After reports last week that Fedor Emelianenko's Strikeforce debut would be in October, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated during last Saturday night's Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg post-event press conference that his debut is "probably going to be in November".

Coker shot down a rumor that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez was being considered for the fight, saying that "it was never even talked about". He stated that his opponent would likely be Brett Rogers or Fabricio Werdum, and later stated that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem was also a possibility, if he is recovered from his hand injury.

"I definitely think there's two guys here that would be a quality opponent for Fedor," Coker said of Rogers and Werdum, who were at the press conference.

"I think Brett Rogers is one of the guys we have to take a serious look at," he continued. "And Fabricio (Werdum) looked great tonight. I think on any given day he could do his thing."

Rogers, who is coming off of a 22 second first-round knockout victory over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski in June, told that he didn't think that he would end up getting the fight. Werdum, who needed just 1:24 to defeat Mike Kyle by submission last Saturday night, noted that he was up for the fight if it were presented to him.

"It's up to Mr. Scott (Coker)," Werdum stated. "Whoever Scott tells me to fight, I'm going to fight."

He went on to joke that he isn't quite ready for the fight yet, stating, "The athletic commission says for seven days I can't fight. After that, no problem."

Meanwhile, mixed martial arts fans won't have to wait long to see "The Last Emperor" in action. Emelianenko will face newly crowned Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi in an exhibition sparring match at M-1 Global: Breakthrough on August 28.

Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg was held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on August 15, 2009. The event aired live on the Showtime cable network and marked the first time two women headlined an event in Strikeforce history.

Below are the results for the event:

Preliminary Card

• Alex Trevino def. Isaiah Hill by submission (keylock) at 3:56 of Round 1

• James Terry def. Zak Bucia by TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:23 at Round 1

• Justin Wilcox def. David Douglas by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:16 of Round 3

• Scott Lighty def. Mike Cook by TKO (punch to the Body) at 2:05 of Round 1

• Jay Hieron def. Jesse Taylor by unanimous decision

Main Card

• Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Kyle by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:24 of Round 1

• Gilbert Melendez def. Mitsuhiro Ishida by TKO (punches) at 3:56 of Round 3 to retain the Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Champion

• Gegard Mousasi def. Renato "Babalu" Sobral by TKO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1 to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos def. Gina Carano by TKO (punches) at 4:59 of Round 1 to become the new Strikeforce Women's Champion

Many say it was his high profile losses to both Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rodgers that drove Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski to play the high risk game of Russian Roulette, a game during which a revolver is loaded with a single round, the cylinder spun, and then placed against the temple. The player pulls the trigger, chancing the bullet could end their life.

"It's when you don't care about anything," stated the 30-year-old Belarusian mixed martial artist to Fighters.com.

But Arlovski's spokesman, Keith Gelman, stressed to a reporter from the website that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion "has never contemplated taking his own life".

All this after two devastating losses -- one to Brett Rodgers at a Strikeforce event in June, the other to Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko at an Affliction: Day of Reckoning event in January. After his second loss, Arlovski returned to his home in Belarus to spend time with family and reconsider his future ambitions.

"I cried a lot after my fights, you know. When I lost to Fedor, I cried. When I lost to Rogers, I cried," he stated.

And now, the top ranked fighter says he wants to box, and plans to train with boxing coach Freddie Roach. Arlovski says he plans to debut his boxing career in September or October of this year. As for his future in mixed martial arts...

"I don't want to make any predictions," he said.

Strikeforce and DREAM will announce a partnership that could see an exchange of fighters between the two promotions.

Strikeforce Chief Executive Officer Scott Coker revealed Monday night in a radio appearance on The Carmichael Dave Show that the number two mixed martial arts promotion in the USA will enter into an "alliance" with Fighting Entertainment Group, the parent company of the number one mixed martial arts promotion in Japan.

