In other main card action, Shane Del Rosario, Luke Rockhold, Merrit Warren, and Zoila Frausto all earned victories.

The event’s official results were:

MAIN CARD

• Billy Evangelista def. Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Shane Del Rosario def. Brandon Cash via submission (omoplata) — Round 1, 2:57
• Luke Rockhold def Jesse Taylor via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 3:42
• Merritt Warren def. Thomas Diagne via submission (heel hook) — Round 1, 3:49
• Zoila Frausto def. Elisha Helsper via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Ben Holscher def Johnny Goh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Casey Olson def. Chris Culley via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:36
• Cole Escovido def. Maurice Eazel via TKO (strikes) –Round 1, 1: 47
• Rico Altamirano def. Alex Trevino via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PHOTOS (courtesy Tom Casino/Showtime)

All 18 fighters scheduled to be in action at the event weighed-in yesterday for their bouts and the weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD

• Billy Evangelista (159) vs. Jorge Gurgel (159)
• Brandon Cash (256) vs. Shane del Rosario (240)
• Luke Rockhold (185.5) vs. Jesse Taylor (186)
• Thomas Diagne (155.5) vs. Merrit Warren (154)
• Elisha Hellspur (134.5) vs. Zoila Frausto (132.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)

• Johnny Goh (154) vs. Ben Holscher (155.5)
• Chris Culley (148.5) vs. Casey Olson (145.5)
• Cole Escovedo (135.5) vs. Maurice Eazel (133)
• Rico Altamirano (171) vs. Alex Trevino (170.5)

Stop back to MMAFrenzy.com later tonight for results from the event and check out quotes and photos from the main card below.

QUOTES:

BILLY EVANGELISTA:

• “He’s (Gurgel) an explosive, tough guy. He’s aggressive and experienced on the ground.
• “I don’t have much of a game plan. I’ll adjust as I get in there.
• “I need to be focused on the fight and be ready for any openings that come. I’ve trained for every aspect and I’m expecting everything in there. I just have to fight my fight.”

JORGE GURGEL:

• “I respect him (Evangelista) as a fighter. He’s well rounded and he has a lot of heart. He’d not going to give up.
• “He’s well rounded, but I think I’m a better fighter and have more experience.
• “It’s going to be a tough fight. I’m really looking forward to it.
• “I’m excited to be booed for the first time in my career. They’ll boo me when I get in there, but they won’t be booing me when it’s over.”

BRANDON CASH “MONEY”:

• “I don’t think he’s fought someone as hungry as me or as powerful as me. This is my backyard, so he’ll have to do a lot to take me out.
• “I don’t see this going past the first round, not the way I fight. There won’t be much feeling out, we’ll just go out there and fight.
• “As long as I get the win, I’ll be happy.
• “I want him to quit. Once I hit him really hard, he’s not going to want to come back at me.
• “I’m a little more nervous than usual fighting at home, but I think that will keep me on my toes.
• “I’ve trained a lot harder and I’ve gotten a lot better. I can’t wait to show everyone on SHOWTIME how much I’ve progressed.”

SHANE DEL ROSARIO:

• “I don’t think he’s fought anyone like me before.
• “The first round is going to be pretty wild, but I need to stay relaxed in there.
• “I’m not concerned with his size, I’m ready for everything.
• “My cardio is really good right now. I’ve been in the gym since my last fight, so I’ve had a great training camp.”

LUKE ROCKHOLD:

• “I’ll be ready for whatever happens in there. I’m comfortable for any direction the fight goes.
• “I’ll take a KO if I can get it, but I’m ready for anything.
• “I’m in great shape right now. I just need to stay relaxed in there.”

JESSE TAYLOR:

• “I always gauge my opponents as future world champions or current world champs, that way I’m always prepared. But, I’m ready for anything in there.
• “I learned a lot from my last fight. I took it on short notice and it didn’t go my way, but it (the loss) wasn’t a set back.”
• “I want to continue to prove myself in there. A win on Friday night will be huge.”

