Strikeforce and Elite XC will present their second joint show, headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le in a five-round fight for the Strikeforce middleweight title, on March 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

A news conference involving both promotions to officially announce the fight is expected to take place some time next week. The event will air live on Showtime and include two matches from Strikeforce, two from Elite XC, and one match pitting a Strikeforce fighter against an Elite XC fighter. 

No other matches are finalized for the show, but it is expected Gilbert Melendez will defend the Strikeforce lightweight title and that Jake Shields will also be fighting on the show.

Shamrock and Le have been the two biggest drawing cards for Strikeforce, which has drawn the largest MMA crowds in North America besides UFC. A joint venture between the two promotions June 22 on Showtime, featuring Shamrock beating Phil Baroni and Le beating Tony Fryklund, drew the highest rating (1.72), for a non-UFC MMA show in North America.

Le, 5-0, is a San Shou specialist who switched to MMA in 2005.

He's a major local draw and hasn't lost in San Jose on a major show in any form of combat. Shamrock, 25-8-2, a pioneer in the sport, would be, by far, his toughest career test. 

Shamrock, the first UFC middleweight (now light heavyweight) champion as well as an early Pancrase champion, is coming off a win over Phil Baroni -- his most impressive win since his 1999 win over Tito Ortiz. 

However, he fought sparingly from 2000-2004, returning as a regular fighter when the sport exploded in popularity. His second-round choke out submission of Baroni made him the first Strikeforce middleweight champion.

The fight is intriguing because the one facet of the game Shamrock would have a decided edge is on the ground.  However, Le has never been taken down in an MMA fight and has strong wrestling to go with his flashy stand-up. Le hasn't faced as accomplished a stand-up fighter as Shamrock since going into MMA.