A day after news the Quebec Athletic Commission and the UFC came into agreement for the UFC 97: Redemption to remain in Montreal, the remaining bouts for the April 18 pay-per-view card have been officially confirmed.

UFC 97 is headlined by a middleweight title bout between current champion Anderson Silva and number one contender Thales Leite. The co-main event features a match-up between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell.

It's interesting to note that popular Canadian fighters Jason MacDonald and David Loiseau were left off of the main card leaving Krzysztof Soszynski the sole Canadian representative on the cards main lineup.

Soszynski will fight former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann. The main card also features a critical heavyweight tilt between top contender Cheick Kongo and fast rising heavyweight prospect Antoni Hardonk.

Luis Cane versus Steve Cantwell rounds out the main card in a highly anticipated light heavyweight match up.

Below is the official UFC 97 Fight Card:

Main Card:

• Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leite

• Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

• Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann

• Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk

• Steve Cantwell vs. Luis Cane

Preliminary Card:

• Denis Kang vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam

• Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry

• David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman

• Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden

• Ryo Chonan vs. TJ Grant

• Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman

"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.

The meeting between the UFC and Quebec Athletic Commission on Tuesday was a success. UFC 97: Redemption will remain on April 11 in Montreal. According to Corus Sports, the Quebec Athletic Commission will permit elbows and knee strikes at UFC 97. Also, the UFC will not have to produce a smaller cage for the night's fights. If the commission did not follow the unified rules, the UFC had plans to move the show to Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 97 is headlined by Anderson Silva versus Thales Leite and Chuck Liddell against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic informed Croation Sports Magazine Sportske-Novosti that he has resumed training after successful surgery to repair the ligament damage in his knee.

"I'm training as much as I can at this stage of the recovery," said Filipovic. "I'm mainly working on weights and cardio with conditioning coach Jukic. As things stand at the moment I can say that the operation went very well."

Filipovic has fulfilled his contract with Japanese MMA promotion DREAM and has had preliminary discussions with both the UFC and and another US based MMA organization believed to be Affliction.

"I'm in talks with the Japanese which of course is natural, since they treated me so well over the years," said Filipovic. "It's not a secret anymore that the UFC have contacted me. I'm also in talks with another US organization."

Filipovic stated that he'd decide on an organization within a month though the former PRIDE Grand Prix Champion admitted he'd be unable to fight for several months thereafter.

UFC President Dana White will meet with the Quebec Athletic Commission next week in hopes of saving UFC 97: Redemption.

According to Corus Sports, White will present his case to the Quebec Athletic Commission on why they should stick to the Unified Rules of mixed martial arts for UFC 97.

The Quebec Athletic Commission are looking to do away with elbow strikes, and possibly reduce the size of the Octagon.

UFC 97, co-headlined by Anderson Silva versus Thales Leites and Chuck Liddell against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, is currently scheduled for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on April 18. Tickets already went on sale Wednesday. But, a recent announcement that the province may change its rules regarding MMA regulation, UFC 97 could be in jeopardy.

The concern is real and UFC 97 may have to be re-scheduled or completely moved, which would obviously upset many Canadian fans. That is why White is heading up to Canada to attend meetings in Montreal to see if he can save UFC 97.

The current DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi is reported that he is considering a move to the heavyweight division.

Mousasi holds impressive wins over the likes of Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

The Red Devil International team member has trained with current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko as his next step seems to be the light heavyweight division, but that could be temporary if he's serious about stepping up with the big boys in heavyweight division.

Ken Shamrock (picture) submitted Ross Clifton in a minute flat at WarGods and Ken Shamrock Productions "The Valentine's Eve Massacre" on Friday at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. Shamrock secured the tap out, inducing armbar from side control after flooring Clifton with a clean right hand seconds into the bout.

Clifton, who weighed in at a whopping 380 pounds, towered over the much smaller Shamrock, who tipped the scales at 205 pounds. In a flashback to the early UFC events where Shamrock made his name, the size advantage didn't help Clifton at all.

After connecting with "The Grizzly", Shamrock softened his oversized foe with hammer fists before transitioning to the finish.

The win sets up a potential showdown between Shamrock and another Octagon veteran, David "Tank" Abbott -- who also victorious that night -- in April. The pair have been mentioned together often, but a standoff has yet to come to fruition.

"Fifteen years I've been waiting to fight somebody. For some reason it didn't happen," said the 45-year-old veteran Shamrock. "Tank, if you come in like you did tonight, I'm going to end your career."

Keeping hopes for that bout alive, Abbott made short work of Mike Bourke in their heavyweight tilt, knocking him senseless in just 29 seconds. Abbott, the 43-year-old brawler, surprised no one by coming out swinging for the fences. It didn't take long for him to land his famous right, which clipped Bourke's neck and left him face down on the canvas.

"I really wish it was Ken Shamrock that ran into one of these," said Abbott afterward, raising a fist in the air. "I'd like to give him the same payment. And to the fans, drink a beer for me."

Mike Moreno avenged a February 2008 loss to Gary Padilla with a unanimous decision victory in their rematch. The fight may have gone the distance, but it was not close. All three judges saw the bout 30-27 in Moreno's favor.

Rick Reeves became the first fighter of the night to finish his opponent, as he forced Nate James to tap out with a tight rear naked choke at 2:07 of the third round.

Local favorite Isaac De Jesus won a dominant decision over Strikeforce veteran and Lion's Den protege Ashe Bowman. De Jesus controlled the action for all three rounds, dropping Bowman several times without finding a way to finish.

After the fight, De Jesus announced his plans to drop to the 145-pound division, even though his record remains perfect as a lightweight.

Josh Haynes, of "The Ultimate Fighter" fame, pressed the pace and controlled the action for a split decision victory over Rafael Del Real.

Haynes was the aggressor throughout the fight, pressing the action and complaining as his opponent constantly backpedaled and even turned to run away on several occasions. Haynes was apologetic for the slow pace of the fight.

"I want a guy who will come in here and bang with me. Sorry," Haynes told the audience.

Zoila Frausto earned a split decision over Karina Hallinan in the evening's only women's bout, while Ron Kessler outpointed Darrin Freeman for a split decision win in the nights opening fight.

A heavyweight bout between UFC veteran Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Buddy Roberts was canceled on-site after the Hawaiian withdrew last-minute.

Correira had a laundry list of grievances with the promotion, including a lack of per diems, spotty transportation for the fighters, and no notice regarding flights to and from the event.

Correira said the final straw came when a CSAC official told him at the arena that half of his show purse was to be subtracted to cover his medical testing -- something Correira said had not been negotiated beforehand between fighter and promotion.

"If I knew they were they were going to take it out, I could have done my own medicals much cheaper," said Correira.