In the third installment of the Strikeforce Fighting Championship we see a loaded 10-bout card with a half dozen UFC or PRIDE veterans in the line-up.

But before we see “Tank” and “The Headhunter” attempt to pound each into jelly and watch Thomson and Ludwig play a chess match where the next move could be the final one, there’s a full card of action to wet your appetite, which has undergone a considerable transformation in the last few days.

Cain Velasquez vs. Jesse Fujarczyk

Cain Velasquez makes his MMA debut as a member of the American Kickboxing Academy. He was the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Wrestler of the Year and won 21 matches in a row. He also placed fifth at the 2005 NCAA Championships, which earned him his first All-American honors. Now training in MMA, the accomplished wrestler is anxious to make his transition from mat to cage.

He faces Jesse Fujarczyk (Pictures), a Strikeforce veteran who lost to Daniel Puder (Pictures) on the promotion’s first card in March. At 3-1 in MMA, Fujarczyk has more MMA experience than Velasquez, but the pedigree clearly sits in the wrestler’s corner.

I think Velasquez will perform well in his debut. The accomplished wrestler should be able to neutralize Fujarczyk strengths and get it to the mat where he can establish control. Velasquez by ground-and-pound.

Frank Magallon vs. Sam Spengler (Pictures)

Frank Magallon, known as “The Cisco Kid,” is 2-2 as a pro in MMA. He began fighting professionally 2003 in the Gladiator Challenge promotion where he beat George Alcanter due to a doctor’s stoppage. He makes his Strikeforce debut following a corner stoppage of Jarod Saenz (Pictures) at Gladiator Challenge 53.

Sam Spengler (Pictures) is 3-0 in MMA with all three wins coming in the last eight months. “The Ram” fights out of Cung Le (Pictures)’s Ush! Fight Team. An avid grappler since his youth, Spengler played football and rugby before returning to wrestling in 2000. He took up kickboxing and began training at Cung Le (Pictures)'s Martial Arts Training Center in San Jose.

Sam looks to be the real deal with a complete fight game and he’s undefeated thus far. Training with Le, who recently made a successful transition from San Shou to MMA under the Strikeforce banner, should provide him with the full arsenal of strikes to compliment his grappling skills.

Jeremiah Metcalf (Pictures) vs. Luke Stewart (Pictures)

Jeremiah Metcalf (Pictures) fights out of Team Voodoo, the same gym that produced Carter Williams (Pictures). He brings a professional MMA record of 2-1. He stopped both opponents with strikes and all three fights took place in the last five months. Metcalf’s win came over fighters who recently returned to the ring or cage after substantial periods of inactivity.

Luke Stewart (Pictures) made his pro MMA debut on the last Strikeforce card with a submission win over KOTC veteran Bill Duvall (Pictures). The jiu-jitsu black belt has taken part in MMA smokers, so he’s not as inexperienced as his record indicates.

Metcalf trains in a solid camp but he may not have the skills to roll with a jiu-jitsu black belt when they go to the mat. And we know it likely will. Stewart by submission.

Carlton Jones (Pictures) vs. Mike Cook

Carlton Jones (Pictures) is 1-2 as a pro in MMA with his lone win coming over Chris Botelho (Pictures). Not to be dismissed, both of Jones’ losses have come to tough customers under the World Extreme Cagefighting banner. He stopped via strikes to undefeated submission stylist Shane Carwin (Pictures) and then was punished by Pit Fight Team’s Glover Teixeira (Pictures).

Mike Cook, a Calif. native, has just one pro appearance under his belt. He stopped John Dodson with strikes in the first round of their contest at Gladiator Challenge 54.

Carlton was scheduled to face Kenneth Williams but recently his foe was switched to Cook. Williams had more pro experience but had no pro victories so this was conceivably an even swap of opponents. Jones has fought more often, is physically larger, has trimmed down dramatically — 255 to 225 — and in my opinion, faced far superior competition. Jones by TKO.

