Ken Shamrock
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick; February 11, 1964) is an American
mixed martial arts
(MMA) fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler. Shamrock emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts, headlining over 15 main event
s and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
and Pride Fighting Championships during the course of his career and set numerous pay per view records with his drawing power. Shamrock is widely considered to be a legendary figure and icon in the sport of mixed martial arts
. Shamrock was named The World's Most Dangerous Man by ABC News
in a special entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Things" in the early part of his UFC career, a moniker which has become synonymous as his nickname.
Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie
. After fighting to a draw with Gracie in the inaugural Superfight, he became the first UFC Superfight Champion after defeating Dan Severn
at UFC 6
; the title was eventually renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. Shamrock was also ranked by Inside MMA
as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time.
Shamrock is the founder of the Lion's Den
mixed martial arts training camp. The Lion's Den
became one of the most successful camps in mixed martial arts
history and was famous dominating the early scene of mixed martial arts. He is also the older adopted brother of former UFC champion Frank Shamrock
.
In addition to his mixed martial arts career, Shamrock enjoyed considerable success in professional wrestling, achieving championship success during his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
. Among other accolades, he is a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
, one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
, one-time WWF Tag Team Champion, and the 1998 WWF King of the Ring. World Wrestling Entertainment—formerly the World Wrestling Federation—has credited Shamrock for popularizing the ankle lock (later used by fellow professional wrestling world champions Kurt Angle
and Jack Swagger), which was named by the organization as the second best submission hold in its history.
, a legitimate match between "Wayne" (Shamrock's show title in Japan) Shamrock and kickboxing champion Don Nayaka Nielsen took place. Shamrock took Nielsen down and submitted him with an arm lock in 45 seconds. The success of this match made young pro wrestlers Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki
and Minoru Suzuki
question what they had been told since entering into predetermined wrestling: that nobody would ever pay to see real matches.
Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki then founded a group of pro wrestlers and decided to pursue marketable legitimate matches. They formed a promotion called Pancrase
, named by ’60s wrestling star Karl Gotch after the sport of Pankration
in the ancient Olympics, which combined all different forms of fighting into one sport. Using pro-wrestling rules – no closed fisted punching to the head (closed fisted punches were allowed to the body), breaks on the ropes, but fighting for real – Shamrock beat his friend and mentor, MMA legend Masakatsu Funaki
by arm-triangle choke in the main event of the very first Pancrase
show on September 21, 1993. The show attracted a sell-out audience of 7,000.
Shamrock, now an enormous star in Japan, defeated world kickboxing champion and future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith and Alex Cook in the Opening Round of the 16 man King of Pancrase Tournament
and Masakatsu Funaki
and Manabu Yamada
in the Second Round
to become the first King of Pancrase before crowds of 11,000 fans both nights at Tokyo’s Sumo Hall in December 1994. He then defended his King of Pancrase title against Bas Rutten
in 1995, submitting him with a kneebar. He lost the title in his next fight against Pancrase co-creator, Minoru Suzuki
.
In addition to his MMA bouts in Pancrase, Shamrock also competed in a kickboxing match in 1994 with kickboxing legend Frank "The Animal" Lobman
, who holds a pro record of 110-6 with a 90% KO ratio. Shamrock broke Lobman's nose with a right cross early in the bout but was ultimately defeated by TKO due to leg kicks.
Shamrock eventually had a falling out with Pancrase management in early 1996 and left the company to compete in the UFC full time. Shamrock left Pancrase with a record of 17-3.
shows, Shamrock returned to America
to fight in the newly formed Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC), despite fighting in Japan
just four days earlier. Masakatsu Funaki
served as Shamrock's head trainer for the event. The event was held under a one-night tournament format with minimal rules (in contrast to Pancrase, which had extensive rules and a gentleman's agreement not to strike on the ground). Shamrock's first opponent was Patrick Smith
. In the opening seconds of the fight, Smith came forward and threw a leg kick, but Shamrock shot off the kick for a double-leg takedown. Following some ground and pound, Shamrock seized Smith’s right leg and dropped back, applying a heel hook
, forcing Smith to tap out.
