Dude I’ve been looking forward to this fight more than most in recent months. I’m also hoping Nick Diaz kicks that ass jiu-jitsu style to defend his Sensei.

Alistair Overeem in the audience. Wasn’t he just in the UFC audience earlier this year?

Brett Rogers vs. Abongo Humphrey to start the show off.
Round one is going pretty good until Herb Dean stops to warn Brett Rogers about grabbing Humphrey’s dreadlocks. I say bullshit. Humphrey was in a thai clinch, and Rogers just about can’t help but get a palm full of hair when he’s clinching. Herb Dean took a point away from Rogers. Crappy call, imo.

Kevin Randleman in the house, hugging it out with Mickey Rourke.

Round two sees Brett Rogers crush Abongo Humphreys with knees before referee Herb Dean stops the fight, giving Brett Rogers a TKO victory, and he remains undefeated.

Hitoni Akano vs. Cris Cyborg
Cyborg kicked Hitoni Akanos ass for 2.5 rounds before getting a TKO victory in round 3.

Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith
Someone is getting knocked out in this fight. It’s over now, and Scott Smith was getting his ass kicked for most of the fight, and landed a gnarly right hand to comeback and win by knockout over Benji Radach…LOL @ Smith thanking mis masseuse Tom Atencio at the post-fight interview.

Gilbert Melendez vs. Rodrigo Damm
I’d like to see Rodrigo Damm win this. But he didn’t. Gilbert Melendez got the KO victory in round 2. Rodrigo Damm got KTFO. Melendez is now the interim lightweight champion.

Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock
One thing you can be sure of, is that Nick Diaz will give a middle finger at some point tonight. Round one was good, I score it in Diaz’ favor. He got the fight to the ground and controlled it, even gaining mount and throwing down some punches at the end of the round.

Nick Diaz TOTALLY dominated round 2 and got a TKO victory after making Shamrock’s face a bloody mess and dropping him to the mat against the canvas, where Shamrock didn’t defend himself and the referee had to stop the fight. Diaz immediately offered his hand to help Shamrock off the mat. Contrary to what I said previously, I haven’t seen Diaz give anybody the bird yet.

An article on ESPN.com says that a contract has been signed for Frank Shamrock to fight his brother Ken Shamrock in what would be the first known professional MMA fight to feature brother against brother. The article says the fight will probably take place sometime in April of 2009, under the EliteXC brand.

They have each signed a contract, in principle, to settle their family feud in a most public fashion: they will face off, in a cage, in a pay-per-view contest.

There are plenty of particulars to iron out, like the date (probably sometime in April), the venue (none has been chosen) and the promotional and broadcast partners to be involved (Elite XC, CBS, and Showtime, with perhaps some other co-promoters), before what is believed to be the first brother vs. brother faceoff in fight history becomes a 100 percent done deal.

“We’ve both signed a contract to fight each other,” younger brother Frank Shamrock told ESPN.com. “Ken is down with it. We talked about it two years ago, and we’ve agreed materially to fight.”

“Will the fight happen? Absolutely,” Ken Shamrock told ESPN.com. “He’s got a buttkicking coming to him. Everything I’ve learned, everything I have bottled up in me, is going to come out on him. I’ve still got love for Frank, but I’m angry at him.”

FEMALE MMA STANDOUTS SHAYNA BASZLER AND CRISTIANE CYBORG ADDED TO THE CARD FOR SECOND PRIMETIME BROADCAST OF “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” SATURDAY, JULY 26 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

SHOWTIME To Televise Three Live Fights Preceding CBS Broadcast, Including EliteXC Heavyweight Championship Featuring Antonio “Big Foot” Silva vs. Justin Eilers.

