Frank Shamrock interview

MMAWeekly did the interview and it is here

says he respects Baroni, could be out for 6-7 months, and wants a rematch with Renzo Gracie.

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Shamrock Chokes Out Baroni For Strikeforce World Title In Barnburner EliteXC-Strikeforce MMA Main Event Live On Showtime PPV

‘Ninja’ Stops Villasenor, Le KO’s Fryklund in Classic Mixed Martial Arts Extravaganza from HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA

Contact Your Local Cable Provider for PPV Schedule

SAN JOSE, Calif.--June 23, 2007--Before a crowd of 10,850 attending EliteXC-Strikeforce’s live MMA event produced and distributed on SHOWTIME® PPV, Frank Shamrock (strikeforceusa.net, frankshamrock.proelite.com) became the first Strikeforce middleweight (185 lb. limit) champion in history by submitting Phil “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni (strikeforceusa.net, philbaroni.proelite.com) with a rear naked choke four minutes into the second round of their EliteXC-Strikeforce main event showdown that was nothing short of an all-out slugfest.



In other fights, Murilo “Ninja” Rua (murilorua.proelite.com) finished fellow former Pride Fighting Championship star Joey “Dream Smasher” Villasenor (joeyvillasenor.proelite.com) in two rounds to capture the vacant EliteXC middleweight crown, and world San Shou kickboxing champion Cung Le (strikeforceusa.net, cungle.proelite.com) extended his undefeated mixed martial arts record to 4-0 by stopping UFC veteran Tony “The Freak” Fryklund (strikeforceusa.net, tonyfryklund.proelite.com) in the second round of their featured contest.

The Shamrock-Baroni meeting lived up to all its hype and anticipation as both fighters rushed out of the gates and attempted to draw first blood. Shamrock controlled the first round, bombing on his opponent with punches before dropping Baroni with a hard right hand.

Shamrock was penalized one point for striking Baroni to the back of the head with two right hands. After the fight resumed, Baroni shot in and took Shamrock to the mat. The fighters worked their way back to their feet and Shamrock quickly went to work with his hands, repeatedly scoring with his jab and right hand.

In the second round, Baroni retaliated, attacking Shamrock’s body with right hand punches. Baroni answered a one-two punch combination by shooting for a takedown, but Shamrock defended by sprawling. Shamrock took Baroni’s back and secured a rear naked chokehold. Refusing to tap, Baroni was choked into unconsciousness. The referee halted the fight and awarded the technical knockout victory and Strikeforce title to Shamrock.

In the first-ever EliteXC Middleweight championship, after putting in a calculated first round of work, “Ninja” Rua exploded in the second round, unloading a flurry of punches and finally dropping Villasenor with a right hand counter. Rua rushed in and scored a handful of punches on his downed opponent before the referee stopped the fight at the 1:05 mark and declared Rua the winner and first-ever EliteXC 185 pound champion.

Like he did in his first three efforts in the cage, Cung Le quickly went to work with his arsenal of kicks before dropping Fryklund with a right hand. Le was completely poised throughout the first round.

In the second stanza, Fryklund found his mark and began backing Le up with his own punch combinations. Le successfully fought him off and, in the opening seconds of the third round, went on the attack; his right kick to the body set up a right hand that dropped and finished Fryklund at the 25 second mark of the round.

In other action, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello continued his reign of terror over mixed martial arts’s heavyweight division by hammering former K-1 North America tournament champion Carter “The Beast” Williams. Buentello dominated the first round of the matchup and, at the start of the second, unloaded two quick uppercuts to William’s chin that put Williams on his back and out of the fight.