was Royce Gracie
. To start the fight, Gracie immediately shot for a takedown
on Shamrock, who sprawled and following a brief scramble, ended up in Gracie's open guard. Shamrock then grabbed Gracie's ankle and sat back to attempt a heel hook. However, according to Shamrock, Shamrock's arm had gotten tangled in Gracie's gi and when Shamrock sat back, it pulled Gracie on top of him. Gracie then secured a rear naked choke and advanced to the finals. The bout was a source of controversy at the end because the referee did not see the tap and ordered the two fighters to continue fighting after Gracie had let go of the hold. Shamrock paused for a few seconds but declined, admitting to the ref that he tapped out and that it would not be fair for him to continue fighting. After the fight, Shamrock admitted that he underestimated Gracie: “I didn’t know who Royce Gracie was...when I saw him in his gi
, I thought he was some karate guy (with no ground skills).” The loss to Gracie haunted Shamrock and was the beginning of a large rivalry between the two fighters.
Shamrock, haunted by his loss to Gracie, aggressively sought a rematch. He was originally scheduled to compete at UFC 2
but broke his hand after blocking a high kick while sparring with a teammate. He still wanted to compete, but when doctors told him that he might never fight again if he injured his hand any further, he reluctantly withdrew from the show.
On September 9, 1994, Shamrock returned to the octagon at UFC 3
in an event that was marketed by the UFC as the ultimate rematch between two-time champion Royce Gracie and #1 contender Ken Shamrock. Masakatsu Funaki
, Minoru Suzuki
and Frank Shamrock
served as Ken's cornermen for the event. Shamrock's first fight was against top ranked judo
practitioner Christophe Leininger. Leininger was the #2 ranked judo player in the United States with U.S. Olympic team experience and was also versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After a feeling out process to start the fight, Leininger engaged for a takedown, but Shamrock crossed faced him so hard into the mat that Leininger admitted to being knocked out for a second. After regaining full guard, Leininger attempted a triangle choke
, but Shamrock defended it and took Leininger's back. Leininger eventually rolled back to full guard, but after Shamrock landed a series of hard punches to his head, Leininger tapped out. Leininger suffered a mild concussion during this fight. Shamrock's next fight was in the semifinals against kickboxer Felix Mitchell. Shamrock took Mitchell down and forced him to tap out due to a rear naked choke
.
With this win, Shamrock advanced to the finals of UFC 3
. However, when he learned Gracie had dropped out of the tournament, Shamrock refused to come out for the finals. Bob Shamrock, Ken's father, tried to explain to him how much money Shamrock would make by winning the championship, but he refused. "When something is taken from you, you lose everything...everything I trained for, everything I had wanted...you get so hyped up for it and now it's gone!" Shamrock said. Alternate Steve Jennum
took his place in the final and won the title, having not fought previously.
Shamrock was unable to compete in his rematch with Gracie at UFC 4
either, as he was fighting in the King of Pancrase Tournament
to determine the first champion of Pancrase
. Shamrock defeated Alex Cook and future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith in the Opening Round
and defeated top Japanese fighters Masakatsu Funaki
and Manabu Yamada
in the Second Round
to win the tournament. With this win, Shamrock became the first King of Pancrase and became the first ever foreign champion in mixed martial arts history in Japan.
On April 5, 1995, at UFC 5
, Shamrock finally got his rematch with Gracie in a match that would determine the UFC Champion. The match, called "The Superfight", was the first singles match in UFC history and it was created to match the best fighters in the world against each other in a non-tournament format. The match was the most anticipated match in UFC history to that date, which resulted in a massive 260,000 pay per view buys, a record that stood all the way until Randy Couture
and Chuck Liddell
's rematch in 2005 at UFC 52
. Gracie had obvious concerns about his relative lack of size in comparison to Shamrock, so he came into the octagon at 190 pounds – roughly fifteen pounds above what had been his normal fighting weight; Shamrock also cut his weight down to 205 pounds for the bout.
