Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz April 11 San Jose

[GeneChing]

Sorry, just couldn't resist the pun. They've found a replacement for Thomson. My money is on Melendez for that bout.

RODRIGO DAMM TO FACE GILBERT MELENDEZ IN INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT

STRIKEFORCE: “SHAMROCK VS. DIAZ” This Saturday
Live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT)
From the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

New York (April 9, 2009) - Sengoku star Rodrigo Damm (8-2) has made his way from his native Brazil to California to replace injured Strikeforce World Lightweight (155 lb. limit) Champion Josh Thomson in the matchup with Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (14-2) this Saturday on the live SHOWTIME televised portion of Strikeforce: “Shamrock vs. Diaz” mega-fight card at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. (Pending California State Athletic Commission approval)

The winner of the five-round bout between Melendez and Damm will be crowned the Interim Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and be granted a shot at Thomson when the injured fighter is ready to return to action.

Damm captured the attention of MMA fans worldwide on June 8, 2008, when he scored a second round TKO on rising American Top Team star Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal at Saitama, Japan’s Saitama Super Arena.

The victory over Masvidal capped off an eight fight win streak for Damm, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who has produced submissions in five of his eight career wins. Damm has been fighting professionally for five years.

Thomson sustained a broken leg last week while sparring and was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Melendez. Thomson won the title in his initial encounter with Melendez, a five-round, non-stop-action battle via unanimous decision at the HP Pavilion on June 27, 2008. Thomson underwent surgery shortly after the break occurred. His estimated recovery time has not been determined.

The 26-year-old Melendez, an expert in both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is looking to return to the win column after his last start, the loss to Thomson. A resident of San Francisco, Melendez went unbeaten in his first 13 professional appearances, a run that catapulted him into the world top 10 rankings.

The “Shamrock vs. Diaz” event represents the dawn of a new age for Strikeforce as it will be the first one under the world championship MMA promotion’s new television agreement with Showtime Networks Inc. The live telecast will feature five fights including a thrilling main event between four-time world champion and MMA legend Frank Shamrock (24-9-1) and fellow knockout artist Nick Diaz (18-7, 1 NC), contested at a catch weight of 179 pounds.

Middleweight (185-pound limit) sluggers Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (16-5, 1 NC) and Benji “Razor” Radach (19-4) will also meet in a featured contest.

Heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) forces, Brett “The Grim” Rogers (8-0) and “Abongo” Humphrey (12-0) will put their unbeaten records on the line when they face off.

Women’s MMA power houses, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (6-1) and Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (14-5) will slug it out in a 145-pound showdown.

Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” will air live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) on Saturday, April 11.

Tickets for “Shamrock vs. Diaz,” priced from $30, are available for purchase at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and Strikeforce’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

HP Pavilion doors open at 4:30 p.m. for “Shamrock vs. Diaz” on Saturday. The first preliminary bout will begin at 5 p.m.

[Three Harmonies]

Ditto Gene.
I put up a short blurb about Diaz on my blog for those interested.
Jake

[SIFU RON]

I hope Shamrock wins - because we might see him and Cung meet again, what a fight that will be !!!

On a lighter note, " The Sacramento Kid" will be fighting " Mike Brown" first week in June, a rematch and this will be " hum-dinger" .

[SIFU RON]

I hope Shamrock wins - because we might see him and Cung meet again, what a fight !!!

On a lighter note, " The Sacramento Kid" will be fighting " Mike Brown" in June, a rematch and this will be " hum-dinger" .

[Three Harmonies]

Cung needs to continue to grow and push his envelope. I think it is WAY too early to be talking rematch. He has more important opponents ahead of him.
Jake

[GeneChing]

Hispanic Business missed the boat on this one. Never mind Frank. What about Diaz and Melendez?

Strikeforce's Frank Shamrock Becomes the Face of MMA -- Again
April 10, 2009
Joshua Molina--HispanicBusiness.com

UFC's original star emerges to lead Strikeforce on the national stage. For Shamrock, the consummate showman, it's all business this Saturday night, on a national stage. On the precipice of his fight with Nick Diaz, Shamrock spoke to HispanicBusiness.com.

A contingent of nervous CBS executives was frantically pacing behind closed doors and the men in suits were about to panic. The opponent for the network's mixed martial arts cash-cow, Kimbo Slice, injured himself two hours before the fight, leaving Slice without a challenger, and CBS without a main event for its fall primetime network MMA show.

After a disastrous rating for the network's summer "Saturday Night Fights" card, the show needed to deliver in the ratings or else. In essence, the future off MMA on primetime network TV hung on the success of the show.

One of then men in the tension-filled room that afternoon was Frank Shamrock, a mixed martial arts legend, who was also CBS' color commentator for the network's first two shows. After about an hour of batting around ideas for how to save the show, Shamrock raised his hand and said, "I'll fight Kimbo."

There were chuckles. Nobody really believed him. Frank said it again. The laughter faded. Now it was getting intriguing.

