“Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” medical suspensions

According to a report from the Missouri State Athletic Commission, there was one main card fighter and three undercard fighters who received medical suspensions following the “Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields” June 6 event in St. Louis, MO..

Heavyweight fighter on loan from Affliction, Andrei Arlovski, received 60 days on the bench following his knockout loss at the hands of Brett Rogers just 22 seconds into the fight. It was Arlovski’s second knockout loss in a row.

Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante received a 60 day medical suspension due to his TKO loss to Mike Kyle in round 2 and James Wade received 30 days suspension for his TKO loss to Booker DeRousse near the end of round 1.

Lucas Lopes was the only winner on the card to receive a suspension. He received a 30 day suspension due to catching an illegal knee to the head thrown by Scott Ventimiglia in round 1. Ventimiglia was disqualified for the knee because Lopes was still on the ground. Lopes was deemed unable to continue and awarded the victory.

Medical suspension is a normal procedure implemented by state athletic commissions following an MMA event. It is done for precautionary reasons and because fighter safety is of the utmost importance.