Philip Perez (Pictures) vs. Brandon Shuey (Pictures)

Philip Perez (Pictures) fights out of the American Kickboxing Academy and sports a pro MMA record of 5-3 (2 NC) with an additional win as an amateur. He’s been involved in the sport since 1999 but only recently returned to action in 2004. Following his debut win over IVC veteran Doug Evans (Pictures), Perez submitted WEC vet Cruz Gomez, won the IFC 10 four-man tournament and then blasted Matt Philips in less than 30 seconds.

Could he have started out any better? He fought a No Contest bout with Rage in the Cage hero Nathan Bulitta and made his KOTC debut against Millenia Jiu-Jitsu leader Javier Vazquez (Pictures).

He would fight twice more before leaving the sport, beating IFL Tiger Shark Justin Jones (Pictures) and losing “The Battle of Fresno” to WEC superstar Cole Escovedo (Pictures). In 2004 Perez returned to fighting and was pounded by Olaf Alfonso (Pictures). In his most recent fight he fought a No Contest match Julian Samaniego (Pictures) in a bout that lasted under a minute.

“Big Dawg” Shuey is an avid wrestler, a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Pedro Sauer and studied Muay Thai.

He can also lay claim to training UFC veterans Jens Pulver (Pictures), Mike Kyle (Pictures) and Justin Eilers (Pictures). The Idaho SuperFights bantamweight champion and Rumble in the Octagon super bantamweight champion has a 5-3 pro MMA record with a 15-2 record as an amateur. “Big Dawg” began fighting in 1996 and met the biggest challenge of his early career in ’99, when he fought UFC vet Josh Thomson (Pictures).

He turned pro after the loss to Thomson. UFC and K-1 veteran Ivan Menjivar (Pictures) submitted Shuey in under a minute, setting off a series of three straight losses including another submission loss to KOTC vet Del Hawkins (Pictures) and a lightning fast loss to Pit Fight Team destroyer Antonio Banuelos (Pictures). He comes to the Strikeforce show off a win in July.

Shuey has trained with the best and fought some tough customers in the last three years. Perez is no pushover but, this may be a step up that he isn’t ready to take just yet. Shuey by submission.

Trevor Prangley (Pictures) vs. Anthony Ruiz (Pictures)

Trevor Prangley (Pictures) is a South African submission wrestler, an Olympic wrestling team alternate, a two-time Junior College All American and a Junior College Nationals runner up at North Idaho College.

Prangley placed second in both the men’s advanced super heavyweight and men’s open divisions of the American Grappling Association/NMAA USA Championship. He is the Professional Fighting Association promoter with a pro record of 11-4 and an overall record of 28-6 in MMA.

Trevor has trained with Roger Neff and the rest of the Team Idaho and co-owns the Idaho Lion’s Den, but these days he calls the American Kickboxing Academy home.

Trevor first got involved in MMA in 1998 after he blew out his knee in a national wrestling tournament. With surgery to his knee complete and his competitive thirst not quenched, he hooked up with Idaho native Derek Cleveland and began training jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and other martial arts in preparation for something new. He has faced his share of solid competition including Chael Sonnen (Pictures) (won by armbar), Brazilian Renato Sobral (Pictures) (lost by decision) and Russian Andrei Semenov (Pictures) (lost a decision), all before entering the UFC.

Prangley debuted in the Octagon at UFC 48 and submitted Curtis Stout (Pictures) with a neck crank in the second round of UFC 48. He went on to beat Team Quest fighter Matt Horwich (Pictures), Travis Lutter (Pictures) and lost a decision to Jeremy Horn (Pictures). Prangley also lost his last UFC appearance, a decision to Team Quest wrestler Chael Sonnen (Pictures) in April.

Anthony Ruiz (Pictures) brings a pro MMA record of 14-9 and had been training with Nikk Covert (Pictures) and Eli Joslin (Pictures) of Team Kihon. “El Toro” currently trains at AAA Academy of Kickboxing where kickboxer Carter Williams (Pictures) trained for his appearance in the Las Vegas K-1 tournament.

