Sounding as confident as ever, Shamrock commented on the possibility of fighting champions from other promotions:

”I got so many belts I don’t have a place to put them. I just kind of stack them up in my gym. I realized a long tim ago that belts don’t mean anything. It’s easy to become a champion than to stay a champion. For me, it’s just a way of life and if they give me a belt that’s great. If they don’t, I could really care less,” said the middleweight champion. “I’d rather fight a guy like Phil Baroni who could sell a match like nobody else in the world, and take a beating like nobody else in the world, as opposed to a champion who couldn’t put two sentences together and doesn’t draw a big crowd.”

Interestingly enough, Shamrock revealed that he has chosen to stand and strike with contender Cung Le in the main event of the upcoming card in San Jose, California.

”I think it’s time for me to try out my striking. It might be a little dangerous but it’s not like we aren’t in a dangerous sport. I have the utmost confidence in what I do. I think that Cung Le is a great striker, but I don’t think he is prepared for an MMA striking match.”

That wasn’t the only bit of background information Shamrock revealed, however.

On the rumors that sparring sessions between both fighters were one-sided in Le’s favor, Shamrock said “They are true. Cung Le did kick my ass. I was basically his sparring partner in his sport. We only did San Shou, and I sucked at San Shou. That was a great many years ago and that was at the beginning of my understanding of striking. Now, it’s a different level with a different story.”

For his part, Cung Le spoke about the importance of this fight in his career as a professional combatant.

”I think this is one of the biggest fights in San Jose to date. I’m just looking forward to it. I’ve been training so hard for this fight and I’m just looking forward to stepping in the cage with Frank. Frank’s been around for a long time. He’s got a lot of wins against big names like Tito. I’m looking to match up with him.”

Javier Mendez played a crucial role in Le’s transition to mixed martial arts, as he noted “He asked me to try MMA back in 2006. He said, ‘The time is now. MMA is about to explode even more.’ And I said, ‘OK, I’ll give it a shot’…Two years later I’m just fortunate to have the chance to compete for a title. It’s been two years for me in the MMA game and I feel I came in at the right place at the right time.”

Dismissing criticism that his build-up to through the middleweight division has been centered around weak opponents, Le countered “I think [the bout with Shamrock] is a win-win situation. Everyone has been saying that I need to step up, so I took a huge step up and I’m just grateful that I have the opportunity to fight Frank.

Also on the card, Jake Shields will take on Drew Fickett, who is making his debut in the Shaw-produced event, for the vacant welterweight title.

”I’ve been in this sport for a long time and I have some titles in Japan and stuff, but never one of the legit big titles in the world,” said Shields. “Drew is a very tough opponent. He’s very well rounded. He has good ground and good standup. I’m well prepared for the war.”

Shields also touched on the subject of having recently been promoted to a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under his long-time coach Cesar Gracie.

”I’ve been competing, mixing grappling and jiu-jitsu for years at a high level. I think I’ve been at that level for a while, but I think it’s nice to finally get that recognition and get the belt from Cesar (Gracie), because Cesar doesn’t give out belts that easy, so it’s quite an honor.”

Shields is currently on a nine-fight win streak heading into the bout, and he credits that with his focus on cardio training.

“I’ve taken the sport a lot more serious since my last loss. I hated losing, so I just got really serious and cardio. I think cardio is the key to fighting. You have to make sure you are in shape and everything.”

Drew Fickett is coming off a slick win over veteran Mark Weir at Cage Rage 24: Feel the Pain back on December 1st. When asked about the type of fight he expects, he said “…me and Jake are going to push each other like we haven’t been pushed before. I think it’s going to be good for both of us. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever really been motivated for a fight for the last few years.”

Fickett’s mindset strays from the stresses of his EliteXC debut being a title fight, noting “I’m about the fights, man. I think it’s cool to fight in EliteXC. Gary has treated us really well and they are very organized. I’d like to thank him for that, but I’m more excited to fight Jake than for the title.”

Gary Shaw made one point clear during the conference call: he is indeed interested in the services of Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, but will stop short of tortuous interference from obtaining him for his promotion.

”There are many fighters out there that I am very interested in signing to EliteXC to fight on Showtime and to fight on CBS. Arlovski is one of them. I’m not talking to any fighters from any other organization until they are clearly out of that contract. When they are out of that contract, I will be more than happy to speak to them, no problem.”

Additionally, Shaw commented on the build-up to this fight in the Bay Area.

”I thought the Kimbo Slice fight in Miami had a huge amount of heat. Now, we’re coming into San Jose and we’re coming into California on the West Coast and, for me, I think this is the biggest fight we’ve had. I believe this is a lot hotter than even (Shamrock vs.) Baroni, although Phil can really talk a lot of smack…in a way it is a promoter’s dream, the attendance is showing that, and the fans are going to be rewarded with a great fight.”

”There will be a CBS press release going out tomorrow, announcing when the first fight card is and announcing some of the fighters on that card. So I don’t want to pre-empt it,” he said. “We think we have a great card put together. We’re very excited to be on CBS, and I think the announce team will surprise some people. It’s just exciting.”

When queried about Robbie Lawler and Gina Carano, Shaw sheepishly replied ”How about waiting for tomorrow. As I said, there will be a CBS press release coming out tomorrow worldwide", leading some to speculate that they will compete on CBS’ first card.