SAN JOSE, Calif. - Midway through the third round of his fight with Pat Healy, former Strikeforce champ Josh Thomson had something of a surreal moment.

Fatigued from two exhausting rounds and aching from a couple broken ribs from early in the fight, Thomson saw his career flash before his eyes, and a single thought kept racing through his mind.

"'I shouldn't be losing this fight,'" Thomson said.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(video via MMAFighting.com)

One of the original greats of mixed martial arts, Frank Shamrock announced his retirement during Saturday night’s Showtime broadcast of “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum” event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“When I was 22 years old, my brother gave me two important things,” Shamrock told the audience at the HP Pavilion after entering the cage. “He gave me an ass-whoopin’ and he gave me my love of mixed martial arts. Since that time I’ve traveled the world teaching mixed martial arts, preaching mixed martial arts and dragging my poor family with me from country to country to city to city.”

“I’m 37 years old now, and my time has come,” he said Saturday. “The stars like Gilbert Melendez and Cristiane ‘Cyborg,’ they’re the future and I am the past. Tonight I announce my retirement. This will be the last time I walk into this cage as a fighter.”

“It was an honor to bleed for you,” he said, “to break my bones for you and to entertain you.”

The 37 year old fighter began his pro career in 1994 and earned an interim title with the Japanese-based Pancrase promotion by defeating Bas Rutten. He became the UFC’s first middleweight (later renamed light-heavyweight) champion after Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan in 1997 and defended that title four times. One of those bouts was against Tito Ortiz and happened at UFC 22 and will be remembered as one of the great mma matches of the past. He went on to leave the UFC and earn the WEC light-heavyweight title, and became Strikeforce’s first middleweight title holder.

After amassing a 23-10-2 record over the past 16 years, Shamrock felt that he’s had enough of competing in the cage and will now work as a broadcaster for Showtime among other ventures.

HT: Sherdog.com for the quotes.

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem jumped on the plane at the last minute and commuted 20 hours to get to San Jose, Calif. in the hopes of watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Fabricio Werdum. Minutes after Werdum submitted the Russian fighter, MMAWeekly.com talked to Overeem about his reactions to the fight.

(this photo and more can be found at Strikeforce.com)
Press Release

Catch Replay On Monday, June 28, 2010, At 10 P.M. ET/PT On SHOWTIME 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (June 27, 2010) – On a historic night of Mixed Martial arts presented by STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL and televised on SHOWTIME®, two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (14-4) registered the most spectacular upset in MMA history with a 1:09, first-round submission (triangle choke) over the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-2) before 12,649 Saturday at HP Pavilion.

Fedor, a six-footer, had Werdum in trouble in the opening moments after dropping him with a right uppercut that was followed with several more punches. But from his back, Werdum, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and member of Brazil’s vaunted Chute Boxe fight squad, got Fedor into a combination triangle- and arm-choke. Within seconds, the fight was over. The famed Fedor had tapped out.

“I am so very, very happy,’’ the six-foot-four Werdum said. “He is such a strong man. He is a great fighter. I would be glad to fight him again.’’

It was the first “legitimate’’ defeat in Fedor’s legendary career. His other loss, while official, came as a result of a disputed doctor stoppage due to a cut he sustained seconds into a matchup with Japan’s Tsuyoshi Kosaka on Dec. 22, 2000.

“One that doesn’t fall doesn’t stand up. I was concentrating on the strikes and made a mistake,’’ Fedor said. “I will have to go back and analyze what happened.’’

Saturday marked the first time in MMA history, the No. 1 male and female fighters in the world fought in the same cage on the same night.

While Fedor failed in a stunning shocker, the top women’s fighter, Cris Cyborg (10-1) of Curitibia, Brazil, was her usual brutal self as she retained the STRIKEFORCE Women’s World Middleweight (145 pounds) title with a dominant second-round (2:27) knockout (strikes) over game, determined challenger, Jan Finney (8-8) of Springfield, Ohio, in one of the featured fights on SHOWTIME.

In other televised fights, former STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion and hometown favorite, southpaw Cung Le (17-3) of San Jose, convincingly stopped Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith (18-7) of Elk Grove, Calif., at 1:46 in the second round; and popular, local fan favorite and former STRIKEFORCE world lightweight belt-holder Josh “The Punk’’ Thomson (17-3), of San Jose, turned back a determined bid of Pat “Bam Bam’’ Healy (23-16) of Portland, Ore., to score a hard-fought, third-round submission. A tight, even fight ended via rear-naked choke at 4:27.

In an emotional moment midway through the telecast, MMA pioneer and San Jose’s original favorite MMA son, Frank “The Legend’’ Shamrock, made one last walk down the ramp, in a suit, no less, and into the cage where he formally announced his retirement.

