Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz set for Strikeforce

Just read this from a credible MMA website, Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock will headline an April 11th Strikeforce event.


They will fight at a catchweight of 180 pounds.

Personally I think that's going to be a really good fight, what do you guys think?

Also set for the card is:

Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith
Josh Thomson vs. ? (possibly K.J Noons)
Gilbert Melendez vs. ? (possibly Ishida or Gurgel)

Has the Diaz vs Shamrock fight been made official?? I first heard the news listening to The Lights Out Show last night. Dude I want to see that fight so bad, that has fight of the year written all over it a huge fan of Nick Diaz (and his antics) and I would love to see him put his name right back on the top contenders map by defeating Frank Shamrock which I think he can do. Nick Diaz defeated Takanori Gomi (when he was great) and he had that win taken away from him and then the KJ Noons fight was stopped prematurely (in my opinion) so I think this is another oppurtunity for him to get a HUGE win and be known as a top contender at any weight class he chooses to be in. I WANT TO SEE THIS FIGHT SO BAD, I HOPE THEY PUT IT ON CBS CAUSE I DO NOT HAVE SHOWTIME.

It's been made official.

I agree, should be a great fight.

How well will Diaz perform at 180, though?

Mitch Ciccarelli wrote:Also set for the card is:

Benji Radach vs. Scott Smith
Josh Thomson vs. ? (possibly K.J Noons)
Gilbert Melendez vs. ? (possibly Ishida or Gurgel)

All these fights interest me a lot. This strikeforce deal has got me pumped!

Also rumored Gina and Kimbo might be fighting on that card too, man this could turn into an incredible card!

Truth.

Hopefully Gina vs. Cyborg

as for Kimbo? I hope they don't give him cans. Strikeforce is smart though, I'm sure they will give him a decent opponent. I'm not saying throw Antonio Silva at him, but throw him someone decent.

I'm not familiar with Strikeforce's Heavyweights, I only know a few like Overeem.

What about Brad Imes? Is he still around? Put him against Kimbo, he's a decent enough opponent and not a can by any means, but not a stud either.

Mitch Ciccarelli wrote:Truth.

Hopefully Gina vs. Cyborg

as for Kimbo? I hope they don't give him cans. Strikeforce is smart though, I'm sure they will give him a decent opponent. I'm not saying throw Antonio Silva at him, but throw him someone decent.

I'm not familiar with Strikeforce's Heavyweights, I only know a few like Overeem.

What about Brad Imes? Is he still around? Put him against Kimbo, he's a decent enough opponent and not a can by any means, but not a stud either.

I agree, I heard scott talk about how they are gonna build kimbo up and not put him against top talent right away like xc did, which I agree with. A paul Buetello fight would be nice, but even he might be too much for kimbo right now, what do you think?

Kimbo vs Buentello fight would be a pretty good fight, I think.. Paul is an MMA vet that is at about mid-card right now. I think Kimbo is mid-card worthy.

Here is the full story on the Nick Diaz vs Frank Shamrock Strikeforce event to air on Showtime.

Strikeforce today confirmed its debut on Showtime will feature a main event between former Strikeforce world middleweight champion Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) and former EliteXC top lightweight contender Nick Diaz (18-7) at a catch-weight of 179 pounds.

The April 11 event, which will be the first following Strikeforce's acquisition of select assets (including key fightets' contracts) from ProElite/EliteXC last week, takes place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker also confirmed Benji Radach (19-4) vs. Scott Smith (14-5) as signed for the event, and the organization is on the search for opponents to fight Strikeforce world lightweight champ Josh Thomson (16-2) and Gilbert Melendez (14-2).

Details of the event and Strikeforce's deal with ProElite were discussed today during a media conference call with Coker, Shamrock and Ken Hershman, Showtime's VP and GM of sports and event programming.

Strikeforce and Showtime last week confirmed a new broadcasting deal that could feature up to 16 live event broadcasts per year. The deal will include a series that showcases the organization's top prospects, similar to EliteXC's "ShoXC" series that aired on Showtime from 2007 to 2008. Strikeforce has recently promoted its version of the series under the name "Young Guns."

As for the major events, the first features an intriguing headline bout between the 36-year-old Shamrock and 25-year-old Diaz.

Shamrock, who lost his title to Cung Le in March 2008, suffered a broken arm in the TKO defeat and has been sidelined ever since. Although a rematch with Le had been discussed for the April 11 event, Coker said the current champ has been busy with his budding movie career and recovery from a recent injury. (However, Le is expected to defend his title against Shamrock before year's end, Coker said.)

Shamrock instead meets Diaz, one of many fighters stuck in a state of limbo when EliteXC ceased promoting events in late 2008. Diaz, one of approximately 40 fighters initially acquired by Strikeforce last week, hasn't fought since his July 2008 co-main-event TKO victory over Thomas Denny at "EliteXC: Unfinished Business," which was the second (and now last) EliteXC show to air on CBS.

Although most intrigued by the marketability of a fight with a fellow "bad boy," Shamrock also admits there is some bad blood between the two fighters.

"I do know him personally, and it rare that I know fighters on a social level," Shamrock said. "Nick Diaz is very similar to me and came from a broken home. ... We have some ties that tie us together.

"I know for a fact he said some words when I knocked out his coach Cesar (Gracie in March 2006). And he said some words afterward that got him into this fight. We're going to fight. I don't care about Nick. He's a nice guy, and I'm going to knock him out, and then I'll go on to the next one."

In addition to the Radach vs. Smith middleweight match-up, Coker said the organization plans to feature Thomson on the main card. Coker said he's offered the fight to EliteXC's first and only lightweight champ, K.J. Noons (7-2), in what would become an unofficial title-unfication bout. However, Coker said the bout has only been offered to Noons and is not official.

Also expected on the card is Melendez. Coker said he's considering Mitsuhiro Ishida (17-4-1), who delivered Melendez his first career loss in 2007, and recent UFC cast-off Jorge Gurgel (12-5) as possible opponents.

Strikeforce has also issued an invitation to popular female fighter Gina Carano (7-0) for a bout with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (6-1), who Coker said recently signed an exclusive deal with Strikeforce. EliteXC was building toward a showdown between the two fighters before the organization collapsed last year. Regardless of Carano's participation, Coker said they hope to have Santos on the card.

The rest of the card will be announced in the following weeks.

For the latest on the April 11 Strikeforce event, which features a main event between Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock, check out MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

i already know the ending, nick wins.