MMA
Evangelista Santos Out Against Tim Kennedy on Sept. 25
Ariel Shnerer / August 19, 2009 - 1:01pm
Former U.S. Special Forces operative Tim Kennedy will no longer be facing Brazilian veteran Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos in the main event of "Sho MMA: Strikeforce Challengers 3" on Sept. 25.
The Fight Network was informed by a source close to Showtime that "Cyborg" suffered a knee injury while training for the fight.
A new opponent for Kennedy has yet to be finalized, although the Fort Bragg resident is still expected to headline the event.
"Sho MMA: Strikeforce Challengers 3," which is slated for Sept. 25, will emanate from the SpiritBank Event Center in Tulsa, Ok.
Kennedy (10-2), who recently announced he was leaving the military to pursue a full-time career as a mixed martial artist, is coming off an impressive second-round TKO victory over tough 38-10-1 veteran Nick Thompson.
A member of "The Pit" under John Hackleman, Kennedy holds notable wins over Thompson, Ryan McGivern, Dante Rivera, Jason Miller and Jody Burke. His lone two defeats came via TKO from a cut against Scott Smith in his first pro bout in August 2001 and a unanimous decision loss to Miller in a rematch at "HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon" in December 2007.
Kennedy is perhaps best known as one of the few regular MMA competitors who served in the U.S. Army while still competing professionally.
Santos (16-3), meanwhile, was last seen cornering his wife, who is known simply as Cris "Cyborg," last Saturday as she dispatched Gina Carano via first-round TKO to claim the first-ever Strikeforce 145-pound female championship.
The extent of his injury is presently unknown.
A product of the Brazilian Chute Box Academy, Santos was hoping to rebound from back-to-back losses to Siyar Bahadurzada at Sengoku: Fifth Battle last September and most recently, a split decision against Joey Villasenor in the featured bout of "Sho MMA: Strikeforce Challengers 2" in June.
The 12-year veteran has recorded wins over Mark Epstein, Darren Little, Yosuke Nishijima and Makoto Takimoto, while dropping bouts to Gegard Mousasi, James Zikic, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Melvin Manhoef, Anthony Rea, Yuki Kondo and Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons.
