CHICAGO -- On a chain around his neck, Frank Shamrock wears the metal plate that held his arm together after he needed surgery to repair a bad break. Ask him about it, and he doesn't hesitate to show off the long surgical scar on his arm. The plate and the scar are sources of pride from a 15-year career as a mixed martial arts fighter.
That break came courtesy of a Cung Le kick in March of 2008, and in his only fight since then, Shamrock lost to Nick Diaz. But if you think the 36-year-old Shamrock is at the end of his career, think again.
Fedor Emelianenko is meeting the media in Chicago today, but Brett Rogers is in Bristol, Connecticut, promoting their fight at ESPN headquarters, including the above appearance on ESPN First Take.
CBS' most recent attempt to hype Saturday's Strikeforce debut is "Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers," which is airing on Showtime and on select CBS affiliates.
The full video was also just released on online. As Michael David Smith wrote here, the video shows Fedor Emelianenko as the quiet, humble champion MMA fans have gotten to know over the years, and Brett Rogers as a soft-spoken, hard worker who rose from humble beginnings and is now intent on finding glory. One of the best moments comes when we see Rogers and his wife entering the home they bought through his work and determination. It is an "American Dream" moment that encapsulates everything he's been working towards.
If you haven't gotten a look at it, it's worth a view. The full video is below.
On Tuesday night Showtime will debut Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers, a half-hour documentary to promote Saturday night's fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers on CBS. I got an advance look at the documentary on Monday, and it's at its best when it shows the two fighters' trainers exuding confidence that their guy can win.
Fight Camp 360 shows Rogers' trainer, Mike Reilly, watching Fedor's fight with Andrei Arlovski on YouTube, and telling Rogers that he needs to control the tempo of the fight the same way Arlovski did at the start of his fight with Fedor.
Fedor Emelianenko hasn't often been hurt in his MMA career, but one of the few times he found himself in trouble came in 2003 against Kazuyuki Fujita, who briefly dazed Fedor with a punch. As Fedor prepares for his next fight, against Brett Rogers on November 7, CBS announcer and former UFC champion Frank Shamrock says he sees a lot of Fujita in Rogers.
UFC president Dana White has returned to video-blogging for this Saturday's UFC 104 event in Los Angeles, releasing a new blog (NSFW, above) Tuesday morning documenting his attendance at a Tuff-N-Uff event to watch his cousin's amateur MMA debut and a ticket giveaway at a mall in Los Angeles.
CBS has released a new one-minute commercial introducing sports fans to Fedor Emelianenko, the generally recognized heavyweight champion of MMA who is largely unknown in this country but who will fight Brett Rogers on CBS on November 7. Although it's not yet clear how often CBS will run the ad on TV, it's a good first step toward promoting the fight -- and also a reminder of some of the drawbacks to promoting Fedor.
When mixed martial arts returns to network television on November 7, the undisputed star of the show will be Fedor Emelianenko, the sport's heavyweight champion.
But Fedor doesn't speak English and isn't well known in the United States, and that means promoting the CBS show will fall in large part on other fighters on the card. Jake Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller, who will meet for the Strikeforce middleweight title, say they embrace that opportunity.
"Strikeforce is the right promoter to bring MMA to the mainstream," said Shields, who fought twice on CBS last year under the EliteXC banner. "It's really important to us to make this successful. I want to do my part to promote this."
Ben Henderson's unanimous decision victory over Donald Cerrone at WEC 43 has been labeled by some as the fight of the year, and those who missed it on Saturday night can now watch it online for free.
The WEC announced Wednesday that both WEC.tv and UFC.com are carrying the fight. It will also re-air on Versus Thursday at 8 PM ET.
A student at Missouri's Blue Springs High School is suing the school district after he was injured in what is being described as "a mixed martial arts-style fight" which an assistant wrestling coach cheered on.
CHICAGO -- On a chain around his neck, Frank Shamrock wears the metal plate that held his arm together after he needed surgery to repair a bad break. Ask him about it, and he doesn't hesitate to show off the long surgical scar on his arm. The plate and the scar are sources of pride from a 15-year career as a mixed martial arts fighter.
CBS' most recent attempt to hype Saturday's Strikeforce debut is "Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers," which is airing on Showtime and on select CBS affiliates.
On Tuesday night Showtime will debut Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers, a half-hour documentary to promote Saturday night's fight between 
When mixed martial arts returns to network television on November 7, the undisputed star of the show will be 
Ben Henderson