The female bout between Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brazil’s Cristiane Cyborg has been added to the lineup for the second primetime broadcast of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Baszler and Cyborg, who are fighting in the 140 pound weight class, complete the primetime matchups for the CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS on July 26. Other CBS fights include:

•”Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (for EliteXC Middleweight title)
• Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson (for EliteXC Welterweight title)
• Nick Diaz vs. Thomas “Wildman” Denny (Lightweights)

Nicknamed “The Queen Of Spades,” the talented Baszler is 9-4 and has won her last four starts. All of Baszler’s victories have come via submission; her last four outings ended in the first round.

Regarded as one of the roughest and toughest women in MMA, Cyborg has a record of 4-0. This will be the United States debut for Cyborg, who has scored first-round technical knockouts in her last three fights.

SHOWTIME will televise three live fights preceding the CBS broadcast from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT including:

Antonio “Big Foot” Silva vs. Justin Eilers (for EliteXC Heavyweight title)
Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway (140 lb. weight class)
Rafael Feijao vs. TBD (light heavyweight fight)

CBS Sports play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, cageside analysts Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, and reporter Karyn Bryant will return as the “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” broadcast team and also have the call for the SHOWTIME telecast.

CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be produced by SHOWTIME Sports. The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr. For more information on the first CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, visit cbssports.com

Great show, and going into the night, I was conflicted about who I wanted to win for some fights. I’m a Lyoto Machida fan, and while I’ve never really been a Tito Ortiz fan, part of me was hoping to see him win just for the controversy it could’ve caused with Dana White. However, I also didn’t really want to see Machida lose, but anyway. That fight went about how I expected it would. I got excited when it looked like Tito was going to get that triangle choke in the 3rd round, but Machida escaped perfectly. I’ve also heard people comparing Lyoto Machida’s performance to Kalib Starnes. WTF? In no way was that a Starnes. Machida is ninja, whether he’s exciting or not. (No, it wasn’t an exciting fight overall). Maybe Tito can go to EliteXC now and fight Frank Shamrock, that would be nice.

Wanderlei Silva destroyed Keith Jardine. Damn. The Axe Murderer is back. Who’s next? Will we see a Silva/Liddell rematch? Will Silva ever fight Rampage again? or will Wanderlei drop to 185lbs as a lot of people suspect he will do? That is the match-up that should happen. Wanderlei vs. Anderson Silva. I’d pay double to see that fight.

BJ Penn was able to get the daily requirement of blood in his diet from Sean Sherk. BJ kicked Sherk’s ass throughout the whole fight, and afterwards ran over to wipe blood from Sherks face, then licked his hand. The winner of Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta needs to fight Sean Sherk next.

MAY 19th FIGHTER AUTOGRAPH SIGNING @ BEST BUY IN HOLLYWOOD

LOS ANGELES, California –
EliteXC in conjunction with Image Entertainment and Best Buy will be holding an autograph signing with EliteXC superstars on Monday, May 19th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the La Brea Best Buy store in West Hollywood, California.

Fighters scheduled to appear include:
Gina Carano
Frank Shamrock
“The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni
Nick Diaz
Jake Shields

DATE AND LOCATION
Monday, May 19th
6:00pm to 8:00pm
BEST BUY
1015 N. La Brea Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90038

The autograph signing will feature the debut of the first two EliteXC DVD releases: “Destiny” (2-disc set) which showcases Frank Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie & Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie and “Renegade” (2-disc set) which features a lightweight championship match of KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz & the MMA debut of street-fighting legend, Kimbo Slice.

A free, limited edition EliteXC poster will be available with the purchase of any EliteXC DVD (limited stock on hand).

Fighter appearances are subject to change.

That was a helluva fight. Frank Shamrock should have tried harder to take the fight to the ground, but I give him credit for wanting to entertain with a stand-up battle. I thought for sure one of Cung Le‘s left roundhouse kicks were going to leave Shamrock unconcious. Cung Le’s southpaw stance versus Shamrocks righty stance was looking ominous, the way Shamrock would keep his right hand too low, it looked like a left shin upside the head was inevitable, and indeed Shamrock did take some blows to the dome, but he must have a good chin, because none of them knocked him out. Frank Shamrocks demise came at the very end of round 3 after he blocked one of Cung Le’s Louisville Slugger-esque kicks with his forearm, and I think it broke. I think Cung Le could be a definite challenge for Anderson Silva, would Silva take this fight to the ground?

