Mir had been scheduled to meet Cormier in the evening’s three-round headliner. Cormier will remain on the card, according to promotion officials, who revealed that the search for Mir’s replacement is currently underway.
The event formerly known as “Cormier vs. Mir” will still take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The Showtime-broadcast main card will see middleweight champion Luke Rockhold defend his belt against Lorenz Larkin, while top female talents Sara McMann and Liz Carmouche collide at 135 pounds. The evening's preliminary card airs on Showtime Extreme.
Mir, 33, tried unsuccessfully to regain the UFC heavyweight title in his most recent outing, falling by technical knockout to Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 in May. The setback halted a three-fight winning streak for the Las Vegas native, who topped Mirko Filipovic, Roy Nelson and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira prior to challenging “Cigano” for the belt.
Also 33, Cormier has been perfect in his 10 professional appearances to date, racking up seven wins inside the Strikeforce cage en route to winning the promotion's recent heavyweight grand prix. Cormier entered the field as an alternate one year ago, stopping former EliteXC champion Antonio Silva in the semifinals before taking a clear-cut unanimous decision from onetime UFC pacesetter Josh Barnett on May 19 to win the tournament title.
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