Shane Del Rosario out of June 18 Strikeforce event after car accident; Noons vs. Masvidal likely taking its place

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Shane Del Rosario has been forced out of a planned bout with Daniel Cormier at Strikeforce's June 18 event in Dallas, Texas, after suffering injuries in a car accident earlier this week, according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.

There's no word yet on the extent of Del Rosario's injuries, but they were serious enough that he will not be able to take part in this card.

The loss of the fight has opened up a spot for a lightweight bout between K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal, which the report states is taking the place of that fight on the card.

Noons will return to action for the first time since losing to Nick Diaz in their rematch last October, and it will mark his return back to the lightweight division after jumping up to welterweight for that fight.

Masvidal will take part in his second fight on the Strikeforce roster after an impressive performance against Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce's first event in Columbus, Ohio in March.

The June 18 event takes place from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, headlined by the Heavyweight World Grand Prix fight between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.

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Penick's Analysis: There isn't much detail on how bad Del Rosario's accident was, but I hope that he's alright outside of being forced out of the fight. Hopefully none of his injuries are too serious. It's unfortunate that this fight will be lost from this card, but if it's not too serious he might able to return for the July card and this would still be a great fight. As for Noons-Masvidal, it's an excellent lightweight fight and a good replacement under the circumstances. It's one of the best matchups Strikeforce can make in that weight class, actually, and it should be a very good fight.

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