The partnership could open up new possibilities for the recently-signed Fedor Emelianenko, who had seemingly only Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers and Fabricio Werdum as opponents in Strikeforce. Fedor could also find himself fighting in Japan after his fall Strikeforce on Showtime date. The former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion is well-loved in the country and from 2003-2007 took pride in a tradition to compete every New Year's Eve in Japan's annual blockbuster year-end show.

"We've talked about (the partnership) for a long time," Coker said on the Northern California sports program. "It's finally going to happen now so maybe (Sergei) Kharitonov could fight Fedor at some point."

Besides more options for Fedor, there's an entire pool of new opponents for each promotion that could also give a clearer understanding to world rankings outside of the UFC.

The current champions and direct title contenders under DREAM are Joachim Hansen (lightweight champion), Shinya Aoki, Marius Zaromskis (welterweight champion), Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Bibiano Fernandes, Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya and Hideo Tokoro.

Meanwhile, the champions with Strikeforce are Alistair Overeem (heavyweight), Renato "Babalu" Sobral (light heavyweight), Cung Le (middleweight), Josh Thomson (lightweight), Gilbert Melendez (interim lightweight) and the August 15 winner of Nick Diaz versus Jay Hieron.

The two promotions already share the services of former DREAM Middleweight Champion and current number one Strikeforce light heavyweight title contender Gegard Mousasi, who also happens to be under contract with Fedor's management, M-1 Global.

Coker added that more details on Fedor's future, including the date and opponent, could be announced as early as Thursday.

Hawaii and Indiana have both begun to regulate mixed martial arts this week, boosting the number of states which officially sanction the sport to 39.

Pennsylvania also began regulating MMA in recent months, with Pittsburgh's first event taking place last weekend and the UFC's "Keystone State" debut slated for August 8 with UFC 101 in Philadelphia.

One of the last major holdouts on the list of 11 states which have yet to legalize the sport is New York. Though a bill to regulate MMA is making progress in the state's legislature, it won't be until next year at the earliest until it could be approved with the first UFC event in the state unlikely until 2011.

A UFC event in Indianapolis, Indiana appears most-likely with the new regulation now in place, with an event in Hawaii, the home state of UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn (picture), likely on hold for the time being due to steep taxes and fees that accompany the state's regulation.

Un-sanctioned MMA events have been frequently held in both Indiana and Hawaii in the past, but the official regulation of MMA opens the doors for major promotions such as the UFC and Strikeforce to hold events in the states.

Two long-awaited fights, Gina Carano (picture) vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Gilbert Melendez vs. Josh Thomson, will happen at Strikeforce on August 15.

Strikeforce announced the fights during Saturday's "Lawler vs. Shields" broadcast on Showtime.

Fans have been asking for Carano (7-0) to meet Santos (7-1) since the two began to make their mark in women's MMA through the EliteXC promotion. Santos has won her last seven fights. Santos last victory was over Hitomi Akano in April, in a fight where she came in seven pounds overweight. Carano's fight was a unanimous decision over Kelly Kobald at EliteXC: Heat last October on CBS.

Josh Thomson (16-2) won the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship over Gilbert Melendez (14-2) but has yet to defend it due to injuries. They were scheduled to meet in April, but Thomson suffered a broken leg. Melendez won the interim title at the event and he'll receive his chance to unify the titles in August.

In a follow-up to the story about UFC President Dana White nixing a proposed fight between current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. (picture), despite both fighters wanting the bout, GracieFighter.com is reporting that Strikeforce founder Scott Coker would like to match Jones against Nick Diaz. Diaz had challenged Jones to a boxing-rules fight after his victory over Frank Shamrock last month. "We would absolutely set this fight up," Coker reportedly said. "Of course we would have to run it by Showtime for final approval, but I don't see why we wouldn't have this fight."

According to some source, Coker denied making that quote during yesterday's Strikeforce media call, saying "I've had several calls from different people saying, 'Roy Jones vs. Nick Diaz, Roy Jones vs. Cung Le, Roy Jones vs. this guy or that guy, but it's something that we haven't really talked about. I really don't even know how serious it is. But the question is, 'Does he want to fight in MMA? Does he want to fight in just boxing?' These are all things that haven't been fleshed out."

