Just this past weekend an injury to Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine prelim fighter, Bobby ‘King’ Green 17-5), left promotion officials scrambling to find a replacement with just days left before the January 7, 2012 event.
On Thursday, the promotion announced a replacement for Green naming Estevan ‘El Terrible’ Payan (12-3) as the man to step into the cage versus Alonzo ‘Zo Diddy’ Martinez (35-15-1) in a lightweight match on a days notice.
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine is scheduled to take place this Saturday (Jan. 7) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout between Payan and Martinez will take place on the preliminary card and will air live on Showtime Extreme along with the three other matches.
The main card is set to air on Showtime at 10pm EST/PST (tape delay on the West coast).
Payan is undefeated in six bouts going 5-0 (1NC) since November 2009. His last fight took place in November at a Trilogy Championship Fighting event where he earned a first round TKO stoppage at the Arizona event. ‘El Terrible’ made two appearances with Bellator, competing at Bellator 1 and 6 in the promotions first ever featherweight tournament.
Martinez is 2-1 in his last three but is 8-1 in his last nine fights, competing eight times in 2011 alone. ‘Zo Diddy’ had his last fight in December winning by submission at a Resurrection Fight Alliance show in Nebraska. Martinez has earned seven wins by (T)KO, twenty-one by submission and seven by decision over his career.