‘Seen-n-Heard’ at the Strikeforce
Post-Fight Press Conference

San Jose Ca. By:  Jeff Townsend, (BASD) Boxing and MMA Writer
Bayareasportsdrive.com
04-02-08

Strikeforce’s ‘Battle of San Jose’ pitting Cung Le against Frank ‘the Legend’ Shamrock took place on Saturday night at the HP Pavilion.   For a fight recap, check out the article I wrote on the fight itself for what occurred inside the cage on Saturday night.  However, this article is for those MMA fans that want to know a little more of the behind-the-scenes action that occurs around a major fight.

• How much money do MMA fighters make?
  • The main event stars usually get a set amount of money while the rest of the fighters can double their earnings if they win their match. 
  • Cung Le = $200,000 vs. Frank Shamrock = $300,000
  • Drew Fickett = $10,000 vs. Jae S. Lim = $3,000
  • Gilbert Melendez = $50,000 vs. Gabe Lemley = $7,000
  • Wayne Cole = $10,000 vs. Mike Kyle = $10,000
  • Joey Villasenor = $36,000 vs. Ryan Jensen = $6,000
  • Billy Evangelista = $10,000 vs. Marlon Sims = $2,500
  • Tiki Ghosn = $8,000 vs. Luke Stewart = $6,000
  • Darren Uyenoyama = $4,000 vs. Anthony Figueroa = $2,000
  • Jesse Jones = $2,150 vs. Jesse Gillespie = $1,200
• Visit Cung Le and Frank Shamrock at their gyms
  • Cung Le – Universal Strength Headquarters in Milpitas
  • Frank Shamrock – Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose
• On the Big Screen
  • Cung Le was featured on an episode of ‘The Human Weapon’ on The History Channel.   Appeared in an episode of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger” in 2001 and had roles in ‘Dark Assassin’ (2006) and ‘Lost Warrior: Left Behind’ (2007)
  • Frank Shamrock has appeared on the TV shows ‘Oz’ and ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’
• Best Quotes of the night
  • Cung Le, commenting on Shamrock’s injured arm:  “I heard the bone snap in the third round.”
  • Wayne Cole, on how he trains, “I created a makeshift gym in my two car garage at home.”  Cole lives in Oklahoma where there aren’t many MMA gyms. 
  • Wayne Cole, “My mom does not even know that I am a MMA fighter.  She thinks I am a boxer.  Before tonight, I had my whole family lying to her.”
• Nick Diaz was booted off this fight card by the California State Athletic Commission due to merely owning a medical marijuana card.  No failed drug tests, no admissions to smoking weed, just owning a card.  Needless to say, co-promoter Gary Shaw was very upset.
  • It has been reported that Diaz tested positive for marijuana after a February 2007 fight against Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi. His win was reportedly overturned after the positive test. 

Quotes from the Post-fight press conference

• Gilbert Melendez
  • “I will take a week off and then it is back to the gym”
  • “It was great having my father in my corner and having him walk to the ring with me”
  • Named Josh Thompson, KJ Noons and JZ as possible future opponents
  • “I like to fight”
  • On the cheers he received from the San Jose crowd: “It was great.  When I fought in Japan, there was dead silence.  In Hawaii, I got a lot of boos but that was probably because my opponent was Hawaiian.”
• Cung Le
  • Thanked his trainer Javier Mendez for all his help; Mendez used to be Frank Shamrock’s trainer
  • When asked if beating Shamrock was a victory for San Shou, “It is a victory for martial arts in general”
  • “MMA has moved into the mainstream”
  • “I was expecting Frank to shout in and go for a takedown.”
  • On Shamrock’s injured arm: “They brought in the x-ray after the fight, and it was right in half. I have a lot of respect for Frank. He did fight with a broken hand. I kicked his hand, I kicked it again, I kicked his head.”
  • “I never said I want to be the King of San Jose. That was Frank. He said he owns San Jose. Me, I said I will be the gatekeeper. Let Frank come through me. This time he did not make it through. If there is a next time, it will be another great fight."
  • Asked what he is looking forward, “chocolate chip cookies and pizza”
• EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw
  • Shaw began the press conference by stating that he is a prostrate cancer survivor and he would pay the costs for anyone in the room who is over 40 that wanted to get a prostrate exam and could not afford it
• Mike Kyle
  • “It felt good to get back into the ring after the two year layoff”
  • “I did not get a chance to properly warm up.  Some of my team was working with Cung Le.  I had several minutes to get warmed up but that was it.  I am not making excuses for my performance”
• Drew Fickett
  • Commenting on the advice he received from Nick Diaz in his fight against Jae Suk Lim, “Punch him in the face and then choke him out”
• Joey Villasenor
  • On how the fight ended with Ryan Jensen, “I was waiting for the ref to jump in since I knew that he (Jensen) was very hurt.  It seemed like a long time and I am glad the ref stopped it when he did.”
  • “ground-n-pound is my strong suit”
  • “I’d like to fight again in four months”