Full Strikeforce-EliteXC “Shamrock vs. Baroni” Fight Card Results:

Seth Kleinbeck def. Sam Spengler – TKO (Strikes) 2nd Round (2:55)

Chris Cariaso def. Anthony Figueroa – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds)

Rex Richards def. Ray Seraille – TKO (Punches) 1st Round (:34)

Luke Stewart def. Jason Von Flue – TKO (Strikes) 3rd Round (2:17)

Mike Pyle def. Aaron Wethersppon – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds)

Nik Theotikos def. Nikk Covert – KO (Punch) 1st Round (1:13)

Edson Berto def. Victor Valenzuela – Submission (Heel Hook) 1st Round (:47)

Paul Buentello def. Carter Williams – KO (Punch) 2nd Round (:10)

Murilo Rua def. Joey Villasenor – TKO (Strikes) 2nd Round (1:05)

Josh Thomson def. Nick Gonzalez – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1st Round (1:42)

Cung Le def. Tony Fryklund – TKO (Strikes) 3rd Round (:25)

Frank Shamrock def. Phil Baroni – TKO (Rear Naked Choke) 2nd Round (4:00)

Paul Daley def. Duane Ludwig – TKO (Strikes) 2nd Round (:42)

All of the “Shamrock vs. Baroni” undercard fights are available for viewing at www.proelite.com.

“Shamrock vs. Baroni” is co-produced by ProElite, Inc. [Pink Sheets: PELE:PK], the parent company of EliteXC and Strikeforce.

About ProElite, Inc.

ProElite Inc. [Pink Sheets: PELE:PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight CommunityTM

About Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. The rapidly growing organization recently re-launched its website, www.strikeforceusa.net, which boasts a bold new look and all-new features, including video streaming capability. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.

Contacts
The Rose Group for ProElite
Whitney Ashley, 310-280-3710
whitney@therosegrp.com
or
Strikeforce
Mike Afromowitz, 917-566-8754
muaythaimes@aol.com
or
Showtime Networks Inc.
Chris DeBlasio, 917-445-7467
Chris.DeBlasio@Showtime.net
or
Brener Zwikel and Associates for EliteXC
John Beyrooty, 562-233-7477
johnnybey@aol.com

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Strikeforce/EXC Live Pay-Per-View Round-By-Round Coverage

Yes, it is true, I'll have live round-by-round coverage of the PPV portion of the event as it happens. I was once again unable to see the internet portion and once again don't know why. Results behind the cut, refresh your browser for the latest.

Our roundtable predictions are here

Ric went 3-3 in his roundtable picks for the pro elite show. I went 5-1...but Euan did great, he was 1-5.




They say that Krazy Horse pulled out of the fight earlier in the week, no mention as to his time in jail.

Jimmy Lennon is in the hizouse

Bill Goldberg is doing interviews tonight...way to make the lightweights seem even smaller.

Match 1: Edson Berto Vs. Victor Valenzuela - 3X5 Lightweight

Valenzuela: 5'10, 155, 5-1-2
Berto: 5'9, 155, 10-3-1
Referee: Mario Yamasaki

R1: Berto hits a high kick and then takes Valenzuela down right away in the round. Berto gets the heel hook and gets Valenzuela to tap.

Winner: Edson Berto - 0:47 R1

Bill Goldberg in the prefight essentially called the finish.

He asks Berto to walk him through the fight and I can't understand a word this man said. He speaks with marbels in his mouth.

Match 2: Carter "The Beast" Williams Vs. Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello 3X5 Heavyweight

Buentello: 6'2, 250.5, 22-9-0
Williams: 6'1, 265.5, 3-1-0
Referee: Steve Mazagatti

R1: In a fight that was expected to be on the feet, went to the ground right away. Williams starts out the round strong, taking Buentello down and they're back up.
They end up in the clinch and exchange some knees. A lot of action in a heavyweight bout. Buentello tried a guillotine but Williams was able to escape.
Buentello starts to unload with blows to Williams, and my being the only 1 to pick Williams isn't looking so hot.
They end up back in the clinch and up against the fense with less than a minute left in the round.
Williams has never been out of R1 in any of his 4 fights.

Scoring: A fun round, Williams got the takedown and it was really close. I'm going to go Williams but you could argue for Buentello. 10-9.

R2: Buentello comes out, fakes the jab hits the uppercut and that's all she wrote.

Winner: Paul Buentello - 0:10 R2 TKO
Well, I wasn't the only one to pick Williams...so did Ric, you're not catching me tonight Lesbian!!

