Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz on Wednesday confirmed that Renato “Babalu” Sobral has had to withdraw from the promotion’s Sept. 20 return to the Playboy Mansion due to a “knee tear.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Afromowitz was unsure if they would be securing a replacement to face Anthony Ruiz or if they would have to just “scrap the fight.”

Babalu most recently defeated Mike Whitehead at the debut event of Affliction on July 19 in Anaheim, Calif. He was originally slated to challenge Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth at the Playboy Mansion event. Southworth fell of the card due to an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament.

Ruiz hasn’t seen action since July 26, when he defeated Jeremy Freitag for EliteXC. He once defeated Southworth, late last year, in a non-title bout, before losing in his title bid against the current champion in a June 27 rematch.

The full extent of Babalu’s injury is unclear. His representatives were unavailable at the time of publication.

Source: MMAWeekly.com