Toughill out of bout with Coenen

A Nov. 7 fight that was bound to determine a contender to Strikeforce 145-pound women’s champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos is off.

Sources informed MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that the showdown between Erin Toughill (10-2-1) and Marloes Coenen (16-3), scheduled for the undercard of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, is off the card.

Toughill had to withdraw due to an undisclosed medical condition.

Santos won the title in a Strikeforce main event bout with Gina Carano in August, when she became the first women’s champion for a major mixed martial arts promotion. Questions about a first title defense arose immediately following her victory.

She was originally expected to defend her title against Coenen at Fedor vs. Rogers, but had to withdraw due to an injury suffered during a grappling tournament in September.

With the women’s division still developing, Strikeforce moved quickly to fill the gap by signing a rematch between two of the top female fighters in the sport, the winner then challenging Santos for the belt.

Toughill won the first pairing with Coenen by knockout in December 2004 at the all-women Japanese MMA promotion Smackgirl (the promotion has since been renamed Jewels).

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, is the promotion’s debut event on CBS Saturday Night Fights.

(Additional reporting by Steven Marrocco/MMAWeekly.com)