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Strikeforce April 11th : Diaz vs Shamrock
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10-02-2009 11:54am#1Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock will make his return to competitive fighting after a one year layoff when he takes on Nick Diaz during Strikeforce’s next event on April 11 at the HP Pavilion and San Jose, Calif.
The matchup had been rumored for the past several days but FiveOuncesOfPain.com was able to confirm early Wednesday morning that the fight has been finalized. An official announcement could be made Tuesday during a joint conference call to be hosted by Strikeforce and television partner Showtime.
Shamrock, 23-9-2, fights at 185 pounds while Diaz, 18-7, primarily has competed at 160 and 170 pounds. As such, it was not immediately clear what weight the fight between the two California-based fighters will be contested at. However, Diaz has gone on the record before in interviews and stated that he would have no issue going up in weight if the right opportunity presented itself.
For Shamrock, the fight vs. Diaz will mark his first bout since sustaining a broken arm that forced an end to his Strikeforce middleweight title fight against Cung Le last March following the end of the third round. Despite having received medical clearance to return last fall, Shamrock has not fought since losing the title to Le.
Shamrock is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in MMA and was the first-ever UFC middleweight champion (later renamed the UFC light heavyweight title). The 15-year veteran holds notable wins in his career over Phil Baroni, Tito Ortiz, Enson Inoue, Jeremy Horn, Kevin Jackson, and Igor Zinoviev.
The 36-year old Shamrock will be giving up 11 years in age when he climbs into the cage to face Diaz. The 25-year old Diaz last competed in July during EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” event, which was televised as a part of CBS’ Saturday Night Fights franchise.
This match up has made me come over all giddy.
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The build up to that should be fun! My money's always on Frank
Stockon vs San Jose
Strikeforce are putting on another interesting fight in May:Strikeforce CEO Ready To Go To Work
By Tom Hamlin/MMAWeekly.com
In many ways, Scott Coker’s work has just begun.
The CEO of Strikeforce is in Los Angeles to negotiate with several managers who's clients were until recently signed with ProElite, Inc. Last Thursday, he acquired 42 athletes from the troubled company, and wants to put them to work.
If there was a virtue that proved to be a commodity in his last three months as a promoter, it was patience.
“This is something that truly tested my character,” Coker told MMAWeekly.com about negotiations with ProElite, Showtime, and CBS. “I don’t think I’ve ever run across a deal that’s been this complicated, and had this many roller coaster rides. Because one minute I thought this was going to close, and the next minute, it’s not going to happen. For three months, it’s been a wild ride.”
Strikeforce’s new television deals could position it to become the sport’s next big player. The San Jose, Calif.-based promotion is set for aggressive expansion in 2009, chairing 16 fights on premium cable channel Showtime over the next year. CBS has also inked an option to produce four live event specials, though airdates haven’t been finalized.
That’s a lot of work for veterans and newcomers alike.
Coker himself plans on hiring three or four more employees, and says there’s a possibility that Strikeforce will open an office in the City of Angels. But the rule of the day will be to keep the promotion “lean and mean,” even as it undergoes its biggest growth spurt.
Next week, Coker will meet with Showtime’s New York executives to map out the promotion’s schedule for 2009. Strikeforce’s first Showtime-aired event is set for April 11 and will feature Frank Shamrock in the main event. Middleweights Benji Radach and Scott Smith are confirmed for the main card.
“Frank wants to fight Tito Ortiz,” Coker said of Shamrock’s potential opponent, though he wasn’t aware of Ortiz’s contractual status with longtime employer UFC. Prior to his debut as a color commentator for Affliction Entertainment, Ortiz called Shamrock out in a video interview with MMAWeekly.com.
Though Ortiz has said he is eyeing a July return to fighting following back surgery, he was clear about his take on Shamrock.
"As a warm up fight – this is a warm-up fight – since I’m getting off a huge back surgery and so forth: Frank Shamrock. Frank Shamrock, step up. Yeah, he’s a little smaller than me, but he’s said a lot of things, he’s beat me the last time he was a smaller man. Step up or shut up.”
According to Coker, there has been "dialogue" about Shamrock facing Nick Diaz, but the main event is still a question mark.
For the co-main event of the April card, Coker has offered former EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons a fight with Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson. A re-match between EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and Joey Villasenor is a possibility, as well as a second meeting for Gilbert Melendez and Mitsuhiro Ishida.
This week, Coker will meet with Gina Carano’s representatives to shore up a deal with Strikeforce and offer a spot on the first event. If negotiations go well, a much-anticipated fight between the star and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos may come to fruition.
“(Santos) has already sent me an email saying she wants to fight Gina and she’s ready to go, so we’ll offer her that fight,” said Coker.
Santos has already agreed to a four-fight, exclusive contract with Strikeforce, according to a report by Sherdog.com.
