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Sherblog: Inside Access to Shamrock & More


Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. PT -- A Gym for Melendez

We finally made it to the gym -- at least I think it’s a gym. We are in an area full of artist’s lofts, but the address matches so we head inside.

Yep, this is the place. There is a mat room in front with a small workout area with weights and cardio machines as well as a small kitchen in the middle. The back of the space is a living room with a staircase heading up to the main living area.

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It is a sweet setup, although I am not too sure I would want to live with the normal smell of a gym wafting throughout my pad. I guess it forces you to keep it clean.

Gil is ready for us and proceeds to go through his workout before sitting down for the interview. He makes it abundantly clear that Josh Thomson was the better man in their first engagement but is just as clear that he plans on producing a different outcome come April 11.

Gil has to head out to get his eye work done for his medical clearance, and we are ready to head off to the airport. We hope you guys liked the blog, and judging from some of the responses, you did. Perhaps it will become a staple of our traveling circus.

In the meantime, make sure you check out the fruits of our labors when the interviews and photo galleries run in the next week or so on Sherdog.com.


Wednesday, Noon -- Going to See Gil

Time to get packed up. We have to meet Gil Melendez at his new gym near Candlestick Park. It’s been a successful trip minus the Nick Diaz whiff, but we are ready to get back home.


Tuesday, 10 p.m. PT -- A Giant Dodger Fan

Rolling across the Bay Bridge, the San Francisco skyline is a pretty sight. Right up to the point where I see that dump AT&T Park off to my left.

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Foster: A Giant Dodger fan.
In all seriousness, as much as it pains me to say it, that is a beautiful yard. Dave, Foster and I hit it up last summer when we were up to shoot at AKA. Imagine my surprise when my friend and fellow lifetime Dodger fan Foster came back to our seats wearing a Giants beanie. He tried to make some excuse about it being cold, but I can tell you with complete certainty, I don’t care if it was the middle of a blizzard, you wouldn’t catch me dead in that ugly thing.

Anyways, its time to hit the hay, we have a busy day set up tomorrow with “El Nino,” Gilbert Melendez, at his brand-spankin new gym here in the city. Make sure you check back tomorrow for more hijinx.



Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. PT -- Mendez on his UFC Heavyweight Prospect

AKA trainer Javier Mendez discusses the rapid ascent of Cain Velasquez, who fights Heath Herring at UFC 99 on June 13.















Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. PT -- No Diaz

We arrive a little early at the gym here in Stockton to interview the Diaz brothers. Let me tell you, this is the type of gym I always feel is conducive to creating good fighters. Nothing too fancy, a blue-collar looking place that has seen its share of dreams and hard work coalesce into success.

A kid’s class is going on, so we wait for the Diaz boys to make their entrance. According to Nick, they should be in at either 7:00 or 7:30.

As 8 p.m. rolls upon us and our phone calls and text messages are not returned, it is obvious we have been stood up. Now this might be something Mandel is used to, but I am not. In my nearly 10 years of covering MMA, this is a first.

Note added April 6: Apparently we were at the wrong gym in Stockton. Diaz was training in Lodi, but we were not informed after multiple calls and texts to Nick and his manager, Cesar Gracie.


Tuesday, 3:20 p.m. PT -- Thomson’s Own Greasegate

Josh Thomson says greasing, the never-ending subject after the B.J. Penn-Georges St. Pierre rematch, is nothing new in MMA.

He cites the example of his March 2006 bout against Clay Guida:









Tuesday, 12:05 p.m. PT -- Diaz Bros Tonight

Just wrapped up the Thomson interview. As we were wrapping up the rest of the AKA crew was filing into the gym. Thomson, who had done a light 45-minute workout for the media, said his goodbyes and headed back for what he called his “real training” with the rest of the team.

As we were heading out the door, we ran into Jon Fitch. He affirmed that he would be looking for some payback for AKA teammate Josh Koscheck when he steps in the cage with Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 in July.

Up next for Dave and me are the Diaz brothers tonight in Stockton.


Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. PT -- Getting Hit

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Josh Thomson is reminiscing about the hardest anyone has ever hit him. The Yves Edwards kick that knocked him out was the first thing that came to my mind. He mentioned Hermes Franca’s right hand that sent him to the canvas as another big shot, but he said it was a right hand from Josh Koscheck during a sparring session that wins the prize.

“He hit me right in the forehead,” Thomson said, “and for someone to knock the wind out of you by hitting you there, it has to be hard.”

Kos actually backed off for a second to check on him, something he usually does not afford sparring partners.

“My whole body was vibrating, and I think he could see it in my eyes,” Thomson said.





Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. PT -- Media Convene in San Jose

Josh Thomson’s media day for his Strikeforce rematch with Gilbert Melendez is in full swing. Local television affiliates and a slew of online outlets have descended on American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., for a brief workout and a question and answer session.


Monday, 1:15 p.m. PT -- Shamrock the Father

Heading out from Shamrock’s. Frank was a little subdued, but his boxing coach, Tony DeMaria, was outspoken enough for the both of them: He said Nick Diaz has absolutely nothing for Shamrock and he will be shocked if it goes beyond a few minutes.

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Tony DeMaria coaches Shamrock.
Frank could not stop talking about his 11-month-old daughter, Nicolette. He mentioned his 20-year-old son and how he missed out on all the little things a parent gets to cherish. It was a side of Frank not many people get to see, a sharp contrast from his brash, outspoken persona.

The video interview will be up on Sherdog some time next week, and you can peep some of Dave’s photos now.


Tomorrow we are off to Josh Thomson’s open media workout at American Kickboxing Academy before heading to Stockton to see the Diaz brothers.


Monday, 11:00 a.m. PT -- Weird Space

We just got to Frank Shamrock’s new facility, which has been open since January. It was an old Scottish Rights Temple that was also used as a Freemason Temple for about 40-years. Now it’s an athletic club, and Shamrock Submission Fighting is located on the top floor in a converted attic.

This is definitely the weirdest space I have ever been in for a training center. It has about a 40-foot pyramiding ceiling with a huge skylight that bathed the room in sunlight.


Sunday, 11:55 p.m. PT -- Sherblogging the Bay Area

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Frank Shamrock stands alone.
It’s a full schedule for the next couple of days. Dave Mandel and I are heading up to the Bay Area to shoot video and photos of some of the top fighters in the region, many of whom will be fighting next week at the April 11 Strikeforce event. Much of the footage will be used for Sherdog’s pre-Strikeforce coverage next week, but we’ll be blogging about the trip here and adding plenty of other material.

Up first will be Frank Shamrock, who’s winding down his training camp in preparation for his main event bout against Nick Diaz.

Speaking of Diaz, he’s on the agenda too. As controversial a fighter as you will find in MMA, Diaz casts off conventional wisdom at just about every turn, including his training regimen. His coach, Cesar Gracie, informed me Sunday that Nick was out competing in a half-triathlon. Twelve days until his fight and he’s competing in a half-triathlon?

We won’t know until Monday when Diaz will be available. Other interviews are scheduled with Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields.

Check back often for updates, as we go into each fighter’s camp and take you with us.
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