Hours before the event, the UFC suddenly instituted a 30 minute time limit, mainly due to pay per view time constraints. Both Gracie and Shamrock were upset at the sudden rule change. For Shamrock, it ruined his game plan, who had been training for months to utilize his natural advantages in size and strength to wear Gracie down over the course of two hours, not in spectacular fashion but incrementally. "I didn't want to just go out there and beat Royce," said Shamrock. "I wanted to shut down his whole bragging system, which was, 'We're in better condition, our skills are better and we can beat anybody, anywhere, anytime'. My whole strategy going in was to wear him out, make him dog-assed tired to where he could hardly stand. I was going to beat him...beat on his ribs, slowly break him down and then treat him like a baby." Shamrock did not change his strategy to better fit the sudden 30 minute time window which resulted in a dull match that did not live up to its high expectations. Shamrock and Gracie fought for the entire allotted time of 30 minutes along with 5 minutes of overtime before the match was declared a draw due to the fight not having judges.
The fight ended in a draw, but most people watching the fight feel that, if the UFC at the time had ringside judges, Shamrock would have easily won the decision. The fans reacted with displeasure after the fight because a winner was not determined. Fans have been calling for a rematch ever since and much talk has surfaced over the years between both sides about who would have won if there were no time limits in place. The Gracies feel that Royce's jiu jitsu skills would have eventually won him the fight if it continued. Shamrock, however, feels that he was minutes away from finishing Gracie when time expired because he felt Gracie was badly hurt from the punch he landed to start the overtime period. In addition, the fact that Royce needed to be carried out of the octagon by his brothers after time expired showed Shamrock that Gracie did not have much left in the tank. Gracie's larger than life reputation was dented for the first time in the UFC and with the melon sized welt closing Gracie's eye after the fight it appeared as though Gracie had lost. However, the swollen eye was a result of a standing punch due to a sudden change of the rules in which both of the fighters were restarted on their feet.
Although many people viewed this fight as a dull match with little action, Shamrock did earn a lot of respect for this performance; back in those days, the Gracie guard was a mythical death trap and Shamrock became the first person to ever neutralize Royce Gracie's jiu jitsu attack in the UFC. In addition, Shamrock also became the first person to visibly hurt Gracie in a fight. Some fans felt that Shamrock was the unofficial winner of the Superfight. Play by play commentator Bruce Beck
said at the end of the fight, "Gracie is a mess. Shamrock looks marvellous!" Shamrock was also treated with a lot of adulation from the fans after the fight was over as if he was the winner, cheering him as he left the octagon with his arms raised.
Despite this, Shamrock was not satisfied with his performance against Gracie, saying "it's certainly not a win. You gain nothing (with a draw)". Shamrock expressed desire to fight Gracie again for a third time in 1996, saying that if it went to a draw again, he would have Gracie declared the winner and Shamrock would forfeit his UFC Superfight Championship belt to Gracie. Gracie left the UFC after his fight with Shamrock and did not return until 11 years later at UFC 60
. Shamrock would headline the subsequent 'superfight' bouts in Gracie's absence and became the main draw in the UFC.
Superfight with Gracie, the UFC was still without an official reigning Superfight champion. Shamrock was then matched up with UFC 5
tournament champion Dan Severn
at UFC 6
on July 14, 1995 to determine the reigning champion of the UFC. The 'superfight', a match presented as a fight between the "best of the best", was still the match that would determine the UFC champion and the tournament winners would be considered the #1 contender for the newly created UFC Superfight Championship, the first single world MMA championship outside of Japan. The Superfight title would later be renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. The Superfight title was created for the UFC 5 Superfight between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, but since the match ended in a draw, the title remained vacant.
Before the match started, a storm was brewing between Severn and Shamrock, which led to the second major UFC rivalry: Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn
. The feud began at the pre-fight press conference. After most of the attention from the media was given to Shamrock, Severn got up and walked out of the door without explanation. Shamrock took Severn's action as a sign of disrespect. Severn later said that he walked out because he felt that it would be unfair to Shamrock for him to be present in the room while Shamrock was discussing his fight strategy to the media. Shamrock became even more furious when he found a newsletter back at the hotel that explained to readers how Severn was going to destroy Shamrock. Fueled by anger, Shamrock could not wait to fight Severn in the octagon. Shamrock, wearing his anger on his sleeve, came out very aggressive in the fight, shooting for a takedown in the opening seconds and then clinching with Severn, a Greco-Roman wrestling
specialist. Shamrock proceeded to win the fight with Severn quickly and easily, choking out Severn in 2:14 to win the UFC Superfight Championship. Shamrock displayed excellent wrestling skills in this fight, having out-wrestled Severn, a four-time All-American Division 1 wrestler at Arizona State University
. With this win, Shamrock became the reigning UFC Champion and became the man who the tournament winners would challenge for the title. As the UFC Superfight Champion, Ken Shamrock was considered by many to be the best no holds barred/mixed martial arts fighter in the world.
