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.