"I did get a call from Nick's manager asking me if I'd be interested in looking at a fight between Roy Jones and Nick. I said, 'Are you talking about boxing? Are you talking about MMA?' He says, 'In MMA.' I said, 'Well, that's something we can definitely have a conversation about. That just happened this morning. That's the extent of it."

Showtime Senior Vice President Ken Hershman was even more poignant, saying that the fight "would be a very long shot of ever happening".

"It has nothing to do with money," Hershman noted. "I think it's an insult to the integrity of mixed martial arts to think Roy Jones, or any professional boxer, could just come in and fight Nick Diaz in a mixed martial arts context. In a boxing context, it's completely different."

"But beyond that, it's not the strategy we're employing. We're looking to build the best mixed martial arts brand. I believe we have the best professional boxing brand on television, and I think our fights month in and month out prove that. I don't see the need to combine the two at the moment."

The undefeated Sarah Kaufman (picture) will step in for Kim Couture in a 135-pound bout against Miesa Tate at Strikeforce Challengers on May 15 in Fresno, California.

The women's fight will air on the televised portion of the card beginning at 11 PM ET on Showtime.

Kim Couture, the wife of UFC heavyweight Randy Couture, withdrew last week from the fight due to personal reasons.

Kaufman (8-0) picks up this fight in great fight condition. She last competed on April 23 and scored a second round stoppage over Sara Schneider at a PFC event. Kaufman has finished all eight of her fights.

Tate (6-1) has won her last four. Her sole loss was a head kick KO to EliteXC veteran Kaitlin Young.

A lightweight bout between undefeated Billy Evangelista (9-0) and BJ Penn-trained Mike Aina (11-6-1) will headline this SHO MMA card at the Save Mart Center.

Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz will be streamed live on Saturday night from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, for a price tag of $24.95.

The online option is for those without subscriptions to Showtime, but an incentive to order the online stream is the options to choose camera angles and audio commentary.

Below is the fight card for the event:

Showtime bouts:

• Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz

• Josh Thomson vs. Rodrigo Damm

• Scott Smith vs. Benji Radach

• Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Hitomi Akano

• Brett Rogers vs. Ron "Abongo" Humphrey

Preliminary bouts:

• Luke Rockhold vs. Buck Meredith

• Eric Lawson vs. Waylon Kennell

• Raul Castillo vs. Brandon Michaels

• James Terry vs. Zak Bucia

• Jeremy Tavares vs. Shingo Kohara

It has just been announced that the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem has been offered another K-1 match by K-1's governing body, the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG). The proposed opponent is fellow Dutchman, K-1 Champion Remy Bonjasky. Overeem and his management (Golden Glory) have already accepted the offer, the ball is now in Bonjasky's court according to some sources. At the end of 2008, Overeem shocked the world of martial arts by knocking out K-1 star Badr Hari under the K-1 rules at Dynamite!!. On March 28, Overeem will continue his K-1 career and with a victory over Bonjasky, he could become the world's most feared striker.

"We're going to continue supporting women's MMA and we're going to be inviting Gina to come fight on April 11. And we've already got confirmation from Cyborg that she is available if we can put that match together. We will be supporting women's MMA in Strikeforce," said Strikeforce President Scott Coker.

Coker has been working feverishly behind the scenes to put together what would be seen as the biggest fight in the history of women's MMA, a matchup between undefeated media favorite Gina Carano (picture) and the highly skilled Brazilian Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Coker announced last week that Santos had signed with the promotion with the intent of facing Carano. And sources have indicated that the company is working hard on securing the fight for it's first Showtime event this April 11.

The show looks to add Carano versus Cyborg to previously announced match-ups featuring former UFC Champion Frank Shamrock going up against Nick Diaz and Scott Smith facing off against Benji Radach.

Former UFC welterweight title contender turned middleweight journeyman Frank Trigg recently sent a message out by Facebook stating that he would be returning to action in February:

"It looks like I will be fighting in Feb but can't say where yet. Once the deal is done I will let you guys know."

