Strikeforce Women's Welterweight contender Gina Carano, who was set to return to action against Sarah D'Alelio on June 18th, has been forced to withdraw from the bout after having her medical clearance for the match-up revoked.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker revealed the news during today's Overeem vs. Werdum media conference call.
Carano (7-1) has been inactive since an August 2009 TKO loss to current Women's Middleweight champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. During her time away from the cage she was cast in a lead role of the upcoming feature film "Haywire," which is slated for release later this year. "Conviction" reportedly resumed training in February, moving from the Las Vegas based gym Xtreme Couture to Jackson's MMA in New Mexico.
No specific details were revealed regarding the nature of Carano's failure to obtain medical clearance, but the Women's MMA superstar did issue this brief statement:
"I am seriously disappointed not to be fighting on June 18th. I'd like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback."
Following the news, Coker announced that the Lightweight clash between former Welterweight title contender KJ Noons and ATT product Jorge Masvidal would be bumped up from the undercard to fill the vacant slot left on the main card. Whether or not D'Alelio, who was set to make her promotional debut, will remain on the card is unclear at this time, however a decision is expected to be made shortly.
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum is set to take place June 18th from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The stacked card will be headlined by a pair of Heavyweight Grand Prix Quaterfinal bouts, one of which will feature division Champion Alistair Overeem going head to head with Fabricio Werdum, while the other will pit UFC veteran Josh Barnett against Brett Rogers.
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