On September 8, 1995, at UFC 7
, Shamrock successfully defended the UFC Superfight title against UFC 6
Tournament Champion "The Russian Bear" Oleg Taktarov
, in what would have been a very lopsided decision victory for Shamrock if there had been judges. Shamrock went from coaching and cornering Oleg in his tournament finals fight at UFC 6 to having to fight him at the next UFC, a situation that made Shamrock uneasy. Shamrock stated in his autobiography that he was uncomfortable fighting Taktarov, as Oleg trained with the Lion's Den
and he did not wish to injure his friend and teammate. He claimed to be trying to open a cut on Taktarov's face to get the referee to stop the fight because he knew that Oleg would never tap out. In Beyond the Lion's Den, Shamrock states; "In addition to being his friend, I was also trying to get him into Pancrase
and if I broke his leg it would be a while before he could recover and he needed the money. I figured my best chance of winning without seriously hurting him was to beat on him with punches... If I could open a cut and get him to start pouring blood, I could get a referee stoppage. It might not have been the best plan going into a fight, but considering the options it seemed like the best option available. And it turned out fine. I battered him around for the duration of the match, the bout was declared a draw and when Oleg recovered he went on to fight in Pancrase." Longtime UFC cutman
Leon Tabbs recalled Oleg's condition after the fight: "I go in there to stop the bleeding and he's halfway unconscious. He finally comes out of it and looks at me and says, 'Leon, why did you stop the fight?'"
Shamrock then defended his belt against Kimo Leopoldo
at UFC 8
in February 1996 in front of 13,000+ energetic fans in Puerto Rico. Kimo was best known at this time as the man who ended Royce Gracie's consecutive UFC tournament wins dating back to their fight at UFC 3. Kimo was also coming off a dominant, brutal ground and pound victory over UFC 2
finalist Pat Smith
at K-1 Legend in Japan. Kimo charged at Shamrock to start the fight and threw a kick, but Shamrock countered the kick by popping Kimo in the jaw with an overhand right and simultaneously caught Kimo's extended leg for a single leg takedown. Shamrock eventually passed his guard into full mount. Shamrock chose not to strike Kimo and instead went for a choke and allowed Kimo to reverse the position into Shamrock's half guard. Kimo landed a heavy punch to swell Shamrock's eye, but Shamrock regained full guard and spun for a kneebar from his back. Shamrock secured the kneebar, forcing Kimo to pound the mat in submission
. With the win, Shamrock defended his UFC Superfight title for the second time and his title reign continued with no end in sight.
, Shamrock was scheduled to face number one contender and rival Dan Severn
at UFC 9
in a rematch of their fight at UFC 6
, which Shamrock won by guillotine choke
in 2:14. Severn was coming off winning the Ultimate Ultimate 1995
tournament and by all accounts Severn and Shamrock did not like each other. Their rematch at UFC 9 was highly anticipated and was marketed as the "Clash of the Titans 2" and took place in the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in Severn's home state.
Shamrock had a lot on the line at UFC 9; Sports Illustrated
was there to do a story on him and if he beat Severn again, Shamrock was going to be on the magazine's cover. In addition, he would also be featured in a story on the mainstream network CNN
. Shamrock would be the first mixed martial artist ever to be featured on the cover of a major sports magazine, let alone the biggest one in America. However, despite high expectations, the fight would go down as one of the worst in MMA history for a variety of reasons. UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz, referee John McCarthy
and a team of lawyers were in court until 4:30 p.m. on the day of the fight battling with the District Attorney of Michigan, who was trying to prevent the UFC from holding the event in Michigan. An ultimatum was issued: the fight could go on as long as there were no closed fisted strikes to the head and no headbutts. The UFC, desperate to put the show on, agreed to the terms. Fighters were warned hours before the show that they would be arrested if they punched to the head with a closed fist (although many fights that night included closed fisted punches, no fighters were arrested).