Trigg last fought for the Strikeforce promotion in October posting a unanimous decision victory over Falaniko Vitale. Trigg sports an 18-6 record and is riding a three fight win streak. Since leaving the UFC following a brutal submission loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 54 in August of 2005, "Twinkle Toes" is 6-2 and at one point was the ICON Sport Middleweight Champion in Hawaii.

Although the promotion and the opponent are not known, one could speculate that Trigg could be fighting on a rumored Strikeforce card that is in the works. Last week, Joe Riggs told that he would be fighting on the card but did not have any other details.

"Let's get it on!" Remember the sentence? Yes, now we will hear that sentence again from the cage.

The California State Athletic Commission has assigned "Big" John McCarthy a referee's position at Strikeforce "Destruction" on November 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

The assignment will mark the 15-year veteran's return to officiating after McCarthy announced his retirement in December 2007 to join The Fight Network, a Canadian-based cable channel, as an on-air analyst and strategic advisor.

McCarthy oversaw his 535th bout between dynamic lightweights Clay Guida and Roger Huerta at "The Ultimate Fighter 6" Finale last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. He officiated his first bout at UFC 2 "No Way Out" in March 1994 in Denver, Colorado, and was among the original authors of the MMA's first set of guidelines in 1998.

In his analyst's role, the 45-year-old McCarthy provided color commentary for Canada's TKO and Hardcore Championship Fighting promotions, and most recently called the action alongside FOX Sports Network regulars Frank Trigg and Jay Glazer at Affliction "Banned" last July in Anaheim, California.

McCarthy resigned from The Fight Network on October 7, amidst rumors the channel was awash with financial difficulties.

"I had a good time doing (commentary) and it was fun," said McCarthy. "The Fight Network overextended itself and wasn't ready to do certain things that they said that they were going to be able to do. It just didn't work out there."

Rather than take another offer that would keep him outside the cage, McCarthy said he chose to return to the role he originated inside it.

"I missed doing it," said McCarthy. "Sometimes when you walk away from something and you think it's time, once you're away you realize what you're missing –- it's kind of like why guys come back to fighting. It's what I like doing. It's what I was meant to do."

Retired from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) where he served for 22 years, McCarthy instructed over 10,000 recruits in arrest and control procedures and survival tactics.

McCarthy has not veered far from his teaching roots. He conducted his second Certified Officials for MMA National Development (COMMAND) referee and judges' instructional course in October and has a third seminar planned for late November at his mixed martial arts academy in Valencia, California. The program is recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC).

Though most recognizable from his tenure with the UFC, Big John said he has no expectations of where or when he will be placed for assignment.

"I have no control over that," he said. "That's up to athletic commissions and what you get assigned to. I may do one show a year. I may do 50. I don't know, but if I get assigned to something, then I'll be going if I can."

McCarthy was recently re-licensed as a referee with the athletic commissions in California, Ohio, and the River Cree in Alberta, Canada. He said he plans apply for licensure in additional states as well.

From MMANews.com:

After making a name for himself in the world of professional wrestling, Bobby Lashley is now ready to test himself in the confines of the MMA world. At 6'3" and 250 lbs, this monster of force brings a wrestling background with him that has seen him capture 3 national titles and also have the honor of being a four time All American.

With his first fight on the horizon, Lashley talks to Chris Howie about how his training has gone and where he wants to see himself in this sport in this MMANews.com exclusive interview.

Chris Howie with MMANews.com: How has your transition into the MMA world been working out for you?

Bobby Lashley: I'll tell you what man, it's been going very well. Things have been going very smoothly. I've been training at different place but most recently I've been at American Top Team and running the gauntlet down there. When I am home in Denver I have been training my jiu-jitsu with people here. I wrestled for several years so the transition wasn't too bad because I was familiar with that level of training. Things have been working out really well.

MMANews.com: How have you adapted to adding striking and jiu-jitsu to your arsenal?

