For weeks coming into this event, the general consensus throughout the fanbase was that Frank Shamrock's iron chin, legendary status, and overall well-rounded skills would push him through to another big victory to defend the Strikeforce Middleweight title. Unfortunately for Frank, the weeks are speculation regarding his striking abilities as being weak compared to Cung Le's dynamic skillset on the feet were deemed to be true. Cung's standup was much more dynamic, and Frank was definitely outclassed on his feet. Nonetheless, Frank Shamrock made the main event of the evening one of the more memorable, exciting, and gutsy performances that we've seen in the last few years.

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of Frank Shamrock leading up to this bout. His attitude got on my nerves, his skills didn't seem overly unbelievable, and his ego was just outright elitist. Frank has had criticism throughout his career from being accused of ducking fights to acting immaturely because of an old grudge. He even told the media that Ken Shamrock undoubtedly used steroids throughout his entire career. People loved to hate him, or just plain loved the antics. Either way, Frank draws a crowd from both pools of fans.

With all those fans in the crowd who either wanted Frank to win or wanted Cung Le to expose Shamrock's weaknesses and shut him up for good, the event had a certain aura of excitement as it entered the main event. The night was filled with some great finishes and some exciting battles, but it was apparent that the San Jose crowd had shown up to see two neighborhood boys battle it out.

During the fight, it was evident that Frank's standup lacked the dynamic kicks and punching that Cung Le had incorporated into his skillset. Front kicks, leg kicks, spinning kicks coupled with spinning back fists and the solid boxing skills were too much for Frank to withstand for the entire fight. Even with Cung's great striking, there was an anticipation of Frank's onslaught throughout the matchup. Frank took shot after shot, shook off any effects from the blow, and continued to battle. At one point when it seemed that Frank was outclassed, he caught Cung with a solid strike that stunned Le for a good minute. Frank continued to stalk Cung and land blows, but Cung's toughness weathered the storm to full recovery from the blow. Cung continued onto victory later in the fight due to an arm injury, but the first three rounds of this war of San Jose will go down as one of the best fights of 2008 by far.

Frank Shamrock may be a guy you love to hate, but he deserves recognition for his ability to continue fighting in the sport of mixed martial arts. His skills in and outside of the cage are a blueprint for fighters who are making their way up the ranks. Self promotion works, and we all saw it tonight when this fight started. Give a hand to Frank Shamrock, a pioneer of the sport that still continues to show us how to sell fights without having the UFC behind him. Great job, Frank.

This weekend's mixed martial arts action is shaping up to be much more exciting than last week's lackluster number of events. On our plates will be Strikeforce's co-promotional event with EliteXC that will take place in San Jose, California at the HP Pavillion. The main event will feature two well-known San Jose residents in Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock. The highly anticipated bout between the two combatants has been in the works since Cung Le's last battle against Sam Morgan in which he won by a highlight reel body kick late in the fight. Gilbert Melendez will take on Gabe Lemley while Drew Fickett will replace Nick Diaz and take on Jae Suk Lim. It should be a night of some interesting matchups and hopefully some great outcomes.

Main Event: Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le

This has become an interesting matchup over the last few weeks. The main point that many fans have tried to make for Le is that his striking skills will be much more well-rounded against Shamrock. In the past, both Le and Shamrock have had sparring sessions that have been described as “dominating” in Le's favor. The sessions have become a spotlight for picking Le in this fight in the striking game, but what makes people think that Shamrock may not simply use his submission wrestling to his advantage?

If you've followed Frank's career, you've probably seen him try to fight battles against superior fighters in which he used his own skills to outbattle his opponent's best skillset. We saw that in the Baroni matchup in which he outstruck Baroni's heavy hands for most of the bout. Some fans believe Shamrock may get stuck in a striking war with Cung Le to prove a point. I think it may be all head games.

Shamrock has an impressive amount of wins over his last 14 fights. He's currently 13-1 in those 14 fights, but has been inactive in the last five to seven years. He's recently made the jump back into MMA and has been carrying the Strikeforce promotion. His abilities to come into a fight with a smart gameplan coupled with the fact that he has average striking with some good submission wrestling makes him a dangerous fighter to take on for Cung Le. Cung hasn't shown a great ground game at all, and I think Frank can really take this one to the ground to beat Cung Le.

Leland's Prediction: Frank Shamrock via submission, Round 3

Drew Fickett vs. Jae Suk “The Korean Icepick” Lim

Fickett's superior submission skills will cause some big problems for Jae Suk Lim. He's also one of the toughest fighters in the sport to submit or knockout. With only 3 losses ending by TKO or submission, he's definitely going to be one of the toughest challenges to date for “the Korean Icepick”.

