Frank Shamrock Wins Strike Force/Elite XC

Frank Shamrock defeated Phil Baroni via TKO (rear naked choke) at 4:00 of Round 2 last Friday night in a Strike Force/Elite XC bout that starts off the biggest menu of MMA fighting ever for a single weekend.

Online Sportsbetting site Bookmaker.com is offering betting odds on The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale in Vegas and the Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5 bout featuring Internet favorite Kimbo Slice and Ray Mercer.  The later fight is already gaining the attention of sports bettors.  Both events go off on Saturday night.

"This weekend is an MMA fan's dream," says Tyrone Black who follows Mixed Martial Arts for Sports911.com.  "The only thing truly missing is an actual UFC bout."

Kimbo Slice was listed as the -170 favorite verses Ray Mercer at +145.

Betting on the MMA events would likely be followed by a frenzy of wagers on the Wimbledon matchups that start this Monday.

"The weekend should pick up some steam," says Black, who points out that Sports911.com's traffic had dropped significantly over the past two days following weeks of record breaking traffic and the best month ever.  "We are all excited about Wimbledon."

For Black and other Sports911.com beat reporters like Jenny Woo and Sparky Collins, the excitement about Wimbledon is more about watching tennis babes in their tight white shorts. 

As for Frank Shamrock, Frank went on to dominae Phil Baroni in the first part of this fight in the stand-up. Frank was deducted a point for using strikes to the back of the head while he had Baroni's back. In the second round Frank ate some hard shots from Phil but it didn't seem to phase him. Frank was able to again use his superior striking to drop Phil, transition to his back and submit Phil with a rear naked choke. Phil refused to tap-out and was choked unconscious. As soon as he was woke up, Phil stormed out of the cage. This won't be the end of their rivalry based on the damage Frank did to Phil with illegal strikes (Frank was previously disqualified for using illegal blows to the back of Renzo Gracie's head).

Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III on December 8, 1972 in Santa Monica, California) is the adoptive younger brother of mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler Ken Shamrock.

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Christopher Costigan, Sports911.com

Originally published June 23, 2007 2:14 am ET