Bobby Lashley: From my evaluation at ATT I think it showed I have adapted very well. Wrestling and jiu-jitsu, to me, kind of goes hand in hand. If you have a good wrestling background, going to jiu-jitsu is not the most difficult thing to do. There is a level of learning the submissions which I have been working on but I think it has come along well. I have been working on my striking for about 7 months now, so that is coming along very well also. I'm pretty comfortable with where I am at now but I know there is another level that I can go to. But right now I am comfortable with what I have learned and comfortable with where I am going.

MMANews.com: You have been training with ATT, which is one of the best teams in North America, how have things been going for you there?

Bobby Lashley: I love it down there man. The trainers are really hands on. Marcus "Conan" Silveira has kind of taken me under his wing down there and been like a personal mentor of mine. He really has been showing me a lot and working with me on every aspect of the game. He really wants to see me do well. He was one of the first people to evaluate me down there. He liked what he saw and seen a tremendous amount of potential so that is not a bad person to have as a mentor. It's a great place to be with a great group of guys. Everybody is rooting for you to do well down there.

MMANews.com: What are the plans for your first fight?

Bobby Lashley: It's looking like December 13th will be the date. We have the contract on hand right now and we are just working out all the details but December 13th will be the date.

MMANews.com: Which organization will it be with?

Bobby Lashley: I am originally signed with the AFL but as everyone knows they have been going through some troubles right now in getting everything together and I have been waiting and put on the back burner a little bit. It will be in Miami, FL with one of the bigger MMA promotions there. Not one of the real big organizations like the UFC, EXC, or Strikeforce but it will be held at the American Airlines Arena so I can tell you that if it is being held at a venue like that it will be a big show.

MMANews.com: Are there any opponents lined up for you yet?

Bobby Lashley: It is all in the works right now. I have the contract but am waiting for approval from the AFL. We should have the approval today and then we will sign the contract.

MMANews.com: With the AFL running into the problems that they have along the way, which has meant your MMA debut would be put on hold, did you find that situation disappointing or was it a blessing in disguise so that you could continue to train more and learn new skills?

Bobby Lashley: Yeah it was good to be able to work on things a little bit more. I have no ego coming into this sport and I am a student of the game. I have a wrestling background which is my martial art but I have so much that I can learn. Like Brock (Lesnar) who had a name from being in a different business, there will be a lot of people coming around to watch me fight, when I do fight, so it is going to be harder for me to work my way up. I'm going to be pushed harder and higher a little quicker than a normal person coming into MMA. Getting to train for six more months was a blessing.

MMANews.com: What are your thoughts on the crowd atmosphere you will experience? You have been in front of huge crowds during wrestling events like Wrestlemania but do you think the MMA crowd will be different than that of pro wrestling?

Bobby Lashley: I'm sure the crowds will be a little different. When I was in the WWE I loved being in front of the crowds, the bigger the better. At Wrestlemania I was in front of 85,000 people and at my first WWE match I was in front of 17,000 so I'm sure things will be different but being in front of the crowd isn’t something I will be nervous about.

MMANews.com: What does have you nervous going into your first fight?

Bobby Lashley: Just the competition. I wrestled for 18 years and there is a level of nerves that go into every match. My coaches always told me if you are not nervous you are not ready. So, I'm completely confident going into the fight but there are going to be some nerves. It will be my first MMA match and it's not going to be just wrestling it is going to be everything. There will be a lot of pressure on me as well because a lot of people will be watching saying "Oh this is Bobby Lashley, will he sink or will he swim?" So, that is in the back of my mind but I welcome all of this and I am really confident because of the training I am getting. So I will be a little nervous but after I get in there and throw a couple punches and get fired up a little bit and get some contact those nerves will be gone and I will be in the right mind frame.

MMANews.com: Does the pressure of having a name coming into a sport like MMA get to your head?