As the respectful fans stood and listened in appreciation, Shamrock, who is an expert analyst for SHOWTIME MMA telecasts, took the microphone, surrounded by family, promoters and executives, and said: “I’m 37. My time has come. Tonight, I announce my retirement. Tonight, I enter the cage for the last time as a fighter. I want to thank the people, my friend and an honest promoter, Scott Coker, for always keeping his word. In 2006, I threw one punch and STRIKEFORCE was born. Again, I want to thank all the people, the HP Pavilion and my family who put up with my craziness that was MMA. You, the fans were there when I won, and when I lost, and it was an honor for me to bleed and to break bones and entertain you.’’

Shamrock then slowly bowed to each side of the cage, precipitating one final roar of cheers from those in attendance.

By defeating Fedor, Werdum’s record now against the Emelianenko’s is 2-0. On Nov. 26, 2006, Werdum submitted Fedor’s brother, Aleksander, via arm triangle choke at 3:24 in the first round in Rotterdam, Holland.

Werdum may also have earned an immediate shot at STRIKEFORCE heavyweight world champion, Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem, whom he’s already defeated once. “I am ready to fight anybody,’’ Werdum said.

Cyborg, who had a meaningless point deducted for hitting behind the head in the opening round, praised Finney, who went down several times, but felt the fight could have been halted earlier.

“I was really surprised the fight wasn’t stopped in the first round,’’ said Cyborg after her 10th consecutive victory. “I know she was trying hard, but I could tell I was hurting her, especially when she was down and covering up like she was. But it is my job to keep fighting until the fight is over.’’

Cyborg was crowned the first STRIKEFORCE women’s champion in history on Aug. 15, 2009, after she stopped Gina Carano in the first round at HP Pavilion.

Finney fought as hard as anyone could expect and, true to her word, kept firing back.

“I think this, being a world title fight, could have gone on a little longer,’’ she said. “If I was really hurt, I would have tapped.’’

Southpaw Le, who had dominated Smith before getting stopped last Dec. 19, left little to doubt this time around. A spinning leg kick to the body dropped Smith and after a succession of punches, the referee stepped in. Afterward, an ecstatic Le back-flipped out.

“I want to thank Scott Coker and SHOWTIME. I know what happened last time and was determined not to have it happen again. I knew I was in shape. I was pushed really hard during training. I was totally focused. I didn’t eat pizza. I didn’t eat chocolate for six or seven weeks.

“If Scott Coker wants a rubber match, that would be fine with me. Last time was Scott (Smith’s) night. This was my night. I am the one standing.’’

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The on-again, off-again relationship between
Strikeforce and female slugger Erin Toughill is
apparently in good standing.

Following Strikeforce female champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos' utter
destruction of Jan Finney on the main card of Saturday's "Strikeforce
and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum" event, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker
said Toughill will provide the Brazilian's next challenge
provided she wins in a yet-to-be announced late summer tune-up.

"Erin Toughill is someone we're going to invite into the cage to fight
here," Coker said. "Before the end of the year, you'll see 'Cyborg' and
her in the cage."

SAN JOSE, Calif. - There were some MMA observers who believed prior to
Saturday night's "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum" event
that a Fedor Emelianenko loss would signal the beginning of the end for
both Strikeforce and M-1 Global.

But after Fabrcio Werdum shocked the world - not to mention Emelianenko -
with a 69-second submission victory, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said
nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, while a bout between Emelianenko and Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem had been targeted for a future pay-per-view
event, Coker thinks a rematch between "The Last Emperor" and Werdum may
now prove to be the more lucrative matchup.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Like famed boxer Mike Tyson before him, MMA great
Fedor Emelianenko has always had a presence about him.

Many an opponent of the Russian heavyweight has admitted after the fact that
the icy cold stare of Emelianenko left them at a mental disadvantage
from the opening bell.

Not so for Brazilian Fabricio Werdum, who defeated
Emelianenko in the main event of Saturday's "Strikeforce and M-1 Global:
Fedor vs. Werdum" event in San Jose, Calif. - at least not as far as he
can remember.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Like famed boxer Mike Tyson before him, MMA great
Fedor Emelianenko has always had a presence about him.

Many an opponent of the Russian heavyweight has admitted after the fact that
the icy cold stare of Emelianenko left them at a mental disadvantage
from the opening bell.

Not so for Brazilian Fabricio Werdum, who defeated
Emelianenko in the main event of Saturday's "Strikeforce and M-1 Global:
Fedor vs. Werdum" event in San Jose, Calif. - at least not as far as he
can remember.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Just as he had following each one of his astonishing
27 consecutive victories, Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko entered the night's post-event press conference with little
visible emotion.

Despite the fact that the MMA world had been turned on
its head following Emelianenko's 69-second loss to Fabricio Werdum, "The Last Emperor" remained his usual
stoic self as reporters tried to dissect how and why the sport's
greatest heavyweight had been so quickly deposed.

After all, as Emelianenko explained, how could he be disappointed at
what was obviously God's will?

SAN JOSE, Calif. - History was witnessed by 12,698 people.

That's according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who reported the
attendance figure for Saturday's "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs.
Werdum" card at the evening's post-event press conference at the HP
Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Coker said the night's attendees generated a live gate of $1,066,739.