Melendez continuing shoulder issue pushes him off Strikeforce finale

Strikeforce's grand finale is apparently going to be short one title, as Tatame is reporting that Gil Melendez has pulled out of the Jan show, and will presumably appear in the UFC as soon as he is capable.
Melendez suffered a shoulder injury in training that forced him out of a scheduled September 29 fight against Pat Healy. At the time it was reported that he would not need surgery, and the fight was rescheduled to Jan.

Strikeforce lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez will not be on the last card of the event, to be held in January. The information comes from Melendez's coach Cesar Gracie, who confirmedd the cancellation of the fight against Pat Healy.

"They have not made official, but Gilbert is not training hard," said Gracie. "I think he never recovered from the shoulder injury and will not be able to fight in January. He had a doctor's appointment this week and the doctor said that he will not be able to fight."
"We will focus on his recovery. With the end of the show, he should migrate to the UFC and is set to open as soon as possible, so to recover."