Goldberg with Buentello: Goldberg can't tell spanish from hebrew.
You've heard one of these interviews you've heard this one.

Match 3: Murilo "Ninja" Rua Vs. "Smokin'" Joe Villasenor - 5X5 Middleweight

Rua: 5'11, 184, 13-7-1
Villasenor: 6'0, 184, 23-5-0
Referee: Mario Yamasaki

R1: Villasenor hits a big left hok that rocks Rua. Rua backs up and they're back in the clinch. They end up in side control and like 78% of the Proelite voters predicted Rua. Ric was the only one in our group if I recall correctly.
Rua on his back going for a leglock from the bottom.
Rua comes back with strikes and they transition in to half guard and then Rua shifts in to side control.

Crowd boos the ground work.

Joey Villasenor is able to reverse out and is back up on his feet and they trade shots. Rua scores a takedown and we're back to where we were.

Rua throws down some elbows and the round comes to an end.

Scoring: Rua's round 10-9, JV stunned him early but Rua did more.

R2: Rua tries a Robbie Lawler coming out with the flying knee. JV is more aware of it this time.

Rua is teeing off with strikes. Rua clobbers Villasenor and this fight is all over.

Winner: Murilo "Ninja" Rua - 1:05 R2 KO
I'm 0-3 in Villasenor fights.

Goldberg interviews Rua and it is wacky.

Match 4: Josh Thompson Vs. Nick Gonzalez - 3X5 Lightweight

Gonzalez: 5'6, 155, 11-4-0
Thompson: 5'10, 154, 11-2-1
Referee: Herb Dean

Thompson gets the big hometown pop.

R1: Gonzalez has held his own with Roger Huerta according to Morro. Thompson overwhelms Gonzalez and is looking for a rear-naked choke early but Gonzalez is trying to fight it off....but Thompson sinks it in and it is all over.

Winner: Josh Thompson - 1:42 R1 Submission Rear Naked Choke

Match 5: Tony "The Freak" Fryklund Vs. Cung Le - 3X5 Middleweight

I've been wanting to see Le for a long time. I was the only one to pick Le to win, I will either be very smart or very dumb at the end of this.

Fryklund: 36, 5'10, 177.5, 13-8-0
Le: 35, 5'10, 179, 3-0-0
Referee: Herb Dean

R1: A jufustinormous pop for Le.

Le is just working over Fryklund who decides his best defense is to stand there and take it.

He's just eating shot after shot after shot from Le.

Le is just whooping Fryklund's ass.

Kick to the head and then a spinning heel kick.

Fryklund is just getting kicked and kicked like he is Cung Le's football.

Round ends.

Scoring: Le's round 10-9...unless I can give Fryklund -10 for that round. This was a beating.

r2: It is back to Le just kicking Fryklund like Le is me and Fryklund is Ric.

I don't know how to describe this. You all need to see Cung Le right now. If UFC doesn't try and steal this guy...they're really stupid.

Fryklund keeps trying the spinning backfist and they're just not hitting.

Fryklund is trying a flurry of his own to end the round but really the term pissing in the wind comes to mind.

Morro says that surrender isn't in Fryklund's vocabulary. Le is beating all sorts of words out of him at this point.

Scoring: Le 10-9!

R3: Third round Le finishes the job...Fryklund is freakin dun dun dun!

Cung Le is a freakin star.

A freakin...star!

I was the only one to pick him to win this fight.

I said: "Cung Le is awesome".

He won, and you guys we warned.

Winner: Cung Le - 0:25 R3 TKO

Goldberg with Le: I don't care what he says he's awesome.

Match 6: "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni Vs. Frank Shamrock - 5X5 Middleweight

Baroni: 31, 5'9, 183, 10-7-0
Shamrock: 34, 5'10, 184, 21-8-1
Referee: Steve Mazagatti

R1: Baroni unloads on Shamrock early to start the round.
Baroni takes down Shamrock but this is where Frank wants to be. Shamrock knocks Baroni down and is going for a choke. Shamrock is taunting Baroni.