Jumping from the broadcast booth into the cage to fight a man that weighed 50 pounds more than him would have been ratings gold, the kind of real-life cartoon drama that even the WWE's Vince McMahon would be envious of.

But that's also the kind of stuff that the 36-year-old Shamrock loves.

He's the sport's most charismatic star. He's fearless. And ultimately, he's a showman.

"What Race Are You?"
When you are born with the name Frank Alisio Juarez, you'd think you'd know you are Hispanic. But it never dawned on young Frank, who grew up poor largely on the streets in Santa Monica. His white mother and stepfather raised him after his birth dad abandoned the home. His reality check came when he was 11 years old, when his fists landed him in Juvenile Hall, and the guards asked him, "What race are you?"

A skinny Frank was about to learn not only that he was Mexican-American, but that fighting would be his ticket out of poverty and into history.

At age 11, he was declared a ward of the state of California. He bounced around in various foster homes. It looked like his Frank's fate was sealed: just another poor, reckless kid who gets in trouble and winds up prison, or worse.

But at the age of 13, Frank found his savior in the form of a man named Bob Shamrock, who ran a group home for troubled teens. The elder Shamrock instilled values and a sense of pride in him. The group home was where he also met an older teen named Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick. The two would eventually bond with each other and the elder Shamrock. Bob Shamrock adopted them and they became Frank and Ken Shamrock, two of the greatest mixed martial artists in the history of the sport.

It's Showtime
It's the day before the fight and Frank Shamrock is hunkering down.

His latest blog posting on FrankShamrock.com reads, "its time to get serious. i am taking off to the hotel and getting ready to cut some weight. i was 185.2 when i got up so its nothing of a cut. looking forwrd to that BARBQ after. nick is gonna die. i love this sport. see you all at the weigh ins. frank "

[AdrianK]

You're right Gene, Gina Carano is gorgeous!

[GeneChing]

New from Wiley
I'm just imagining the anguish the publishers felt every time Diaz cracked Shamrock upside the noggin'...

Shamrock, Frank
Mixed Martial Arts For Dummies

- April 2009
19.90 Euro
2009. 240 Pages, Softcover
ISBN-10: 0-470-39071-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-39071-9 - John Wiley & Sons

Your full-color guide to this wildly popular combat sport!

Mixed martial arts is sweeping the globe! In this practical guide, legendary MMA Champion Frank Shamrock shares his expertise and love for the sport. He introduces you to his famous training and fighting system, explaining the virtues, ethics, and techniques of MMA in clear detail while showing you how to develop a safe, effective training regimen.

* Begin with MMA basics -- discover the history, the fighting styles, and modern rules and training techniques
* Prepare to start training -- strengthen your body, focus your mind, learn the concepts of combat, and find a good instructor
* Stand up for yourself -- your introductory course in stand up fighting, from essential strikes and defense to inside fighting with the clinch and takedowns
* Get ready to grapple -- understand the essentials of ground fighting, including the guard position, submissions, and escapes
* Become a well-rounded fighter -- improve your nutrition, develop a warm-up routine, expand your mental training, and get the rest you need

Open the book and find:

* Proven strategies to train your body and mind
* More than 150 step-by-step, full-color photos illustrating proper technique
* The 8 positions of power
* Necessary MMA training equipment
* The styles and strategies of MMA competition
* Fight-specific training drills and games
* Tips for increasing your speed and avoiding injury
* Advice from the expert on improving your ground game

[GeneChing]

Follow the link for a nice pic of Nick kicking Frank.

Nick Diaz passes drug test
By Lance Pugmire
April 21, 2009
Nick Diaz can breathe easy.

The mixed martial arts fighter, who openly discussed his enjoyment of smoking marijuana before an April 11 main event in Sacramento where he was tested for the drug, has tested clean, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Diaz, 25, from Stockton, defeated MMA veteran Frank Shamrock by second-round technical knockdown in San Jose's HP Pavilion earlier this month on a Strikeforce card.

Before the bout, Diaz told The Times in a lengthy interview that he has struggled with attention deficit disorder and found, "I'm more consistent about everything being a cannabis user. . . . "I can pass a drug test in eight days with herbal cleansers. I drink 10 pounds of water and sweat out 10 pounds of water every day. I'll be fine."

William Douglas, the assistant executive officer of the state athletic commission, told The Times at a commission meeting last week that he had "read every word" of The Times story. Diaz tested positive for marijuana in Nevada in early 2007, having a victory changed to a no-contest.

But he cleared the latest screening in California, and will likely be on another Strikeforce main event in the near future.

[GeneChing]

We just posted Cung Le Stars in FIGHTING. It starts with this fight...

[Yung Apprentice]

It was sad to see Frank take that bad of a beating. (He's one of my favorite fighters) I still think he came back to quickly after suffering a BROKEN ARM. Nick Diaz on the other hand looked great. It's funny how underrated his striking is. I remember when he fought Lawler and everyone was saying Nick needs to take him to the ground and wound up out striking Lawler. Nick has an excellent ground game, but his striking is just as nasty.