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

On tap for your MMA action this weekend is the WCO event at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California. The card features a long list of MMA veterans that include Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Vernon White, Ricco Rodriguez, Joe Riggs, Wesley Correira, David Loiseau, Tiki Ghosn, and the "Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr. Although the event doesn't have the quality matchups that we've come to expect from some of the bigger promotions, it does have star power and young talent out of Southern California that we may see in bigger promotions down the road. Let's take a look.

Vernon "Tiger" White vs. Renato "Babulu" Sobral

Sobral makes his return once again to the cage for his second performance after his controversial Anaconda choke on David Heath at UFC 74 that resulted in his contract termination. He'll take on the veteran Vernon White in what could be a one-sided bout considering "Babalu" will most likely come into this fight with a huge chip on his shoulder and excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu to back it up.

Sobral is a BJJ specialist and we should expect him to take this battle to the ground instantly. White has had a long career, but has compiled a losing record of 25-32-2 in that career. He has lost his last two fights to Marcelo Tigre and Mike Whitehead, both by TKO, after defeating Sam Hoger at an IFL event in April. This would make the assumption that he is fairly susceptible to strikes, but 13 of his losses are by submission. The fact is that Vernon White is susceptible from being defeated from any angle, and is usually overpowered when his opponent is great at any one skill.

With that said, Sobral is a world-class grappler with great skills on the ground. Vernon White doesn't have great defense against the submission. Combine those two thoughts and you have your prediction.

Leland's Prediction: Sobral via submission, Round 2

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Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Kyle

This is one of the more interesting fights on the card for a number of reasons. Rodriguez hasn't been the same in years due to his apparent cocaine addiction, but with his stint on Celebrity Rehab on VH1 and the quotes he's been floating around that claim he wants to eventually get down to 205 in weight, what can we really expect from Rodriguez? A re-energized fighting machine or the same old Ricco?

Mike Kyle, on the other hand, had his own problems. He was suspended indefinitely by the CSAC for kicking Brian Olsen in the head at WEC 20. This doesn't sound that bad, except for the fact that he repeatedly kicked him and had to be pulled off of Olson. Olson received such horrible injuries that it nearly ended his career.

Kyle still has a decent record regardless of his antics in the cage. He stands at 9-5-1, but has only fought mainly striking opponents. It'll be a test to see if Kyle can handle Ricco's ground skills. It'll also be equally intriguing to see if Ricco actually takes down Kyle to avoid his punches or stubbornly stand with Kyle.

Nonetheless, Ricco has both some good power and great submissions. If he doesn't get stubborn and puts Kyle to the floor, he should be able to end it by the second round. Don't count out Mike Kyle though, he has some significant power in his hands and could catch Ricco.

Leland's Prediction: Rodriguez via submission, Round 2

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