Mazagatti calls for time due to punches to the back of Baroni's head. 2 EXC fights, 2 times this happens. A point taken away from Frank.

Baroni comes back quickly and takes Shamrock down and again that's where he wants to be.

Shamrock tags Baroni again and is owning Baroni.

Baroni is out on his feet and Shamrock is hammering him in a bad way.

Shamrock nails more punches and Baroni takes him down to end the round.

Scoring: Because of the point being taken away, I'm giving this a 9-8 round for Shamrock.

R2: Baroni starts with strikes early but they end up in the clinch.
Baroni rocks Shamrock for a bit and then it is Shamrock's turn. Shamrock talked about an injury prior to the fight is fighting like a man with a bad wheel.

Baroni gives up his back and Shamrock looking for the choke as the crowd is going absolutely insane.

Baroni is done, and Shamrock is the Strikeforce middleweight champion.

Jufustitastinormous doesn't describe the pop for Shamrock.

Winner; Frank Shamrock - 4:00 R2 Submission

Goldberg interviews Shamrock and he doesn't need to say anything the crowd does the talking. Shamrock does talk about his injury and such.

Match 7: Duane "Bang" Ludwig Vs. Paul "semtex" Dale - 3X5 Welterweight

Daley: 24, 5'9, 170, 14-6-2
Ludwig: 28, 5'10, 170, 15-6-0
Referee: John Shorely

R1: Not a lot of action in the first round but most of it is on the feet.
If this were the WWE, this would be the women's match sandwiched between the 2 main events, only this isn't being followed by John Cena.

Daley took Ludwig down but Ludwig was right back on his feet quickly.

Round ends to a series of boos.

Scoring: Daley 10-9 and that's all I'm going to say about this.

R2: It doesn't last long as Daley KO'ed Ludwig. Euan called it...1 of 3 he got right tonight BTW.

Winner: Paul Daley - 0:42 r2 KO

UFC ain't topping this event.

This is card of the year so far.

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MMA would seem to have a new fan

Mark Purdy - San Jose Mercury News
I will reserve comment on the football portion of his piece for awhile longer.

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Strikeforce weigh-in results

...here...

and that means it is probably safe to finalize your predictions for the show. I've got to warn you, Euan's are super entertaining and probably won't be topped. However, don't let that stop you from trying, you've got 14 fights to try and write something as funny as Euan. You can see what he wrote, and add your own here

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Strikeforce/EXC Judgment Day (are they still calling it that?) Update

...here...

Most of it is stuff we know about Rua and Baroni being cleared but there are a few other notes.

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Rua and Baroni cleared to fight

...details...

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EliteXC's 'Strikeforce' Main Event In Jeopardy

Phil Baroni, after previously being cleared by the CSAC, is currently in danger of having his license pulled, because the California State Athletic Commission has just been made aware of an issue with at least one of Baroni's past MRI results, which date all the way back to 2004 (when Baroni fought for the UFC, and certain parties already seem to be linking certain parties in the UFC to how the CSAC came into possession of this paperwork).

I'm sure Casey, myself, or someone will have more on this, but if the fight doesn't come off, this would majorly suck, maybe as much as the absence of "Crazy Horse" or Rua.

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scheduled show times for Showtime's 'Countdown to Shamrock and Baroni'

More organized than K-1, but that's not saying much.

Premiere
Tonight @ 8:30 PM ET

Replays
Showtime Too: Tomorrow @ 11 PM ET
Showtime: Friday, June 15 @ 12 AM ET
Showtime Too: Friday, June 15 @ 1 AM ET
Showtime: Sunday, June 17 @ 12 AM

Thanks to Canvas Chronicle

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ProElite Sets Stage For Shamrock Vs. Baroni After Dynamite Battle At The L.A. Coliseum

After Success of “Dynamite!! USA” ProElite Looks Toward Epic Mixed Martial Arts Duel June 22nd at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion

LOS ANGELES--June 04, 2007--After what was an instant classic fighting event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, ProElite, Inc. [Pink Sheets:PELE],
a leader in sports entertainment that produces world-class, professional MMA events through its brand EliteXC, now has locked and loaded its title fight
between Frank Shamrock (frankshamrock.proelite.com) and Phil Baroni (philbaroni.proelite.com) on June 22nd at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.


