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LOS ANGELES -- Frank Shamrock, a five-time Ultimate Fighting champion and perhaps the biggest name in the sport, will serve as an analyst and color commentator for the inaugural CBS Elitexc Saturday Night Fights, billed as the first live mixed martial arts event on network television.
The May 31 telecast will be anchored by CBS veteran play-by-play man Gus Johnson, a practicing martial artist and mainstay for the network's college basketball, NBA and NFL games. He'll be joined by Mauro Ranallo, who hosts Showtime's mixed martial arts programming, and Showtime boxing reporter Karyn Bryant.
"The expertise and knowledge of this diverse cast of announcers will not only excite and inform the hardcore fan, but will educate and entertain people tuning in to watch mixed martial arts for the very first time," said Douglas DeLuca, executive chairman of ProElite, which produces the Elitexc fights in partnership with Showtime.
Shamrock, a pioneer of full-contact cage fighting and the first UFC middleweight champion, has beaten some of the sport's biggest names, including Tito Ortiz, Bas Rutten, Enson Inoue, Jeremy Horn and Phil Baroni. He once had a guest-starring role on Walker, Texas Ranger and is the younger brother of mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler Ken Shamrock.
The CBS event will be broadcast live May 31 from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., at 9 p.m. ET.