Anthony debuted in the Gladiator Challenge in 2003. He lost his first bout but he went on to win five in a row before facing more experienced competition in the form of Dusty Arden (Pictures) and Jaime Jara (Pictures) (twice). He would score a significant win over Bryan Pardoe (Pictures) but his fight record was up and down throughout ’04 and ’05. This included a stretch where he lost three in a row including submission losses to undefeated fighters Bryan Travers (Pictures) and UFC vet Eddie Sanchez (Eddie Sanchez' class='LinkSilver'>Pictures).

In the last year Ruiz has climbed back up, suffering just one loss and that was to UFC veteran Vladimir Matyushenko (Pictures). He comes to Strike Force off a win with strikes in the WEC in August.

He’s gone the distance in his last four bouts with a record of 2-2. However the two losses were against likely some of the best competition he’s ever faced: Horn and Sonnen. Ruiz has a good overall game but he has been susceptible to submission. Look for Trevor to take advantage. Prangley by submission.

Casey Olson (Pictures) vs. Bobby Sanchez

Casey Olson (Pictures) trains with the Pit Fight Team under the guidance of current UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) and trainer John Hackleman.

He has a national ranking of tenth in NCAA Division I and is a Fresno, California native. The accomplished wrestler explored MMA and earned his “Underdog” nickname after a double overtime wrestling match with then No. 2 ranked 149-pound competitor Travis Paulson. He is 3-0 in MMA with all three wins taking place under the World Extreme Cagefighting.

Bobby Sanchez is a 19-year-old kickboxing and submission-wrestling stylist fighting out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Sanchez carries a professional MMA record of 0-1, but scored a victory as an amateur. Sanchez made his pro debut in the Valor Fighting promotion in August of this year and now sets his sites on Strikeforce.

Not to say they are blatantly setting Sanchez up, but Olson has potential “MMA poster boy” written all over him. If he can stay undefeated he will quickly become one of the Strikeforce superstars and this is a fight Olson should win. Olson by TKO.

Jason Von Flue (Pictures) vs. Eric Wray

Jason Von Flue (Pictures), known as “Live Wire,” is a submission fighter with a professional MMA record of 11-6-1. He trains with the Pit Fight Team under and started just to get in shape. He fought for the first time as an amateur in 1999. Jason won the IFC/Warriors Quest 3 eight-man tournament and is a former CFF champion.

Von Flue was brought in to The Ultimate Fighter to replace an injured Josh Burkman (Pictures). The John Hackleman disciple took a unanimous decision win over Jorge Gurgel (Pictures) in an elimination bout and battled Joe Stevenson (Pictures) in the semifinal, losing late in the first round.

In his UFC debut Von Flue beat TUF competitor Alex Karalexis (Pictures) by choking him out in the third round. He returned to lose a decision to yet another TUF competitor in Luke Cummo and comes into Saturday’s fight off his second consecutive loss, a submission at the hands of Joe Riggs (Pictures).

Eric Wray is 5-0 as a pro in MMA and 4-0 as an amateur. The undefeated American Kickboxing Academy product won an IFC four-man tournament while fighting as an amateur and took out less experienced talent before turning pro. Wray knocked out Jake Garcia in his debut four years ago and choked out each of his next three opponents before tapping Theo McDonald via armbar in Mexico.

Wray trains with world champion kickboxer Brian Schwartz and boxing and kickboxing champion Eddie Croft. He had aspirations of being a pro boxer and has studied Tae Kwon Do to round out his striking. Eric is also a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Wray is certainly impressive but Von Flue is so much further along in his career and he undoubtedly faced the better competition. Another incredibly important factor is that this is Wray’s first MMA bout in two years. That’s asking a lot. Von Flue by TKO.