When Shamrock learned of the sudden rule change, he made up his mind that he was not going to fight. While training for UFC 9, Shamrock suffered a torn lateral meniscus
, a partially torn ACL
, a broken nose, and cracked ribs. Combined with the rule that he could not punch, he did not think he could win a fight because all of his weapons were taken away from him. Shamrock was also fearful that he would be arrested; the troubled boys from his father's foster home would be watching him and he was afraid of setting a bad example. If Shamrock withdrew, the main event would have been cancelled and the UFC could have suffered substantial monetary damage. After UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz and other UFC officials pleaded with Shamrock to go on with the show, Shamrock, despite the injuries and new rules, reluctantly gave in to the pressure for the sake of the UFC.
In a fight that would be called "The Detroit Dance", both Severn and Shamrock circled each other with little to no contact for a combined total of almost thirty minutes. "I took the center of the ring understanding that I was going to be fighting for my life and Dan never came at me," Shamrock said. Severn later said that his strategy was to purposely not engage with Shamrock and wait for the fans to boo, hoping that the booing would affect Shamrock psychologically and force him to make a mistake that Severn could capitalize on. Finally, after over 15 minutes of stalling, Severn shot for a takedown, but was unsuccessful and following a brief scramble, Shamrock put Severn on his back in full mount. Shamrock held the mount for close to five minutes, throwing open fist palm strikes to Severn's head and an occasional closed fist punch to the body. Shamrock felt as though he would have damaged Severn badly and perhaps finished him from this position of full mount if he was allowed to punch Severn in the face with a closed fist. Severn eventually gave his back in an attempt to get out and the risk paid off as Shamrock slid off Severn's back and onto his back in full guard. Severn landed a headbutt to open a cut above Shamrock's eye and followed with elbow strikes and punches from Shamrock's guard. Shamrock eventually got back to his feet and after six more minutes stalling, the fight went to a judges decision. The judges gave a split decision win to Dan Severn, which upset Shamrock because he felt as though Severn had broken the rules by utilizing the banned closed fist punches to the head and headbutts. Chants of "boring!" and "Let's go Red Wings
!" were echoed throughout the arena during the fight. Shamrock later stated that going through with this fight was the biggest regret of his fighting career. This fight would mark the last time Masakatsu Funaki
would serve as Ken Shamrock's trainer and cornerman.
After taking time off away from the octagon, including being a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, Shamrock entered the UFC's Ultimate Ultimate 96
in December 1996. Frank Shamrock
served as Ken's head cornerman for the event. Before the event, Shamrock promised to be aggressive in this fight to make up for the dance with Severn. Shamrock honored his word, beating Brian Johnston in the quarterfinals. Shamrock, however, broke the same hand during this fight that kept him out of UFC 2 and had to withdraw from the tournament.
John McCain
was successful in pulling UFC pay-per-view broadcasts from numerous cable systems, including TCI cable, which greatly hurt pay-per-view revenue. Combined with money drying out and being burnt out from fighting, Shamrock left MMA for professional wrestling, signing with the World Wrestling Federation
. Shamrock left MMA while he was seemingly at the top of his game; he was in his prime and he was at this time considered by many to be one of the best fighters in the world. Shamrock was never close to the same fighter after the transition to pro wrestling, largely due to the amount of injuries he received while in the WWF, including a serious neck injury he suffered in late 1999 during a feud with Chris Jericho
and Curtis Hughes
.
Despite not competing in the UFC as a fighter while with the WWF, Shamrock continued to coach his Lion's Den fighters in the UFC and even coached Mark Coleman
at UFC 18. Shamrock left MMA with a professional record of 23 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws.
, Guy Mezger
, one of Shamrock's best fighters, fought Kazushi Sakuraba
, who at the time was considered to be one of the best pound for pound
fighters in the world. Mezger took the fight on two weeks notice and had a broken foot going into the fight. The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15 minute round with no overtime. The fight mostly consisted of Mezger controlling the fight by stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime. This resulted in one of the largest and most publicized controversies in MMA history.