Lim is obviously a Korean prospect, but he's made his fame in Spirit MC and EliteXC recently with some wins. He doesn't have an overly impressive submission game, but he does maintain some good power in his hands. Unfortunately, I can't pick Lim here. He has too many downsides to him, and Fickett is just plain tough to beat regardless of who he's taking on. It's only a matter of time in this battle before Fickett gets the submission victory.

Leland's Prediction: Drew Fickett via submission, Round 2

Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez vs. Gabe Lemley

I won't comment too much on this matchup because Lemley's chances are slim in this one. He's been taking on subpar competition in Extreme Challenge as of late, and his only notable win in his career is against Clay Guida back in 2004 at XFO 4. He has some good power and submission ability, but Melendez is much better in all areas of mixed martial arts over Lemley. He'll have much better wrestling and striking, and he's relentless when it comes to pushing takedowns and pounding his opponents. Look for this one to end quickly.

Leland's Prediction: Gilbert Melendez via TKO, Round 2

Quick Picks

Luke Stewart vs. Tiki Ghosn: I thought Luke Stewart's last three performances had some rays of hope for his future in the sport, and Tiki Ghosn just hasn't been a good fighter at all in his last three or four performances. I have to believe Stewart will continue his move up in the division. He's due to use his jiu-jitsu skills against a susceptible Ghosn. Stewart via submission, Round 1

Joey Villasenor vs. Ryan Jensen:  Villasenor has been very tough to submit in the latter part of his career, and Jensen's win total is stacked with submission wins. Jensen has the potential to be a spoiler in this fight, but I think Joey's overall awareness in the cage and strikes can hold off Jensen. Villasenor via decision

Mike Kyle vs. Wayne Cole: Mike Kyle hasn't fought since his ridiculous disqualification against Brian Olsen at WEC 20. Kyle has some good wins earlier in his career against notable talent, and his power is formidable for anyone. Cole has some power as well, but he also has shown a weak chin in the past. I don't think he can handle Kyle's power that we've seen in the past. Kyle via KO, Round 1

Billy Evangelista vs. Marlon Sims: This is a bit of a toss up for the first round of the matchup. Sims either blasts his opponents early with an onslaught, or falls to the submission. Evangelista really has no knockout power and his submission game hasn't shown up yet in his short 5 fight career. I'll take Billy based on his last few fights, he's definitely a tough fighter, and Marlon's lies on The Ultimate Fighter flat out make me want to see him get crushed. Biased, I know. Evangelista via TKO, Round 2

Anthony Figueroa vs. Darren Uyenoyama: Pick'em fight. Uyenoyama has some submission wrestling skills, but he doesn't seem to have much power in his hands. Fortunately, neither does Figueroa. Figueroa has only had one successful win by TKO, the rest of his 4 wins by decision, two being against the same fighter in David Barrios. I'll take Uyenoyama. Uyenoyama via decision

Jesse Jones vs. Jesse Gillespie: 1-0 prospects, but Jones at least showed some big power in his first battle. Jones via KO, Round 1

CagePotato has an interview with Frank Shamrock today regarding his upcoming matchup with Cung Le and some other issues revolving around the UFC and his past problems with Dana White. It's a good read, and you should check it out. The quote that stuck out in my mind revolved around the stylistic matchup of Cung Le and Frank Shamrock:

CagePotato: How long has the fight with Cung Le been in the works?
Frank Shamrock: We really got serious about it three or four months ago. But it’s kind of been on my horizon for a while now.

Le’s a fantastic striker. How do you feel you match-up with him?
I’m hoping to stand up with him. I think MMA striking is a little bit different than traditional striking. And I don’t think he’s ready for the type of strength I can put on him. He’s going to be a good test for me.

Let me be the first to say that I think Frank Shamrock will destroy Cung Le. Why? Cung hasn't proven a ground game yet, and Frank's ground tactics are very good. As we've seen from other fighters in the past, interview answers don't exactly signal the truth.

With that said, I think Frank will come out, strike a bit, then put Cung to the floor and win easily. Cung has some good standup skills, but Frank is a veteran who still has the skills to put opponents away with both the standup and ground skills. Cung shouldn't be fooled, he will hit the mat and pay. Le should hit the ground training hard to have a good chance at winning.

Frank said before that he would fight Cung Le down the line because he wanted to see Cung progress more before they fought. At the time, I thought it was a good idea, and presently, I still believe Cung should have waited. He may have bitten off more than he can chew too quickly.