Bobby Lashley: Yeah I definitely think I have some pressure but that comes with the territory and I knew that coming into it. I knew that with the wrestling background a lot of the fans I had with the WWE are going to want to see what I can do and I know that the MMA fans are going to question me because I do have the pro wrestling background. I don't mind it. I am going into this as a MMA fighter so there will be wins and losses and I know that is going to happen. What I am going to do is prepare myself for this and I am going to be ready for every fight that I have.

MMANews.com: What is your amateur wrestling background?

Bobby Lashley: In High School I won the High School Championships. When I went to college I was a three time National Champion and a four time All-American. Afterwards I went to the Olympic Training Center and I trained there for a little while. I wrestled on the Army team and I was an Armed Forces Champion a couple times. I also went to the World Championships and won a silver medal there.

MMANews.com: So you got game..

Bobby Lashley: I am bringing a tremendous amount of thunder.

MMANews.com: What are your goals in MMA?

Bobby Lashley: I want to hold the title and be a champion. Everyone knows the UFC is the elite of MMA and if that is where I end up that is where I want to be a champion. I see myself with the athletic ability I have and the mind frame that I have and everything I else I bring to this sport I think that I am going to be there and I will be one of the top guys in the sport at heavyweight no matter what organization I am in.

MMANews.com: How big will you be coming into your fights?

Bobby Lashley: Well my weight has been fluctuating because of my training but right now I am around 255 lbs. The lightest I will come in at is 250 lbs and the heaviest will be around 260 lbs.

MMANews.com: So cutting weight will not be an issue for you?

Bobby Lashley: No not at all. That was one thing I did kind of think about when I started going in and training because my training has been really tough. I'm the type of person to over train. I do my boxing and kickboxing and my grappling and then I am doing my cardio and watching submission tournaments and MMA at the same time so I am always training. When I got into it I thought about making it down to 205 lbs because I used to wrestle at 211 lbs and that wasn't a hard cut for me. Right now I'm eating everything in site to stay at 250 lbs but I feel comfortable at heavyweight because I feel I am strong enough and I am quick enough for heavyweight. If weight does keep shedding off me than I may possibly look at 205 lbs.

MMANews.com: Do you feel that with the credentials you do have people should not be overlooking you because of your WWE background?

Bobby Lashley: Some of the hardcore MMA fans, and I don't want to bad mouth anyone but they can be kind of…I don't know, ignorant. Sure, I took my time and I went to the WWE but would I take that back? No because I made a lot of money and was able to do a lot of things for my family that I never thought I would be able to do. I think the MMA fans are not realizing what I did before that. I busted my ass for years in wrestling and have accomplished things that not a lot of people have accomplished in the sport of wrestling and they can't take that away from me. Some of the MMA fans go and take a jiu-jitsu class and they think they have more credibility than someone that spent there life around a sport like wrestling. I think with me going to ATT I am showing the dedication I have to this sport and when I start fighting I will show people that I am not just a WWE pro wrestler coming to this sport and that I am actually a student of the game trying to win titles.

MMANews.com: Is Brock Lesnar helping to change people's perception on a former WWE wrestler making the transition to MMA with a solid amateur wrestling background?

Bobby Lashley: I think Brock is just that kind of guy and you have to respect him for it. He came in there and knew he had the WWE stigma on his back but he took on tough competition right off the bat and I think people are starting to realize that. Yeah he is a big guy, but he is learning and doing really well and with this title fight against Randy Couture he has another chance to prove himself.

MMANews.com:Who do you see winning that fight?

Bobby Lashley: Brock is a big dude man. Randy is a really really great fighter but if he comes in at around 220 lbs you are looking at a 60 lbs different. That is hard to even out. It is going to be hard to beat Brock if you are that small. Brock is an athlete and he isn't a slouch. You are facing a 280 lbs athlete when you fight Brock.

MMANews.com: With a couple of solid victories on the independent shows, do you feel the UFC could come calling?

Bobby Lashley: The UFC won't come calling me, I will come for the UFC. I am going to prove myself and I am going to show them what I can do. If they want me that is where I will be going.

MMANews.com: Great Bobby, I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today and I am looking forward to your MMA debut.