According to Mezger, Pride did not like the outcome of the fight and changed the agreement/contract on the spot in order to give Sakuraba another chance to win the fight. Ken Shamrock, Mezger's corner man, entered the ring and an argument ensued. Mezger was then ordered out of the ring and back to the locker room by Shamrock, who was livid at the decision to extend the fight because of Mezger's foot injury and the fact that he took the fight on short notice. Mezger said, "For some reason, I had a tremendous amount of energy for that 15 minutes, but I started to kind of wilt near the end. Then they called it a draw and I'm like, "What?" Everyone blames Ken for being unprofessional. Really, Ken was protecting his fighter. We had an agreement.
Sakuraba said, "I wanted to go another round, thinking it would be possible to salvage the match, but when it was decided to extend the fight, Ken Shamrock was making scary faces. Later I heard that Mezger's contract was only for a one-round fight. I thought, "Ah, then it couldn't be helped." But Shamrock didn't have to get so angry like that. Seeing Mezger getting scolded by him, I felt sorry for (Mezger)."
PRIDE's U.S. producer, Michael Braverman, said, "Kenny (Shamrock) went out of his mind. Kenny went crazy. He stormed into their (Pride administration's) office. I was going, "This can't be good." He was furious. Have you ever seen Kenny mad? It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. He could eat your head if he felt like it. Kenny foaming at the mouth is enough to scare the s--- out of anybody."
Later that night, the president of Pride FC made a public apology to Mezger at the Tokyo Dome for the miscommunication. Braverman added, "We had a big meeting (with PRIDE). We were able to get some concessions out of them, money and guarantees of future fights. They wanted to make it right. One thing I said in the meeting was, "Do you want me to call Kenny back in here and see what he says?" "No, no, no, no!"
by TKO due to punches at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals
in the superfight, his first fight back from the WWF. Shamrock was very impressive in this fight as he was able to knock out Otsuka, something that powerful striker and PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn
could not do to Otsuka in their fight a few months earlier. This was the first ever Pride event to be broadcasted live in America and Pride strategically used Shamrock's drawing power in America by making his Superfight with Otsuka the co-headliner of the event.
Shamrock then fought consensus top 10 heavyweight "Ironhead" Kazuyuki Fujita
at Pride 10
, who was coming off a huge upset victory over Mark Kerr. Fujita was highly accomplished wrestler in Japan; he missed making the Japanese Olympic wrestling team by one point and was also a national champion in Greco Roman wrestling. Fujita was also famous for his ability to take inhumane amounts of damage to his head without being knocked out (hence his nickname "Ironhead") and for his ability to withstand a guillotine choke
due to his strong neck.
During the time before the fight, Shamrock was going through a divorce and had to take care of his young kids during the day, which severely cut into his training time for the fight. Despite this, Shamrock dominated Fujita throughout the entire fight, putting on a sprawl and brawl clinic and nearly knocking Fujita out. However, he eventually had his corner throw in the towel because he felt like he was having a heart attack, ending an exciting fight in anticlimactic fashion. He was evaluated after the fight and it was determined that he was suffering from heart palpitations. Shamrock talked about what happened to him in an interview: "I'm not sure, even to this day, I'm not sure. Everything went white and I couldn't see. My heart felt like it was pounding through my chest. I'm not quite sure what happened. I couldn't control my vision, my balance, I don't know what was wrong with me. I was going through a lot just then, I was going through a divorce and my 4 kids were dropped off on me in a two bedroom apartment, so I didn't get to train properly for the fight. There was a lot going on in my life at the time and I think that there was a whole bunch of stress built up on me and it came out when I didn't want it to."
In December 2000, PRIDE tried to set up a dream fight between Ken Shamrock and then current PRIDE Grand Prix
Champion, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and consensus #1 ranked heavyweight Mark Coleman
. Shamrock and Coleman had trained together at the Lion's Den
in late 1998 to help prepare Coleman for his fight with Pedro Rizzo
at UFC 18
, in which Shamrock served as Coleman's coach and cornerman. MMA fighter Ashe Bowman claimed he witnessed Shamrock knock Coleman out during one of their training sessions.