In other results from tonights EliteXC event:

• Jesse Jones defeated Jesse Gillespie via TKO round 1
• Darren Uyenoyama defeted Anthony Figueroa via Guillotine, Round 1
• Tiki Ghosn defeated Luke Stewart via Unanimous Decision 
• Joey Villasenor knocked Ryan Jensen out cold near the end of Round 1.
• Wayne Cole armbarr’ed Mike Kyle in just 45 seconds
• Gilbert Melendez beat up Gabe Lemley, scoring a TKO in round 2
• Drew Fickett choked Jae Suk Lim into submission in Round 1 (Guillotine)
• and in the swing bout, Billy Evangelista knocked out Marlon Sims in round 3. You may remember Marlon Sims from The Ultimate Fighter reality show, where he told tales of fighting several dudes at once, and having a 200-0 streetfighting record or something like that. Be sure to sign up on our new MMA forums and start your own discussion!

Here is a photo of the start of Tiki Ghosn vs. Luke Stewart, courtesy of Firepowr.net

This should be a good fight tonight, both Frank Shamrock and Cung Le are great strikers, it’s difficult to pick a winner. It will be a good test for both fighters.

from FrankShamrock.com

FRANK SHAMROCK ON RANDY COUTURE
Q&A with a Legend about a Legend

By Mary Van Note

MV:  It’s huge news all over the internet and I’d love to hear you weigh-in on the subject.
       Was this a smart move for Couture?

FS:  This was the smartest move that Randy Couture could have made at this point in his career.  At his age, and with the level of athletes growing in the sport, he was smart to get out.  Also with the UFC only focusing on their brand and not the talent, his growth was always limited in that show.

MV:  What other opportunities does he have to fight in MMA while not with Zuffa’s Pride or UFC?

FS:  Randy Couture is a movie star and a household name.  He is a martial artist of the highest caliber.   He has diversified into everything from books, movies, shavers, clothing lines, and other endorsements.  I don’t think he will ever fight again nor does he need to.

MV:  What do you know about his allegations that he was most likely not paid as well or as much as other top fighters like Silva and Lidell?

FS:  I am sure that they are true.  The UFC is only concerned about their brand, not the sport of MMA.  It took them years to realize that Randy was an American hero.  It took MMA about 5 minutes.

MV:  How does this affect MMA in general?  And specifically the brand of UFC?

FS:  It hurts the UFC big-time; more than when I left the sport as they have no stars in their shows now.  The last is Liddell and his life span is short.
MMA will be fine as the new fans don’t know about the sport or its history anyways.

MV:  Any chance you would fight Couture?

FS:  Would love to have him kick my butt.  I have trained with him many times and he is the real deal.

MV:  I see similarities with your career with Couture’s.  He left the UFC at the peak of his career for “hollywood.”  Any thoughts?

FS:  He is smart and the jig is up with the UFC.  The threats from Dana and his retarded business practices are catching up with the company.  The truth always comes out and there it is.  This sport is about the martial way not his way.

MV:  What is the future of MMA?
FS:  Frank Shamrock.

MV:  What is the UFC doing wrong… to lose their top talent?
FS:  “U Fight Cheap” is their moniker.  MMA is about the incredible people who do it, not the company that shows it.  Stars drive the sport, not Dana.  He is an idiot who should go back to managing a gym where he came from and quit messing up our beautiful art form.

Finally for all the new fans, do some research on MMA and the sport.  Don’t believe what they sell you on TV and PPV.  This sport is amazing with some real history that should be appreciated.  The UFC makes their own history up for money.  Don’t be a follower be a fanatic!