Luke Rockhold Out of Nov. 3 Strikeforce Title Defense With Injury

Strikeforce’s Nov. 3 visit to Oklahoma City has taken another hit.

As first reported Saturday night, The MMA Corner has learned from sources close to the camp of middleweight champion Luke Rockhold that the fighter has suffered a wrist injury and is out of his scheduled title defense with Lorenz Larkin. The news has been confirmed by other sources as well.

This is not the first time Rockhold has been out of action due to injury. Prior to capturing the title from Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, the Californian was away from the cage for over 18 months. But since that time, Rockhold has made two straight defenses against Keith Jardine and Tim Kennedy. He was slated to meet the undefeated Larkin in the co-main event in Oklahoma City.

The card was originally billed as “Cormier vs. Mir” as Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier was expected to meet former UFC champion Frank Mir. However, Mir was also forced to pull out of the event due to injury.

Now, with Rockhold’s injury, the card has two major voids. The promotion was already forced to cancel a scheduled Sept. 29 event in Sacramento due to a shoulder injury suffered by lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez—although that cancellation was dictated by the fact that Showtime did not want to broadcast the event without a headlining fight.

No official announcement has come from Rockhold or the promotion regarding the injury. At this point in time, the event is still scheduled to take place from the Chesapeake Energy Arena and air live on Showtime and Showtime Extreme.

Photo: Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold (Phil Lambert/The MMA Corner)