Several managers and fighters contacted by MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) say they received word on Sunday night that "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy" had been canceled.
They have yet to be informed of the next step.
"I just want to get on a show as soon as possible," said Josh Thomson, who was scheduled to fight Caros Fodor on the Showtime-televised main card.
Strikeforce and Showtime officials were unreachable for comment. The promotion on Sunday night announced that lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury, and as a result, the event was scrapped.
None of the fighters interviewed today were informed whether they would receive any compensation from Strikeforce and UFC parent Zuffa due to the cancellation.
Thomson relayed a message from his manager that a resolution could come as early today and as late as the end of the week.
"It sucks, but what are you going to do?" asked Thompson, who on Twitter offered to save the event by fighting headliner Pat Healy. "It's the fight game."
Following the recent cancellation of UFC 151, several fighters were, in some cases, paid several thousand dollars by the promotion, though none contacted by MMAjunkie.com had received the "show" money promised them for to fight.
Of course, as fighters are classified as independent contractors who get paid per performance, promotions are not, in most cases, obligated to compensate talent.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer said earlier that injuries such as the one that forced Dan Henderson out of UFC 151 were considered an event outside the control of the UFC and did not require them to pay purses to fighters put out of work by a cancellation.
The California State Athletic Commission, which was set to regulate the Sept. 29 card, states that in the case of postponed events, "the commission may grant an extension of the contracts and set a new date." In the event of a canceled event, "the action of the commission … shall be binding upon all parties to the contracts."
Reps for the commission could not be reached for clarification on the statute.
Some of the fighters displaced from the Sept. 29 event could be re-booked for Strikeforce's next major event, which is currently set for Nov. 3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. A total of five bouts had been penciled in for the fight card prior to Sunday's unfortunate news.
Thomson, for one, hoped he could be re-booked for the late-year event.
"[Cancellations have] happened before to UFC and boxing matches," he said. "You've got to deal with it. You let your management handle it, and worry about being a better fighter."
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