THOMAS DIAGNE:

• “He’s an explosive fighter, so I know I have to be ready for that.
• “I really want to go to the top; I just want to be No. 1. I’m used to being a champion. I’ve been a champ in San Shou, now I’m ready for MMA.
• “My experience in San Shou has really helped me with starting my career in MMA.”

MERRITT WARREN:

• “I need to stick to my game plan with him.
• “Being in the ring or the cage is like second nature to me. It’s a switch that just goes off for me. I’ll be ready.
• “There’s going to be fireworks in the cage. It’s going to be a great fight.”

ZOILA FRAUSTO:

• “I know she’s (Helsper) going to come out swinging, I just have to be able to weather the storm.
• “I’d love to get a knockout on Friday night. I haven’t had one yet, so it’s about my time.
• “The audience gets me a little nervous. But, as soon as I get in there, the crowd isn’t there.
• “I have to bring it. There are no ifs, ands or buts, have to end this fight.”

ELISHA HELSPER:

• “I’ve been training for two months steady for this fight.
• “I need to give it my all and not give up. I’ve got the skills to win, I just need to put it all together.
• “I think I’ll be able to shake off the cage rust. If anything, I think it will make me more aggressive.”

PHOTOS:

Photos courtesy Tom Casino/Showtime

Rockhold has competed four previous times under the Strikeforce banner, in his six fight MMA career, having earned first round submission victories in all of his bouts with the promotion. He was last in action at the June “Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg” where he defeated Cory Devela. The lone blemish on his record came against Tony Rubalcava in November, 2007.

Taylor last fought in August, losing to Jay Heiron at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, in his promotional debut. Prior to the August loss Taylor had put together a seven fight win streak following his peruvian neck tie loss to C.B. Dolloway at “UFC: Silva vs. Irvin” in July, 2008, including victories over notables Drew Fickett and Dong Sik Yoon.

With the addition of Taylor vs. Rockhold, the November 6 card now includes:

• Billy Evangelista vs. Jorge Gurgel
• Luke Rockhold vs. Jesse Taylor*
• Ben Holscher vs. TBA
• Casey Olson vs. TBA
• Anthony Ruiz vs. TBA
• Cole Escovedo vs. TBA
• Zoila Frausto vs. TBA

* — Not officially announced.

Pictured: Luke Rockhold

Renato “Babalu” Sobral ($70,000), Jay Hieron ($55,000), Gilbert Melendez ($50,000), and Fabricio Werdum ($50,000) were also among the top earners for the event, according to the official fighter salaries released by the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday.

Gegard Mousasi, who won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of “Babalu” in the card’s co-headliner, officially made just $2,000, but is assumed to have made significantly more, with his previous contract for Affliction’s now-defunct promotion calling for a reported salary of $125,000.

The official attendance for the Showtime-televised event was 13,976 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose for a live gate of $735,710, with a disclosed fighter payroll of $468,500.

The official fighter salaries for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg were:

• Cris “Cyborg” Santos ($25,000 – includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Gina Carano ($125,000)
• Gegard Mousasi ($2,000 – no win bonus) def. Renato Sobral ($75,000)
• Gilbert Melendez ($50,000 – no win bonus) def Mitsuhiro Ishida ($30,000)
• Fabricio Werdum ($50,000 – $25,000 win bonus) def. Mike Kyle ($14,000)
• Jay Hieron ($55,000 – $30,000 win bonus) def. Jesse Taylor ($12,000)
• Scott Lighty ($4,000 – no win bonus) def. Mike Cook ($2,500)
• Justin Wilcox ($5,000 – $2,500 win bonus) def. David Douglas ($5,500)
• James Terry ($6,000 – $3,000 win bonus) def. Zak Bucia ($2,000)
• Alex Trevino ($3,500 – $1,500 win bonus) def. Isaiah Hill ($2,000)

For more Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg coverage check out MMAFrenzy.com’s Strikeforce category.

