Ian and I were lucky enough to get current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and Dream-contracted fighter Alistair Overeem on the latest edition of the PWB Podcast Hotline. Overeem is a candid guy, and he discussed several topics during the interview, including:

• His upcoming kickboxing match against Badr Hari on New Year’s Eve at the K1 Dynamite show
• How training for kickboxing is different than training for MMA
• His controversial fight against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović
• The war of words with “Cro Cop” since the fight, “Cro Cop’s” invitation to fight him in his “personal cage” in Croatia
• His future with Strikeforce and other American promotions like Dream

The best part of the interview is definately about the fallout from his fight against “Cro Cop.” For those of you who haven’t seen how the fight went down, here’s a video:

If you’re interested in seeing the knees in question, there’s a nice replay at about 5:30 of that video.

For more on Alistair Overeem, please visit his official web site, alistairovereem.com.

Also, I’m working on a new PWB podcast that should be out soon, so look out for that.

Ian and I interviewed MMA legend Frank Shamrock today for the most recent episode of PWB’s Podcast Hotline. Of course, we asked Frank about his plans for his next fight. Here’s what Frank had to say:

“My goal for my next fight is to fight Ken, to fight my brother Ken, to have a brother versus brother match.”

Frank expanded on the idea of a brother versus brother match:

“I think that’s a huge fight that everybody gets–easy to understand. You could use it as a huge promotional vehicle because it’s got such a great hook in it, and I think it’s just a huge fight, so I’ve been working hard on that one.”

When I wished him luck at the end of the show and told him we hoped to see brother versus brother sometime soon, he said this:

“First quarter of next year, I’ll get it done.”

Even though speculation had died down about a potential Shamrock v. Shamrock fight after Ken’s loss to “Buzz” Berry in Cage Rage, it looks like we might see the fight come to fruition early next year.

The full interview with Frank Shamrock is now available at the Podcast Hotline site.

Saturday night on Showtime, EliteXC and Strikeforce put on another amazing show. This time, the main event easily stole the show.

In a captivating match-up, Sanshou-kickboxer Cung Le defeated Frank Shamrock to capture the Strikeforce middleweight title.

The HP Pavilion in San Jose was packed for the “Battle of San Jose”–both men claim the city as their home. While both fighters had their fans, Cung Le’s contingent obviously outnumbered Shamrock’s as evidenced by the Vietnamese flags waving throughout the arena. The packed crowd made for an awesome atmosphere, with the fans becoming increasingly loud as the main event progressed.

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Today mmajunkie.com has posted a statement from Ken Shamrock in response to the allegations made by his brother and Strikeforce middleweight champion, Frank Shamrock. Here it is:

During a recent interview with MMA Madness, Frank Shamrock stated that I have used steroids “my whole life.” In making such a reckless and irresponsible statement, Frank has attacked my character. As such, I unfortunately find it necessary to respond to his allegations. I’m not sure what his motives were, but Frank’s allegations are absolutely false.

During the interview, Frank also comments on the percentage of fighters that are allegedly using steroids, promoters that supposedly don’t care about their fighters unless they win, and the industry’s drug testing policies, or lack thereof. I would like to set the record straight.

Our sport has policies in place to deter steroid use and to weed out the guys that, as my brother says, “…are taking shortcuts to gain fame.” I have been subjected to mandatory steroid testing countless times, and I have never tested positive for steroids, nor have I ever refused a test. Furthermore, my experience has always been that the promoters and fighters willingly comply with the drug testing mandated by the various athletic commissions.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has always administered steroid and drug testing for licensed fighters. Recently, in an effort to further strengthen steroid testing policies, the NSAC implemented short-notice drug testing for MMA fighters. Fighters are now required to test at fixed times during the year, and are also randomly tested. Commissions in other states have similar policies in place. These policies clearly work as fighters occasionally do test positive and the penalties are significant.

For Frank to state that a majority of fighters use steroids and that the promoters do not care, or that they somehow condone the use of steroids, is unbelievably irresponsible. It tarnishes the image of every fighter and promoter in this industry. The comments Frank made about me and about the industry itself are based purely on his personal opinion, not on facts.

Frank should acknowledge that his comments were without merit and irresponsible, and apologize for the disparaging remarks he has made towards the fighters, promoters, and to the various athletic commissions who regulate MMA.

Holy crap. The outspoken Frank Shamrock is at it again. In an interview with mmamadness.com, Frank claims that Ken has used steroids ‘his whole life’.

It’s a huge statement to make and the fact that Ken has never failed a drug test while in the UFC makes the statement an even bolder one. Here’s part of the interview:

Why do you think that his mind is so fried? Why do you think he crumbles before the big fights? He’s got no psyche. He let steroids give him a false sense of security and the moment that stuff is gone he’s no longer superman. He’s just a regular man. But without all the hard work and without all the belief in himself that a regular man would have if he got up to that point. He’s the only guy that I’ll tell on, because he’s always in trouble anyway.

In an interesting development of the possible Ken Shamrock VS. Frank Shamrock:blood brothers PPV fight, mmafightline.com is reporting that the fight is now off.

Apparently Frank Shamrock has stated that potential financial backers were concerned with the defeat Ken suffered at Cage Rage 25. They obviously believe his defeat to Robert ‘Buzz’ Berry has harmed potential PPV buys.

Myself and Lex asked Ken just a couple of weeks ago on the PWB Podcast about the fight and it was something Ken believed would definitely happen in the future.

So what now for Ken???

Let’s review. We’ve got EliteXC signing a deal with a major broadcast network, CBS, to air live MMA cards. Strikeforce just announced a deal with NBC to air highlight shows after Saturday Night Live. A deal sending UFC programming to FOX is most likely in the wings. Of course, we’ve already got UFC on SpikeTV, WEC on Versus, Pride reruns on Fox Sports Net and HD Net Fights on, well, HD Net. The amount of MMA on TV is multiplying by the day.

A question I’ve been posing is this: will MMA reach a critical mass? Is it risking overexposure? Before you laugh at me, think back to another sport that had been labeled the “fastest growing sport in America” just a few years ago: NASCAR.

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