Josh Thomson (Pictures) vs. Duane Ludwig (Pictures)

Josh Thomson (Pictures) has a pro MMA record of 9-2-0 (1 NC) and an amateur record of 16-1. He is one of the founders of Team Idaho (along with Trevor Prangley (Pictures), Roger Neff and Judy Neff) and currently trains with at the American Kickboxing Academy.

Thomson is the WPKO World and North American champion, NAKO Northwestern champion, the North American Submission Fighting Championships winner and wrestled at Stanford University. Josh fought on many local shows in Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore. and has been fighting MMA since 1997.

Early in his career Thomson fought to a No Contest with eventual K-1 HERO’S champion Norifumi Yamamoto (Pictures); an accidental groin strike forced a halt to the action. Thomson has defeated kickboxing champion Rob McCullough (Pictures), Doug Evans (Pictures) and he went 2-1 in the UFC. He knocked out Gerald Strebendt (Pictures) in his UFC debut and looked very impressive in the decision over Hermes Franca (Pictures) in his return to the cage.

His last bout there was against Yves Edwards (Pictures). Though Thomson lost the match, due to the frenetic pace of the bout and dramatic KO finish it serves as a highlight for both men.

Thomson made his PRIDE debut by submitting Daisuke Sugie (Pictures) in the first round. “The Punk” fought a Muay Thai match in June of ’05 to test his stand-up skills and stopped Toshiyuki Nakagawa with strikes in less than a minute. He fought another Thai-rules bout where he stopped Kyle Breezy with strikes in the second round.

Back in MMA, “The Punk” went 25 minutes with Clayton Guida (Pictures) and tried applying submission after submission, but could not tap the Chicago native, losing a unanimous decision in March. He returned to the Strikeforce and battled veteran Harris Sarmiento (Pictures) into the third round before submitting the Hawaiian via triangle choke.

Duane Ludwig (Pictures) is 13-5 in MMA and has been the UCC world lightweight champion, the Extreme Shoot Fighting lightweight champion and the Ring of Fire NHB welterweight champ.

“Bang” trains in Colorado and is considered one of the best American stand-up strikers in his weight class in the world. He holds the IMTF. Professional Intercontinental Muay Thai middleweight title, the IKKC. American continental International rule welterweight belt, the WKA. Professional American Muay Thai middleweight crown, the ISKA world Muay Thai light middleweight title and was the K-1 WORLD MAX 2002 primary USA tournament winner.

Duane’s MMA career began in 2000 in the King of the Cage promotion. He went 4-1 that year, losing only to Kelly Dullanty. Duane continued to move from promotion to promotion, picking up wins along the way. After a year away from the sport, “Bang” knocked out former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver (Pictures) in just over one minute and had an instant career highlight.

Ludwig’s UFC debut came against Genki Sudo (Pictures), and he won a controversial (but unanimous) decision over the Japanese superstar. He followed that with a quick submission loss to B.J. Penn (Pictures) in the K-1 Romanex show and then was knocked by UFC vet Sam Morgan (Pictures) in the Ring of Fire.

His last UFC appearance saw him deliver a devastating KO against Jonathan Goulet (Pictures), stopping the accomplished Canadian striker in just 11 seconds. In the last nine months Duane picked up two more first-round wins over beatable opponents. He also lost his Strikeforce debut to Tyson Griffin (Pictures). Now Ludwig enters the cage again after fighting to a draw with Fernando "Cool" Calleros in K-1 Las Vegas.

All signs point to this being the fight of the night. Both fighters have competed in memorable bouts and hopefully this one lives up to expectations because the winner will meet Gilbert Melendez (Pictures) for the Strikeforce lightweight title.

“Bang” has the obvious edge in striking but “The Punk” owns a superior ground game and likely better overall skills. If Thomson is “on” he may be able to manhandle Ludwig the way Griffin did four months ago. Look for an improved takedown defense from Ludwig but his instinct is to stand and trade and that reversion back to what he knows best will signal the beginning of the end. Thomson with strikes on the mat.