A second Showtime event is planned for May at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash., site of Strikeforce’s first foray outside California. Ed Soares and Jorge Guimaraes, representatives for former EliteXC fighter Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, have already cleared him for a bout with Strikeforce light heavyweight Renato “Babalu” Sobral on the card. Sobral is expected to be offered the fight this week, though nothing is set in stone at this point.
Coker says his relationship with Japanese promoters from Dream and Sengoku will be essential for filling 2009’s calendar. In September, he gave standouts Kazuo Misaki and Ishida their first fights for an American promotion, and sees many exciting match-ups possible for as early as May. Among his “dream” fights: Melvin Manhoef vs. Robbie Lawler, Joachim Hansen vs. Josh Thomson, and Shinya Aoki vs. Gilbert Melendez.
“We’re going to continue to expand on that relationship,” he said. “We’d like to have some of their top guys come and fight some of our top guys.”
In a fight sure to agree with Japanese fans, Coker says he’s considering a main card bout – though not a headliner – between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Bob Sapp, possibly as soon as the Tacoma event.
“I would say by the second week of March, we’ll have the next 12 months laid out,” said Coker, adding he’ll pitch the return of 8-man tournaments to Showtime and CBS. “We’ll map out three or four main events and co-main events, months out.”
While he’s about to get very busy in the coming months, the 25-year veteran of kickboxing, Sanshou, and MMA events is happy to have cleared the major hurdle to expansion.
“It’s been very emotionally draining,” he said. “I’m glad it’s over with so we can go to work.”
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=8154&zoneid=2
:eek:
PRIDEs alive!0 -
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Deleted User wrote: »Frank will murder Diaz, I'm goin on record with that right now.
I disagree. And i will even offer some feeble points.
When you don't take Diaz seriously he messes you up. Frank will prepare for Diaz as hard as he can, but his knee's, age and other injuries will hold him back from being the machine he once was. He'll lack the cardio against a younger man. It's not that he won't think Nick can beat him, i honestly don't think he would have taken the fight if he didn't see SOME challenge in it but he'll just fight his current style of fight, to put on a good show. Diaz will fight to win and he is exactly the type of fighter to get you when you don't expect it.
Also, Diaz is no slouch, he genuinely has the tools to hang in there with the best of them.
Thats about it.0 -
I disagree. And i will even offer some feeble points.
When you don't take Diaz seriously he messes you up. Frank will prepare for Diaz as hard as he can, but his knee's, age and other injuries will hold him back from being the machine he once was. He'll lack the cardio against a younger man. It's not that he won't think Nick can beat him, i honestly don't think he would have taken the fight if he didn't see SOME challenge in it but he'll just fight his current style of fight, to put on a good show. Diaz will fight to win and he is exactly the type of fighter to get you when you don't expect it.
Also, Diaz is no slouch, he genuinely has the tools to hang in there with the best of them.
Thats about it.
The way I see it, they're both hard as nails. But where I see the difference is that Frank is much more powerful. I think he'll be too big and too strong for Diaz. I can see Diaz lying KO'd on the floor but I can't see it the other way round.
It will be a fun fight to watch and the build up will be epic but I just see Frank being that bit too much for Diaz size wise.0 -
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What are the webcast features?
I forgot that Mrs Cyborg was fighting. Hopefully they can get Carano under contract, although the best time for that fight between them might have passed. I'm sure it'd still be a great fight though
I'm looking forward to the Brett Rogers fight too. He seems to have something in him
Well the Observer (catch up Fozzy
) had:The 4/11 Showtime card in San Jose is at the pace to do 14,000 people. That is counting on a good walk-up, because Frank Shamrock fights in San Jose usually pick up steam in the last week. It is possible it would beat the Shamrock vs. Cung Le numbers. The televised card of Brett Rogers vs. Abongo Humphrey, Scott Smith vs. Benji Radach, Cristiane Santos (formerly known as Cris Cyborg) vs. Hitomi Akano, Gilbert Melendez vs. Rodrigo Damm and Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz will air both as a PPV in Canada, and as a unique attempt at an Internet PPV on the Showtime web site, in both cases for $24.95. The Internet PPV, called Strikeforce All Access, will allow viewers to choose from two different sets of announce teams , as well as allow viewers to choose their own camera angles, purchase the entrance music online and view photos. The TV announce team will be Gus Johnson, Mauro Ranallo and Pat Miletich
I think it is a really forward thinking move to create a USP(s) for the webcast to combat the lure of illegal streams.0 -
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Shamrock Diaz trash talking:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid271552642?bctid=19063811001 0 -
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Wow, Diaz really dominated him. I don't Diaz as a person but I love watching him fight and Frank just didn't have an answer for anything Diaz through at him. He lost the standup and the ground decisively. Sorry Frank but if that's the best you have left, it's past time to retire.
Not to take anything away from Diaz. Good win. (you know, in case he's reading this ).0
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