NICK DIAZ Vs. SCOTT “HANDS OF STEEL” SMITH ADDED TO JUNE 6 STRIKEFORCE FIGHT CARD

NICK DIAZ Vs. SCOTT  “HANDS OF STEEL” SMITH ADDED TO JUNE 6  STRIKEFORCE FIGHT CARD 

Middleweight Brawl  Will Precede Lawler vs. Shields Main Event 
Live on SHOWTIME from  Scottrade Center, St.  Louis, Mo.   

NEW  YORK  (April 27, 2009)–Fresh off their respective thrilling wins, the
versatile Nick Diaz (19-7) and knockout artist Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith
(17-5) are  eager to get back in the cage.  The  pair will square off on
Saturday, June  6, in a special 180-pound showdown during the live SHOWTIME®
telecast  of Strikeforce:  “Lawler vs. Shields” from the  Scottrade Center
in St. Louis, Mo.   
“I think this is a  great fight for me, but I really hate that (Smith)
brings his kids to every one  of his fights because now I’m going to be made out
to be the bad guy or some  sort of villain after I beat him up,” said the
25-year-old Diaz, who shocked the  MMA world with his complete dominance of
four-time world champion Frank Shamrock in the Strikeforce main  event on
SHOWTIME from HP Pavilion in San Jose on Saturday, April 11.  “At the end of
the day, I’m going to do  what I have to do though and take him out.”
Against Shamrock,  Diaz demonstrated his versatility.  The Gracie Jiu Jitsu
black  belt spent the majority of the match trading strikes—and getting the
better of  the exchanges.  Known for his  prowess on the mat, Diaz is also
a professional boxer.   
Known for his  outstanding endurance, Diaz just completed a 5K race and
will compete in an  upcoming triathlon near his hometown in Stockton, Calif.,
in order to prepare for what could be  a marathon slugfest in the cage with
Smith.
Earlier on the  “Shamrock vs. Diaz” fight card, the 29-year-old Smith
prevailed in a brutal and  action-packed fight that surely will be candidate for
2009 Fight of the Year.  The thrilling, seesaw battle with  middleweight
Benji “The Razor”  Radach ended when Smith landed one monstrous punch in the
middle of the  third round. 
“I’m pretty much 100%  right now, other than some stitches I have that are
tender,” said Smith, who  returned to training on Monday, April 13, two
days after his victory.   
“I usually take a few  weeks off, get out of shape and go up to about 210
pounds and wind up spending a  few weeks just getting back in shape,” he
said, “but I decided I wasn’t going to  do that this time.  I’m 195 pounds 
right now and I feel great.”
With 15 of his 17  wins having come by way of knockout, Smith, a Muay Thai
specialist, has lived up  to his nickname.  To prepare  adequately for Diaz’
s grappling capabilities, Smith will work with Brazilian  Jiu-Jitsu black
belt Ricardo  Barros.   
“Diaz is a great  fighter,” acknowledged Smith.  “He’s  going to come in
there and out grapple me and out strike me so what I have to do  is go in
there and beat him up.  I  actually think this is more of a dangerous fight
for him than it is for  me.”
Tickets for Strikeforce: “Lawler vs. Shields”  are on sale at the
Scottrade Center box office as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000),
Ticketmaster  online (www.ticketmaster.com), and  Strikeforce’s official
website (www.strikeforce.com). 
The live SHOWTIME telecast of the event begins at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on
the West Coast).  In the highly anticipated main event,  “Ruthless” Robbie
Lawler (16-4) will face off with fellow top-ranked  superstar Jake Shields
(22-4-1) in a 182-pound catch weight fight.   
Additionally, “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni (13-10) will  collide with
Joe “Diesel” Riggs  (29-10) in a 170-pound contest.   
Doors at the  Scottrade  Center will open for Strikeforce: “Lawler vs.
Shields” at  6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 6. The first non-televised
preliminary bout will  begin at 7 p.m.   
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.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the
parent company of  Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports &
Entertainment  (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation
aspects  of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. 
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 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®.