a recap of results, event announcements, fight matchups, and injuries/cancellations from throughout the world of MMA.

After separating his shoulder in a sparring session with Jake Shields last Tuesday, reigning Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will not make the fifth defense of his title against Pat Healy this Saturday. As a result of Melendez’s removal from the card, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed through a press release that Showtime has opted to not go through with airing the card, which led the promotion to cancel the entire event altogether.

The card was slated to feature Josh Thomson vs. Caros Fodor in the co-headliner of the night—with Thomson and Healy both coming off of losses to both the champion and challenger, respectively. However, when news of Melendez’s injury broke, Thomson offered to fight Healy in order to salvage the card, but to no avail. Showtime officials went on to say that without Melendez, a suitable headliner, or a “marquee undercard”, they reluctantly informed Strikeforce of their decision to cease plans for the intended telecast.

With Showtime’s executive decision to cancel the card comes the question of whether or not any of the fights will get a place on Strikeforce’s November showcase. However, at this time, no official word has been given as to the exact time at which these fights will now take place. Melendez anticipates a five-week rehab period, after which he will get together with his team and reevaluate things.

Invicta FC president Shannon Knapp has done it again. After two successful events and their Oct. 6 show from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. fast approaching, Knapp’s all-female promotion announced a partnership with India-based Super Fight League, which holds their own MMA showcase this Saturday night, with another scheduled for Oct. 6 as well. According to SFL Chairman Raj Kundra, the partnership intends to help both SFL and Invicta expand to a more global audience. Knapp echoed the sentiments and views the partnership as an opportunity to expand Invicta’s reach and discover new talent within the women’s MMA scene.

In 2012, fans can never guarantee that a good fight will go on as planned on its scheduled date. However, according to Mike “Quicksand” Pyle, fans can expect a good fight from him at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale on Dec. 15 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Why is that? Because Pyle, who earned “Knockout of The Night” honors in a first-round victory over Josh Neer at UFC on FX 3, tweeted that he will contend with welterweight standout James Head at the event. After a loss to Nick Ring at UFC 131 last year, Head dropped to middleweight and now rides a 2-0 streak with wins over Papy Abedi and Brian Ebersole.

Ratings dipped slightly as The Ultimate Fighter 16 drew only 872,000 viewers for last week’s episode, which saw Team Carwin’s Neil Magny take a split decision over Team Nelson’s Cameron Diffley. In comparison, the season premiere of TUF 16 drew 947,000 viewers. TUF 16 marks the series’ return to its “taped” format and concludes on Dec. 15 with “The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale” live from Las Vegas. The event will feature the season’s welterweight final, as well as a heavyweight tilt between coaches Carwin and Nelson.

Photo: Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who reluctantly withdrew from his Sept. 29 title defense with Pat Healy last week due to a separated shoulder. (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)