Phil Baroni and Frank Shamrock. Photo credit: strikeforceusa.net

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- As noted earlier today, both Phil Baroni and Murilo Ninja have been cleared to fight on the Strikeforce card Friday night. The full line-up for the show:

Main Event – Strikeforce World Middleweight (185 lb. limit) Championship Bout:
Frank Shamrock vs. “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni – 5 x 5 Rounds

EliteXC World Middleweight (185 lb.) Championship Bout:
Joey “The Dream Smasher” Villasenor vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua - 5 x 5 Rounds

Additional Pay Per View Bouts:

Cung Le vs. Tony “The Freak” Fryklund – 185 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds
Carter “The Beast” Williams vs. Paul Buentello – heavyweight – 3 x 5 Rounds
Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela vs. Edson Berto – 155 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds

Pay Per View “Swing” Bouts:

Josh “The Punk” Thomson vs. Nick “The Ghost” Gonzalez - 155 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds
Duane “Bang” Ludwig vs. Paul “Semtex” Daley – 170 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds

Preliminary Card – Live Broadcast on ProElite.com:

Rex Richards vs. Steve Jester – superheavyweight (+ 265 lbs.) – 3 x 5 Rounds
Seth Kleinbeck vs. Sam Spengler – 185 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds
Anthony Figueroa vs. Chris Cariaso – 135 lbs. – 3 x 3 Rounds
Jason “Live Wire” Von Flue vs. Luke Stewart – 175 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds
Aaron Wetherspoon vs. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle - 170 lbs. – 3 x 5 Rounds

- Ron Killings and Konnan both quit TNA on Monday night. Konnan hinted at it in an interview with Alex Marvez last week, which is quoted in this week's new issue of Figure Four Weekly. He'll be undergoing kidney transplant surgery in early July if all goes well, and wants to wrestle by the end of the year and promote a lucha group in the US by mid-2008.

- The 3-hour Raw Monday night will air on the Score in Canada starting at 9:00 PM, with replays at 12:30 AM and Tuesday at 3:30 PM.

- This week's new 25,000-word Figure Four Weekly newsletter is packed with pro-wrestling and MMA news and analysis from around the world! Our headline story takes a balanced look at the five-year history of TNA, including a short history of the group, what went wrong early, where Dixie Carter and Panda Energy came from, and why it's foolish to say they have proven anyone wrong by still being alive. We'll look at the PPV in detail, what was great about it, what was not so great, and the major issues the company is still facing. Also, while I hate to say anyone should lose their job, there is one person in TNA that I feel must, for the good of the company. We've also got a full rundown and analysis of the UFC Belfast PPV, including thoughts on the Griffin/Guida decision, Forrest's new fighting style, the two boring main events, and more. We've got a Sherri Martel bio, a look at her life and death, what she was renowned for in her career, memories, who wanted a tribute to her on Raw and who did not, why one side won out, more on the Vince storyline including all the recent changes and what may change very soon, how it was going to be handled in real life (corporate), ratings notes, the supplemental draft and why certain people went certain places, the new role of ECW, developmental notes, PPV preview, Undertaker update, Big Show update, UFC 75 line-up, odds for TUF finale, Jackson bribed?, hot chick loves MMA, UFC Fight Night ratings, tons of UFC press conference notes, who was a total dick to everyone, very detailed and intriguing Konnan interview, including the latest on his health, kidneys and when he plans on wrestling again, TNA ratings, bio of Portland wrestler, promoter and referee Sandy Barr, indy star hurt bad, ROH notes, Hong-Man Choi update, Royce Gracie fails steroid test, Johnny Morton fails steroid tests, tons of notes about both failures including amazingly high levels, what Royce is saying and what his friends are saying, who has passed and who has failed, Strikeforce and Ultimate Fighter line-ups and notes, IFL update, tons of news from Mexico, Vinny reviews the 1985 AWA Live TV special, full reviews of every major TV show including Raw, Smackdown, TNA and TUF (two episodes, including the semi-finals!), and TONS more! Of course, as a member you also get full access to ALL new and archived radio shows dating back to 2005, plus all the new and archived (280-plus issues) Figure Four Weekly newsletters dating back to 2001. To sign up, please click here, or PayPal users can use the Quick Buy link at the top of this page to be online within 60 seconds. Rates start at just $7.99 per month (27 cents a DAY), so it's a steal. Thanks for your support!

- Our latest FREE radio show, the June 18 Bryan & Vinny Show, can be downloaded here.

- My newest Fight Network column is here with a look at Vince McMahon's fiery demise. If you like the columns, they're about 1/25th the length of each issue of Figure Four Weekly, and we've got 300 back issues archived from 2002-today, all available 24/7 with an online membership to this site. See below for more info and ordering details.

- ECW did a 1.6 Tuesday night.

- Kimbo Slice and Ray Mercer are fighting this weekend. Slice is the favorite at -205. It's a three-round MMA fight with five minute rounds, though if it goes the distance it will be ruled a draw.

- The new twist in the Vince McMahon storyline is apparently that a THIRD STRAND OF DNA (besides Vince and the driver) was found in the limo. It's supposedly a well-known star, but the name is being kept secret.

- Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champions Frank Mir and Renato 'Babalu' Sobral to Clash at Tuff-N-Uff's 'Unarmed Combat'. We'll be attending this show live on Friday night

- A stroke can't keep the Hitman down

- Harley Race training camp info

- Lance Storm's latest commentary is here

- Boxing vs. MMA debate

- Interesting CNBC article about McMahon's "death"

- And a follow-up

- JR's latest blog

- WWE Signs Deals in Poland, Serbia, Greece and Turkey

- TMZ on Dead McMahon

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