MMA HQ - Mixed Martial Arts News and Analysis

The co-promotion between Strikeforce and Gary Shaw’s EliteXC continues Friday night with the Shamrock vs Baroni: Judgment Day fight card. This event is stacked with fighters from top to bottom and is one of those fight cards that everyone has been waiting to see for quite a while.

Phil Baroni vs Frank Shamrock - Boy, oh boy. I’m more excited for this fight than I have been for any other fight in a long time. Not because I think it will turn out to be a truly “instant classic” type of fight in the end, but because I’m hoping so hard that Frank Shamrock gets his head caved in by Phil Baroni. The “war of words” between Baroni and Shamrock is well-known and doesn’t need to be covered here again. Shamrock has slowly fallen from the high pedestal he once held in the eyes of MMA fans over the past several years, and with his last fight ending in DQ against Renzo Gracie, “Glamrock” pretty much alienated what few devoted fans he still had left.

I tend to think of myself as pretty fair and unbaised when it comes to my MMA “reporting” here on MMA HQ, but Shamrock is one of those fighters that I’m not going to sugar-coat my true feelings for. I hope Baroni hits him hard and often and makes Frank look terrible while doing it. The smart pick in this fight is probably to pick Shamrock, due to his obvious advantage in the ground game, but that doesn’t sway me at all. I think/hope/pray that Phil is able to keep the fight on the feet and beat the snot out of Frankie. Winner: Phil Baroni

Murilo Rua vs. Joey Villasenor - This fight came very close to not happening, but I’m very glad it didn’t get pulled from the card. Murilo “Ninja” Rua had a rather unpleasant career in PrideFC where he holds a record of 6-7 and basically lost to every “top-level” fighter he faced. That may seem like a rather odd comment to make since the better fighter should win the fight; but I said that to say this - Ninja Rua is not a “top-level” fighter. He is a very good fighter, but just doesn’t seem to be able to get over that hump and be the guys with name recognition that he needs to beat to further his career.

Joey Villasenor is a long-time King of the Cage veteran and I think he has what it takes to handle Rua in this fight. Both in the standup game and on the ground I thnk Joey holds the edge. Either way, this should be a very exciting fight from start to finish as both fighters are high-energy guys. Winner: Joey Villasenor

Cung Le vs. Tony Fryklund - Cung Le looks to continue making a name for himself in the MMA scene as he’ll face his toughest opponent yet in Tony “The Freak” Fryklund. Fryklund will probably try to take Le down and work his submission game, as I don’t think he really wants to stand and test Le’s punching and kicking game. I’m looking for Cung Le to come out strong and fast for his home crowd and try to end this fight early and make a big statement. Winner: Cung Le

Paul Buentello vs. Carter Williams - Pual Buentello is looking to continue his win streak and prove that he is one of the top fighters in the Light Heavyweight division. Carter Williams is still in that “transition” phase of moving from K-1 to pure MMA and I don’t know that he will be able to handle the experience that Buentello brings to the ring. These are two big guys who love to stand and throw punches, and in a fight like that you really never know what is going to happen. If Paul fights smart and moves well, he should take this fight. Winner: Paul Buentello

Paul Daley vs. Duane Ludwig - Winner: Paul Daley
Josh Thomson vs. Nick Gonzalez - Winner: Josh Thomson
Charles Bennett vs. Victor Valenzuela - Winner: Victor Valenzuela
Mike Pyle vs Aaron Wetherspoon - Winner: Mike Pyle