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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce brings another Challengers event to Showtime next Friday night, but the card has lost one of its main card competitors less than two weeks out from the event.
Strikeforce announced on Monday that Ryan Couture has been forced out of his scheduled bout with Juan Zapata due to a lingering staph infection.
"I was really looking forward to fighting, so this is a big disappointment, but I'll be back," Couture stated. "As soon as I'm cleared, you can bet I'll be back in the gym preparing for my next Strikeforce fight."
Couture, son of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, won his professional debut at Strikeforce Challengers 10 in August, earning a slick first round submission victory over Lucas Stark. The staph infection will keep him out of action only for a short time, but it's unknown if the 1-1 Zapata will stay on the card.
Penick's Analysis: Zapata, if given a new opponent, may or may not still be on the Showtime card, because it was Couture that was putting them on the broadcast. It's too bad for both, but staph infections are not something to mess around with, and if it's lingering he shouldn't expose Zapata or the other fighters on the card to it. Hopefully he gets it cleared up sooner rather than later, as his first fight was an exciting one and his next fight is definitely one to look forward to.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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