BARONI VS. SHAMROCK CARD COMING TOGETHER

By Ricardo Mendoza

Although the event is a little over two months away, the California-based Strikeforce promotion is set to hold its biggest event in its young history on June 22nd. After months of talk and bad blood, Phil Baroni will finally meet Frank Shamrock in the cage in one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

The two were first set to meet on December 8th at Strikeforce: Triple Threat, but contractual issues prevented the fight from happening. The fight was then scheduled to take place on the next Strikeforce in April, but Frank Shamrock signed on to fight Renzo Gracie instead at Elite XC: Destiny.

This created a legal firestorm that eventually forged a partnership between Strikeforce and Elite XC, which resulted in a fighter exchange and Strikeforce’s June 22nd pay-per-view debut being distributed by Showtime PPV and co-promoted by Elite XC.

Murilo “Ninja” Rua will make his U.S. debut as he takes on fellow Pride veteran Joey Villasenor for the Elite XC Middleweight Championship. Ninja is coming off a submission victory over Mark Weir at Cage Rage 18. Villasenor is coming off a dominant decision win over David Loiseau at Elite XC: Destiny.

UFC veteran Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello takes on K-1 USA Grand Prix Champion Cater Williams. Buentello is coming off a knockout win over Ruben “Warpath” Villareal at Strikeforce: Triple Threat. Williams is coming off a knockout victory over Tom Howard at Rumble on the Rock 6.

Local favorite Cung Le takes on the biggest test of his young MMA career in Tony “The Freak” Fryklund. Le is coming off a doctor stoppage victory over Jason Von Flue at Strikeforce: Triple Threat. Fryklund is coming off an exciting knockout loss to Duane “Bang” Ludwig at Strikeforce: Triple Threat.

Pride veteran Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett gets a chance at redemption as he takes on KOTC veteran Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela. The two fighters first meet at KOTC: Prime Time, where many felt Valenzuela had won the fight but the judges ruled the fight a draw. Bennett is coming off a knockout victory over KJ Noons at Elite XC: Destiny. Valenzuela is coming off a submission victory over Albert Hill at KOTC: Caged Chaos.

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.

Murilo Ninja to face Villaseñor

Murilo Ninja was announced as one of the athletes on the card for the next Strikeforce event, to take place on June 22, in San Jose, California. The adversary of the Brazilian from Chute Boxe will be the American Joey Villaseñor, who has recently participated in Pride.

The main event at Strikeforce will be the much-awaited confrontation between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni. The fight between Paul Buentello and Carter Williams has also been confirmed. The participations of Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Josh Thompson and Cung Le are also foreseen for the card.

(Source)

June Strikeforce Card Taking Shape

By Greg Savage

The HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. will play host to the latest installment of Strikeforce on June 22. Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker confirmed to Sherdog.com that the much-anticipated Frank Shamrock vs Phil Baroni fight will headline the show, which is slated to air live on Showtime pay-per-view.

Shamrock and Baroni were supposed to fight in April but after the former UFC champion signed to fight Renzo Gracie in February the card was pushed back. That did not sit well with Baroni (10-7-0), who told Sherdog.com he was looking to make Shamrock pay for what he termed an "eight-month suspension" (Baroni has not fought since the October PRIDE USA card).

Shamrock (21-8-1), who lost to Gracie by disqualification, will return to the building where he knocked out Cesar Gracie in just 21 seconds one year ago and, until recently, held the attendance record for an MMA show in North America.

Joey Villasenor (23-5-0) takes on fellow PRIDE veteran Murilo Rua (12-7-1) in a middleweight affair. Villasenor was impressive his last time out, earning a dominant unanimous decision over David Loiseau this past February. Rua has struggled of late, dropping four of six contests. He did, however, garner a submission victory over Mark Weir in his last bout.

Paul Buentello (22-9-0) will return to Strikeforce as well, squaring off with former K-1 USA champion Carter Williams (3-1-0 in MMA). Also expected to compete are Charles Bennett, Josh Thomson and local San Jose fan-favorite Cung Le.

K-1 Champ Williams Signs With Strikeforce

By Michael Afromowitz

Former K-1 USA tournament champion, Carter Williams, became the latest addition to the growing roster of mixed martial arts mega-promotion, Strikeforce. The 26-year-old heavyweight knockout artist will make his debut during Strikeforce's upcoming card that will be headlined by the long-awaited showdown between former UFC middleweight champion, Frank Shamrock, and Pride slugger, "The New York Badass" Phil Baroni.

Williams, who fights out of Modesto, California, became an overnight star when, as an 18 to 1 underdog, he defeated three straight opponents to capture the K-1 North America tournament championship on May 2, 2003. His upset victory over defending champion Michael "The Black Sniper" McDonald, which Williams earned by way of a majority judges decision, paved the way for the young Muay Thai stylist to defeat Yusuke Fujimoto and six-time world kickboxing champion, Rick "The Jet" Roufus, respectively.

In addition to his Thai boxing background, Williams holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is a seasoned western boxer. Last spring, he re-enforced his dominance as a stand-up fighter by reaching the championship round of the eight-man K-1 North America tournamnet on April 29, 2006. A leg injury that he had sustained en route to his win over semifinal opponent, Chalid Arrab, however, prevented the American star from entering the ring for the final tournament bout.

A former troubled teen with a knack for street fighting, Williams was discovered and taken under the wing of martial arts trainer and high school gang officer, Gene Fields, who helped the youngster redirect his energy towards success in martial arts prize fighting.

(Source)