David Abbott vs. Paul Buentello (Pictures)

David “Tank” Abbott carries a professional record of 9-11 in MMA. Abbott did do some college wrestling at Long Beach State and has worked with a boxing coach for many years in a Westminster, Calif. gym. He even cops to studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu these days.

We first got a glimpse of things to come at UFC 6 when Abbott knocked out 400-pound John Matua in 20 seconds and proceeded to dance over his convulsing body. He won and lost to a whose who of UFC veterans during the early portion of his career.

Most notably, Abbott blew through the early rounds of the Ultimate Ultimate ’96 tournament and had returning tournament champ Don Frye (Pictures) in trouble in the finals. But a mixture of fatigue and poor footwork resulted in Abbott hitting the mat and being submitted by “The Predator.”

Tank would continue to compete in the Octagon but with the discontinuation of the eight-man tournament format and the rise of a new breed of athlete like “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (Pictures), he would never come close to winning a title again.

Abbott traveled to South America for the UFC’s only Ultimate Brazil event and was knocked out by then rising star Pedro Rizzo (Pictures). He left the sport for five years, pursuing a career in pro wrestling but his true called brought him back to the cage.

In his return to the UFC, Abbott faced an in-shape Frank Mir (Pictures), who went from a shoulder lock to a toehold and forced the brawler to tap without taking any damage at UFC 41. He followed that by losing to Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) by arm-triangle choke early at UFC 43.

Then there was the “Cabbage” saga. Abbott and Wesley Correira (Pictures) first battled at UFC 45 with “Cabbage” stopping “Tank” via a cut, nearly inciting a riot in the cage. Abbott got his revenge at Rumble on the Rock 7, dropping the Hawaiian slugger on his own turf in the first round.

He returns to fighting just over a year since his last appearance, a submission loss to Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) in Abbott’s PRIDE debut.

Buentello trains at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. “The Head Hunter” is 20-8-0 in MMA and has been fighting since 1997.

Buentello got his start in the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation in Amarillo, Texas, which was once owned and run by former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner (Pictures). In his first event, Buentello lost in the final of the USWF 4 eight-man tournament to Tanner.

Bouts in other small shows prepared him for yet another tournament, as he advanced to the finals of the IFC 7 tourney. He beat UFC veteran Jason Godsey (Pictures) but lost in the final to UFC vet Gan McGee (Pictures).

“The Headhunter” then met former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) for the KOTC heavyweight title. Rodriguez finished Buentello via kneebar. He would make the KOTC his home from ’02 to ’04, fighting outside the promotion just twice (both wins with strikes). He scored back-to-back knockouts over current AKA stable-mate Mike Kyle (Pictures) and veteran Roger Neff, as well as splitting a pair of bouts with the “Bad Seed” Bobby Hoffman (Pictures).

During last year’s Super Bowl weekend Buentello made his UFC debut and he knocked out Justin Eilers (Pictures). He would finish his stint with the UFC sporting a 3-1 record in the promotion. His only loss was a KO to former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski (Pictures). Paul’s only fight in ’06 was a TKO victory over Gilbert Aldana (Pictures) in February.

If you’re looking for grace, beauty or a technical display of skills I suggest you look elsewhere. The Thomson-Ludwig fight should bring all of that and more. This will simply be a slugfest. You’ve heard the phrase “a puncher’s chance”? It applies here.

Neither fighter will be going for an omoplata shoulder lock and transition that to an ankle hold. They’re more likely to aspire to end the contest in two hits: they hit you, you hit the ground. The evaluation here is simple. Buentello trains. Make no mistake. I know Tank has raw power and is capable of knocking anyone out at any time, but we all know his feelings about training.

Paul will come to the cage in shape. He has two other distinct advantages over Tank: he kicks and can KO opponents with kicks (Tank has always had a problem with kickers) and Paul has a two-inch height advantage, which usually translates into a slight reach advantage. Buentello by TKO, possibly a cut stoppage.