Pictured: Gina Carano

After an exciting start to the main event that saw Cyborg pick Carano apart with powerful punches, Santos used a late flurry of ground and pound to force the referee to step in and stop the bout just one second remaining before the end of the opening frame.

With the victory, Cyborg improves to 8-1 with eight-straight wins dating back to 2005, while Carano falls to 7-1 after suffering he first career loss.

In other main card bouts, Gegard Mousasi became the new Strikeforce light heavyweight champion with a 60-second knockout of Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Gilbert Melendez retained the promotion’s interim lightweight title with a third-round TKO of Mitsuhiro Ishida, and heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum submitted Mike Kyle in the opening round to kick off the Showtime broadcast.

Jay Hieron, Scott Lighty, Justin Wilcox, James Terry, and Alex Trevino were all victorious on the event’s preliminary card.

The official results for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg were:

• Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos def. Gina Carano via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:59
• Gegard Mousasi def. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (c) via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:00
  Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
• Gilbert Melendez (c) def. Mitsuhiro Ishida via TKO (strikes) — Round 3, 3:56
  Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship
• Fabricio Werdum def. Mike Kyle via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:24
• Jay Hieron def. Jesse Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Scott Lighty def. Mike Cook via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:05
• Justin Wilcox def. David Douglas via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 3:16
• James Terry def. Zak Bucia via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:23
• Alex Trevino def. Isiah Hill via submission (key lock) — Round 1, 3:56

Pictured: Cris “Cyborg” Santos

Carano tipped the scale at 143-pounds, while “Cyborg” weighed in at 144.5.

The rest of the 18-fighter card also successfully made weight with the exception of Jesse Taylor, who weighed in one pound over the welterweight limit for his main card bout against Jay Hieron. A late-replacement, Taylor has one hour to shed the extra pound.

The official weigh-in results are:

MAIN CARD

• Gina Carano (143) vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (144.5)
  Strikeforce 145-pound Women’s Championship (vacant)
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral (c) (201) vs. Gegard Mousasi (204)
  Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
• Gilbert Melendez (c) (155) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (155)
  Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship
• Mike Kyle (219)vs. Fabricio Werdum (228)
• Jay Hieron (169) vs. Jesse Taylor (172)*

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Mike Cook (205) vs. Scott Lighty (202)
• David Douglas (156) vs. Justin Wilcox (154)
• Zak Bucia (170) vs. James Terry (169)
• Isaiah Hill (156) vs. Alex Trevino (156)

* Taylor has one hour to lose one pound and reach the 171-pound non-title welterweight limit.

Fanhouse learned of the news on Monday afternoon from Ken Pavia, Hieron’s manager.

As reported earlier Monday, Diaz will be replaced on the August 15 “Carano vs. Cyborg” card in San Jose by one-time UFC fighter Jesse Taylor, who is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak.

Taylor and Hieron will meet in a three-round, non-title fight on the Showtime-televised card.

SEE PREVIOUSLY:

• Jesse Taylor Approved to Fight Jay Hieron at “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg” If Nick Diaz Fails To Be Licensed
• Diaz May Have Jeopardized His Title Bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce rumors.

As MMAFrenzy.com reported earlier today, Diaz, who missed a scheduled Friday drug test, has until 3pm PT today to show up and submit a sample for the mandatory pre-fight screening before he’d be pulled from the fight. If Diaz makes today’s deadline, results from the test would be available on Thursday.

Diaz previously tested positive for marijuana in 2007, which caused his gogoplata submission of Takanori Gomi to be changed to a no contest, and was pulled from an EliteXC card last year due to his disclosed use of medical marijuana, but passed an April drug screening before his Strikeforce bout against Frank Shamrock.

Taylor (13-3), a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 7, was removed from the finale following a drunken rampage in Las Vegas and went on to be cut by the UFC after suffering a first-round submission loss to CB Dollaway in his lone fight inside the Octagon. “JT Money” has since gone 7-0, most-recently defeating Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 10 last month.

