“Shamrock Vs. Cung Le” Start Time Bumped Up

Courtesy of EliteXC:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. — HP Pavilion doors will open at 4:30 p.m, an hour and a half earlier than originally scheduled, for the “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” mixed martial arts mega-card on Saturday March 29th, and the first bout will begin at 5 p.m. The main card, consisting of six fights, will commence at 6 p.m. All tickets issued as of March 2nd reflect the new start time.

Tickets for “Shamrock vs. Cung Le,” priced from $30, are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (408-998-TIXS), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), EliteXC’s official website (www.ProElite.com) and Strikeforce’s official website (www.Strikeforceusa.net).

In the main event, mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock (23-8-1), will put his Strikeforce world middleweight (185 lb. limit) title on the line against Bay Area arch-rival and undefeated world kickboxing champion turned mixed martial arts contender, Cung Le (21-0).

In another middleweight showdown, former Pride Fighting Championship star, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (16-11), will battle EliteXC standout, Joey “Dream Smasher” Villasenor (24-6), in a middleweight (185 lb. limit). Two days ago, Cyborg quickly submitted Makoto Takimoto with a heel hook in the first round of action

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, Jake Shields (20-4-1), will take on Drew “The Master” Fickett (31-5) in a welterweight (170 lb. limit) matchup. Shields is seeking his 10th consecutive victory and Fickett is looking for his 4th.

The live SHOWTIME telecast of “Shamrock vs. Cung Le” will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

About ProElite:

ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters [elitexc.com]. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of MMA enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community TM

About Strikeforce:

Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” Since then, it has co-produced the first SHOWTIME PPV mixed martial arts event in history with its world championship “Shamrock vs. Baroni” card on June 22nd of this year followed by the first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion on September 29th.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL®, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV® and is an equity investor in ProElite Inc., a Mixed Martial Arts event promotion company.