Former UFC champions Pat Miletich and Frank Shamrock have agreed to fight later this year and the bout is likely to take place an an upcoming Strikeforce event in April or May, Miletich recently told
Five Ounces of Pain, though the matchup has not yet been finalized.
“Frank Shamrock and I have verbally agreed to fight each other, but from what I understand he’s being difficult in the negotiations,” said Miletich. “For whatever reason I think he’s having trouble pulling the trigger. He may be nervous about getting slapped around, but that’s the way it sits right now. Hopefully I can find someone else to fight if he doesn’t want to do it. I want to get in there before Summer.”
Miletich (29-7-2), a 38-fight veteran and former UFC welterweight champion, has fought just twice since losing to Shonie Carter in 2002 in his final UFC bout, dropping a 2006 IFL fight against Renzo Gracie before rebounding in December with a second-round knockout of Thomas Denny.
Shamrock (23-10-2), a former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, is coming off back-to-back losses to Cung Le in March 2008 and Nick Diaz last April, before which he had won five of his last six fights dating back to 1999.
If signed, Miletich will move up in weight to fight Shamrock at a catchweight or the 185-pound middleweight limit.
Strikeforce currently has a CBS-televised event scheduled for April 17, before its expected to return to Showtime in May.
