A proposed lightweight bout between K.J. Noons and Billy Evangelista slated for January's Strikeforce: "Miami" was scrapped from the card after Evangelista withdrew from the event due to an undisclosed injury suffered in training. News of the bout's cancellation was first reported by MMA Fighting.

According to the report, Noons will be on stand by for the card in case someone gets injured, however, if he does not end up fighting at Strikeforce: "Miami," he will make his debut with the promotion either in March or April.

Noons (7-2) signed with Strikeforce last month, however, he could have been with the promotion much earlier, as Strikeforce CEO, Scott Coker, offered him a fight against then Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson in February 2009, but Noons turned it down to focus on his boxing career.

Noons has not fought in MMA since successfully defending his Elite XC lightweight title against Yves Edwards at EliteXC: "Return of the King" June 2008. He was then stripped of the title in September 2008 because he and Elite XC could not come to an agreement on a new contract. Also, Noons refused to accept a rematch with Nick Diaz. 

The win moved Noons' record to 3-1 under the now-defunct Pro Elite Banner, best known for upsetting Nick Diaz via first-round TKO in his previous bout at EliteXC: "Renegade" in November 2007 to become the promotion's first lightweight champion. The bout was controversially stopped by the ringside physician due to cuts on Diaz's face.

During his absence from MMA, Noons put together a 4-1 boxing record, most recently defeating Julio Perez via unanimous decision in October. He sports an overall 11-2 professional boxing record.

Evangelista is coming off of an impressive unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Jorge Gurgel at Strikeforce Challengers: "Evangelista vs. Gurgel" in November. He has put together 10-0 MMA record over his four-year career, including a 6-0 (1 NC) mark with Strikeforce. Evangelista holds notable career wins over the likes of Ryan Healy, Isaiah Hill, Alexander Crispim, Nam Phan and Luke Caudillo.

Strikeforce: "Miami" takes place on Jan. 30 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL, with the main card to be aired live on Showtime.

Headlining the event is a welterweight bout between Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis for Strikeforce's vacant 170-pound title. In the co-main event, Strikeforce women's featherweight champ Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos will defend her title for the first time against Marloes Coenen.