If Diaz fails to show for today’s test, Strikeforce is expected to announce the news and name a replacement to fight Hieron on the Showtime-televised card before the end of the day. However, if Diaz submits his sample in time, MMAFrenzy.com will pass along results from the test once they’re available on Thursday.

The recently-finalized card for the event is:

MAIN CARD (Showtime-televised)

• Gina Carano vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
  Strikeforce Women’s 145-pound Championship (vacant)
• Nick Diaz vs. Jay Hieron
  Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral (c) vs. Gegard Mousasi
  Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
• Gilbert Melendez (c) vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
  Strikeforce Interim Lightweight Championship

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Mike Kyle vs. Fabricio Werdum
• Mike Cook vs. Scott Lighty
• David “Tarzan” Douglas vs. Justin Wilcox
• Zak Bucia vs. James Terry
• Isaiah Hill vs. Alex Trevino

After sending Sakurai to the canvas with a head kick and finishing him off with punches in the semis, Zaromskis used another head kick, this time early in the first-round, to knock off High and finish his surprising run by winning the tournament.

The Cage Rage veteran Zaromskis improves to 11-2 with 4-straight victories following his DREAM 10 wins, while High, who defeated Andre Galvao to advance to the finals, falls to 8-2 and Sakurai drops to 35-9-2.

In other DREAM 10 action, Shinya Aoki topped Vitor Ribeiro by unanimous decision in a lightweight bout that failed to live up to expectations, TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor defeated Dong Sik Yoon, who was unable to continue due to a left ankle injury, and former WEC champ Paulo Filho submitted kickboxer Melvin Manhoef in the opening round of their middleweight matchup.

The official results for DREAM 10 were:

• Marius Zaromskis def. Jason High via knockout (kick) – Round 1
• Shinya Aoki def. Vitor Ribeiro via unanimous decision
• Jesse Taylor def. Dong Sik Yoon via TKO (injury) – Round 1
• Paulo Filho def. Melvin Manhoef via submission (armbar) – Round 1
• Katsunori Kikuno def. Andre “Dida” Amade via TKO (punches) – Round 1
• Jason High def. Andre Galvao via split decision*
• Marius Zaromskis def. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai via TKO (strikes) – Round 1*
• Tarec Saffiedine def. Seichi Ikemoto via unanimous decision+

* Welterweight grand prix semifinals
+ Welterweight grandprix reserve bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest DREAM news and DREAM rumors.

[Pictured: Marius Zaromskis]

Welterweight grand prix participant Hayato “Mach” Sakurai struggled to reach the 76kg limit for his semifinals bout against Marius Zaromskis, but eventually dropped the necessary weight for his third weigh-in attempt.

The rest of the card, including Andre Galvao, Jason High, and Zaromskis, who will compete alongside Sakurai in the welterweight GP, as well as lightweight opponents Shinya Aoki and Vitor Ribeiro successfully made weight on their first attempts.

The official weigh-in results for DREAM 10 were:

• Shinya Aoki (153.6 lb./69.8 kg) vs. Vitor Ribeiro (153.8 lb./69.9 kg)
• Jesse Taylor (185.7 lb./84.4 kg) vs. Dong Sik Yoon (186.6 lb./84.8 kg)
• Paulo Filho (184.8 lb./84 kg) vs. Melvin Manhoef (184.4 lb./83.8 kg)
• Andre “Dida” Amade (154 lb./70 kg) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (154 lb./70 kg)
• Andre Galvao (167.2 lb./76 kg) vs. Jason High (167.2 lb./76 kg)*
• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (167.2 lb./76 kg) vs. Marius Zaromskis (166.8 lb./75.8 kg)*
• Tarec Saffiedine (166.8 lb./75.8 kg) vs. Ikemoto Seichi (166.8 lb./75.8 kg)+

* Welterweight grand prix semifinals
+ Welterweight grandprix reserve bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest DREAM news and DREAM rumors.

[Pictured: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai]