Frank Shamrock will headline the Strikeforce debut event on Showtime on April 11, fighting fellow Californian Nick Diaz in San Jose, Calif.

The main event bout was announced during a joint conference call by Strikeforce and Showtime on Tuesday.

The bout will be Shamrock's first since a March 29, 2008, TKO loss to Cung Le which cost him the Strikeforce middleweight championship. Diaz last competed on CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights on July 26, TKOing Thomas "Wildman" Denny in Round 2 in front of his hometown fans in Stockton, Calif.

Shamrock has recently competed as a 185-pound middleweight, while Diaz has fought at the EliteXC lightweight limit of 160. Shamrock vs. Diaz will be contested at an agreed-upon catch weight of 179 pounds.

"He's a guy who throws, and talks trash, and on April 11, I'm gonna knock him out," Shamrock said.

When asked about the often-discussed possibility of fighting his brother Ken in the future, Shamrock did not rule it out, but said that Ken is working through some personal problems right now.

"I think it's important that I kick his ass, but right now, that's on the backburner," Shamrock said.

Strikeforce acquired select assets and fighter contracts from Pro Elite last week, shortly before announcing the new television deal with Strikeforce. The deal also includes the option for CBS to run Strikeforce programming on the network.

After the final EliteXC event on CBS on Oct. 4, the hottest fight on the horizon involved female fighters Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. During the call, it was noted that Santos is available for April 11, and that they will be extending an offer to Carano to fight her on the Showtime telecast. If Carano is not available for that date, Santos may be offered a different opponent for the show.

One of the fighters believed to be on the list of acquisitions by Strikeforce is Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, who turned heads in 2008 by headlining numerous EliteXC shows despite being a rookie in MMA. Showtime senior vice president and general manager of sports and event programming Ken Hershman said the process of contacting each fighter and finalizing each deal is taking some time, but Kimbo Slice is on their wish list.

"Kimbo is one that we think we have a future with," Hershman said.

Gilbert Melendez was mentioned as an expected fighter on the April 11 show, with Jorge Gurgel and Mitsuhiro Ishida discussed as potential opponents. Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith was also confirmed for the show. Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker said middleweight champion Cung Le is available on April 11, but unable to fight due to an elbow injury.

 

Strikeforce announced on Thursday that it has acquired the rights to select assets of Pro Elite, the parent company of EliteXC. From the official Strikeforce press release:

LOS ANGELES, CA. -- In a transaction signaling the dawn of a new era in the world's fastest growing sport, world championship mixed martial arts (MMA) organization Strikeforce, has acquired certain fighter contracts from ProElite, Inc, the parent company of former Strikeforce co-promoter, Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC).

Strikeforce also acquired other specific assets of ProElite, including a library of EliteXC events, which were distributed live on either CBS or Showtime Networks.

"This is a tremendous development that will bolster the Strikeforce roster and allow us to produce even more competitive matchups between top fighters," said Scott Coker, Founder and CEO of Strikeforce. "Some of these athletes have been on the sidelines for a while now and are eagerly waiting to return to competition. We look forward to providing them with the opportunity to do so in the next few months."

As part of the deal, Strikeforce has acquired some -- but not all -- of the contracts for fighters previously signed to EliteXC. Citing Coker as his source, Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports reported today that the list of fighters now contracted to Strikeforce includes Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano, EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler, EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, Scott Smith, Benji Radach and others.

Shortly after the news broke about Strikeforce's acquisition of Pro Elite assets, Showtime Networks Inc. issued a statement of its own, revealing that Showtime Sports will produce and televise up to 16 live Strikeforce events per year, beginning with an April 11 event in San Jose, Calif. While a lineup has yet to be formally announced for that event, reports have circulated that pinpoint Frank Shamrock as a potential headliner, with Smith vs. Radach on the undercard.

The breakdown of the Strikeforce events on Showtime would be similar to the former EliteXC/ShoXC format, with about half of the events showcasing young, up-and-coming talent and the rest featuring more well-known fighters and championship bouts.

 

This morning at 9 a.m. ET, CBS and ProElite, Inc. announced a multi-year deal that will result in four EliteXC events per year broadcast live on CBS.

The deal is the first of its kind for a major U.S. TV network, and also the first of its kind for a U.S.-based MMA promotion. According to the official press release, CBS will air four EliteXC events per year, live on Saturday nights during primetime. The release also confirms that the EliteXC airings will be two hours in duration.

EliteXC began running shows last year, broadcasting on Showtime. The promotion has also worked in conjunction with MMA groups like Strikeforce in jointly-promoted events airing primarily on Showtime, which will continue to air EliteXC in addition to the CBS deal.

In conjunction with other MMA groups owned by ProElite -- which includes not just ElitexC, but others like Cage Rage and Icon Sport -- the roster of potential fighters on CBS broadcasts includes Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Antonio Silva, Robbie Lawler, Jake Shields, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Scott Smith and Ricco Rodriguez.

From the official release:

"Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and a wildly popular entertainment vehicle for upscale, young adult audiences," said Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime. "It's original programming for Saturday night; it's live, creating an event atmosphere and it's something that hasn't been seen on network television, until now."

EliteXC president Gary Shaw added this:

"Our world-class fighters and the high production value of our events continue to drive ProElite as a global MMA organization that is fortified by the bedrock foundation of a partnership with CBS," said Gary Shaw, President of EliteXC. "Broadcasting our events on CBS will instantly engage a new fan base, as well as provide an opportunity for EliteXC to further establish itself as the world's premier MMA organization."

I'll probably have more to say about this over the next day or two. For now, let's just say that no matter how this all turns out, this is already one of the most important MMA stories of the year.

These waters are unchartered. An MMA TV deal of this ilk has simply never been done before in this country, and whether it succeeds or not is likely to have a major impact on the future of the MMA business.

Ken Shamrock is back. Again.

Both Ken and his 19-year-old son Ryan signed multi-fight contracts with EliteXC, the company announced Monday night in a press release.

Ken's first fight under Pro Elite's family of promotions will be for Cage Rage in London on March 8. An opponent has yet to be named. He will be 44 years old by the time of the fight.

Shamrock was one of UFC's most recognizable faces dating back to the very first UFC event in 1993. In his last fight for UFC, Shamrock lost for a third time to Tito Ortiz in an October 2006 fight that drew a significant TV rating for Spike TV. Shamrock announced his retirement after the loss.

Speculation has been brewing for more than a year that Shamrock and his adoptive younger brother Frank -- also an MMA legend and currently the top contracted star for EliteXC -- would fight each other. The chatter escalated this month with the surfacing of a web site, BloodBrothersPPV.com, featuring Ken and Frank facing off and a countdown clock ending in the spring. The countdown now lasts until December. Meanwhile, Frank Shamrock is slated to fight Cung Le at a Strikeforce event on March 29.

Ryan Shamrock is 1-0 in MMA after making his debut on a show in Oroville, Calif. in August 2007. Shamrock defeated Josh Besneatte with a choke in under two minutes at the event promoted by his father.