Bobby Lashley: Thank You.

From The MMA News:

In the world of mixed martial arts, Frank Shamrock has done it all. Shamrock’s been the Interim King of Pancrase champion, won the UFC light heavyweight title, then won the WEC light heavyweight title which he vacated to win the Strikeforce middleweight championship which he only recently lost to Cung Le. The MMA News recently had a talk with Shamrock and here’s what was said:

The MMA News: How’s your injury and what’s the update on your overall condition?

Frank Shamrock: I’m cleared so the arm is back to normal. I’m training at about 60% now.

The MMA News: Are you still looking to fight this year?

Frank Shamrock: I’m looking for a fight in November if I can get all the cards in place. I’m trying to pick a fight with Robbie Lawler.

The MMA News: How many fights do you have left on your contract?

Frank Shamrock: With Strikeforce I have one, with Pro-Elite I have two more.

The MMA News: Do you find that you don’t always get the credit for helping to innovate MMA conditioning to the levels that it has achieved now?

Frank Shamrock: I don’t know. I mean I don’t know if I need credit but I was at the forefront of it for a long time. Even now I think I’m still pretty advanced with what’s going on. The sport grows so fast and the history of it is so cloudy that I’m just glad that guys are in good shape and the level of athletism continues to grow.

The MMA News: What’s going on with you outside MMA?

Frank Shamrock: It’s all about the kids.

The MMA News: How’s the commentating with CBS working out?

Frank Shamrock: I’m the official CBS MMA expert guy. I’ve signed up for 4-6 a year, and I put a lot of juice into it.

The MMA News: What’s your take on Kimbo Slice?

Frank Shamrock: He’s generally a nice guy. He’s medium skilled but he’s dedicated. If you can’t be the best at least you can make the best of the opportunity.

The MMA News: How about Fedor Emelianenko?

Frank Shamrock: I’ve met him on a couple of occasions and he’s the nicest guy in the world. He’s a fan of mine, and he’s so nice and respectful. He’s always been wonderful to me.

The MMA News: How was Affliction:Banned for you?

Frank Shamrock: I had a blast at the show.

The MMA News: How’s your relationship with Ken?

Frank Shamrock: I don’t think we’ll ever be okay. We grew up weird. Ken and I grew up in the media in a sport that was just like the wild west and we’re totally different people.

The MMA News: Are you still looking at trying to fight Ken?

Frank Shamrock: Yes. The first quarter of ‘09 is when we’re looking at making it, and I think we’re on schedule to do that.

The MMA News: How about Tito Ortiz?

Frank Shamrock: I talked to Tito about it and he was pretty game. I think it’s going to happen and I think that Affliction will play a big part in that.

The MMA News: Where Is MMA headed?

Frank Shamrock: I think that the media property outside the industry will spur mainstream attention to what we’re doing. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be the fighting itself, but perhaps a book or a docu-drama that will bring the attention and push the sport to the next level

The MMA News: Other than yourself who would you say is the pound for pound best fighter in the world.

Frank Shamrock: Probably for popularity I would say GSP or Anderson Silva. It’s so funny because I’ve been that guy on multiple occasions and all of a sudden you’re not that guy and you think “Wow that’s interesting” and you eventually learn it doesn’t mean anything. At one point I was the highest paid fighter per second and the best pound for pound fighter in the world and we had the smallest audience ever. Does it really mean all that much? I just smile because next year there’ll be another guy.

The MMA News: Give us some last words, first for your fans and then for your opponents.

Frank Shamrock: For the fans: Keep working out, keep training. For my opponents: Keep working out, keep training.

It's finally official! Frank Shamrock will face the Vietnamese-American sanshou kickboxer Cung Le on March 29. The bout will be the main event of a Strikeforce promotion emanating out of San Jose's HP Pavilion. It will be shown live on Showtime as a prime time special.

Interestingly, the superfight between Frank and his brother Ken which was originally planned for March 31 has been pushed back a full year according to bloodbrothersppv.com.