Saturday’s “Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite” made history by hosting the first ever MMA event in the Los Angeles Memorial
Coliseum’s 74 years. The largest crowd to witness an MMA event on U.S. soil saw 10 amazing fights. Royce Gracie (roycegracie.proelite.com) defeated his
long-time rival Kazushi Sakuraba (sakuraba.proelite.com) in the much anticipated rematch of the decade. Legendary professional wrestler, Brock Lesnar (brocklesnar.proelite.com), took his first MMA win with a submission in the first round against South Korean Olympic silver medallist, Min Soo Kim (minsookim.proelite.com). Bernard
Ackah (bernardackah.proelite.com) beat former NFL and USC football star Johnnie Morton (johnniemorton.proelite.com) with a knockout that occurred 38 seconds
into the first round.

“There are people in the world of MMA who believe there is only one promoter of top fighting events. This weekend’s event proved that this could not be
farther from the truth,” said Doug Deluca, CEO of ProElite, Inc. “A successful event consists of great fighters, great match-making, great entertainment
value, and the knowledge of how to market and deliver it to the masses. We accomplished just that on Saturday. This is what we do at EliteXC so get ready
for more.”

Showtime Pay Per View will televise the EliteXC-Strikeforce title fight card between Shamrock and Baroni at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion on Friday,
June 22nd. InDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, and TVN will carry the Pay Per View program, which will kick off at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). At stake during
the Shamrock-Baroni contest will be the vacant Strikeforce World middleweight (185 lb. limit) Championship. EliteXC will be presenting their first ever
World Championship when Joey Villasenor (joeyvillasenor.proelite.com) and Ninja Rua (ninja.proelite.com) face off for the middleweight (185 lb. limit)
title. The undercard will be broadcast live, for FREE, on ProElite.com at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT).

“Shamrock vs. Baroni” is being co-produced by ProElite, Inc., the parent outfit of EliteXC; Strikeforce; and Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment. For
more information, please go to www.EliteXC.com or www.strikeforceusa.net.

About ProElite

ProElite, Inc. delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events,
cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with
the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight
division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com (www.proelite.com),
capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming
the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools
for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight CommunityTM

About Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event,
the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock
against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. The rapidly growing organization
recently re-launched its website, www.strikeforceusa.net, which boasts a bold new look and all-new features, including video streaming capability. Since
1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship
kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”

Contacts
For ProElite, Inc.
David Glaubke/Whitney Ashley, (310) 280-3710
David@therosegrp.com
Whitney@therosegrp.com
or
For Strikeforce
Mike Afromowitz, (917) 566-8754
muaythaimes@aol.com

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Early MMA Notes

Could the Pride Grand Prix be set for July 16?

Remember Leonard Garcia from UFC 69? he'll get another UFC fight and I've got 0 problem with this.

You can read the
Press Release for Shamrock-Baroni.

K-1 has set its card for April 28 in Hawaii.

I'll have more later, to lazy to look for more right now.

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Shamrock Vs. Baroni Card starting to take shape

According to MMAWeekly article

The card as it stands:

*Frank Shamrock Vs. Phil Baroni
*Vacant EXC Middleweight Title: Murilo "Ninja" Rua Vs. Joey Villasenor
*Paul Buentello Vs. Cater Williams
*Cung Le Vs. Tony Fryklund
*Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett Vs. Victor Valenzuela

Other fighters that are scheduled to participate include; Josh “The Punk” Thomson, Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Paul Daley, Jason Von Flue, Mike Pyle, Luke Stewart,
and Eugene Jackson.

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Early Thursday MMA Notes

Questions surround Gracie-Shamrock fight
the questions mainly deal with whether or not the fight will take place.

Inside the UFC Preview
Hear from Lutter and Silva before their Saturday Fight.

More Later.

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