PRIDE offered the fight with Coleman to Shamrock and he accepted it. The dream match up with Shamrock greatly excited Coleman, but after training for a few days, Coleman decided that he was not physically ready to fight someone of Shamrock's caliber. Coleman talked about his feelings on the fight in an interview: "For about a four day stand I contemplated taking the fight because it's something that's very hard to turn down. It's a dream match up and a question I've been asked over and over again, whether I would fight Ken Shamrock. So I wanted to take the fight very badly, I turned up my training for about 4 days, then on Friday night I came to the conclusion that I'm just not physically ready to fight Ken Shamrock...Certainly if you're going to fight someone with Ken Shamrock's skills then you want to be as close to 100 percent as you can."
Shamrock was then scheduled to fight feared PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn
at Pride 13
, but suffered a neck injury during training two weeks before the fight. Tra Telligman
, a Lion's Den fighter, replaced Shamrock on two weeks notice and defeated Vovchanchyn in an upset victory.
Shamrock engaged in a feud with Don Frye
during his career in the Pride Fighting Championships. The feud ended in a match during Pride 19
– Bad Blood, where Shamrock fought Frye in the main event in a match that potentially had PRIDE Heavyweight Championship title implications (PRIDE FC considered giving the winner of this fight a title shot against current Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
). In what many fans regard as one of the greatest MMA fights of all time, Shamrock lost an incredibly close split decision, despite successfully applying several leglocks on Frye, who refused to tap, ruining his knees and ankles and resulting in Frye becoming addicted to pain killers from the damage he suffered.
The background of the feud was Don Frye's trash talking. In 1999, Alicia Webb
(also known as Ryan Shamrock) dated Ken Shamrock until early 2003. Don Frye made comments to the effect that Shamrock cheated on and divorced his wife to date a young girl (Alicia Webb was 19 and Ken Shamrock was 35 when they started dating). Frye also joked that Ken's (at the time) estranged father Bob and brother Frank would be in Frye's corner for the fight. Ken Shamrock was enraged by Frye's trash talk, causing a feud between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye. Since then, Frye has stated that he only resorted to personal trash talk to make Ken want to fight him. Frye said: "I saw Ken Shamrock whoop him (Dan Severn
) at UFC 6
and I thought, "That's a guy I gotta fight. Anybody who can whoop Dan Severn
like that has gotta be a man and I want to test my size against his size. I had the chance to talk trash and they gave me the fight; I crossed the line. I wasn't professional about it, but Ken was and after the fight, we shook hands and went our separate ways." Frye also commented on how Shamrock injured his ankles: "I talked a bunch of trash, so I had to back it up. I couldn't walk away after talking all that garbage. You're damn right it hurt. He messed up both my ankles real bad. That caused me to start taking the pain pills and I got a little dependent on the pain meds for a couple of years." Frye also said: "If I'd known it was going to hurt this bad, I'd have kept my mouth shut!"
ESPN
's Josh Gross attended the event from ringside and described his experience: "It was an all out war...I've taken the time to thank fighters for their efforts maybe three times. This was the first. The next day, as each man struggled to get on a bus in Tokyo
that would take us back to Narita airport, I was stunned -- and admittedly upset -- by how beat up they were. Regular folk would be in an ICU
. These guys were hardly normal."
The two fighters have been on good terms since that match.
Many feel that the war with Frye was the last great bout of Shamrock's career and his final showing as a top level MMA competitor. Both Frye and Shamrock would go on to greatly decline after this point.
camp has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz
. The feud began to build on January 8, 1999, at UFC 18
. After upsetting top UFC fighter and Lion's Den member Jerry Bohlander
, Ortiz, with his fingers, acted like he was shooting at the Lion's Den corner and coach Ken Shamrock and additionally put on a disrespectful shirt in the octagon after the fight with Bohlander which read "I just f**ked your ass".
On March 5, 1999, at UFC 19
, the feud with Ortiz exploded in one of the biggest and most famous altercations in mixed martial arts history. After Ortiz won a referee stoppage in his rematch with Guy Mezger
, Ortiz immediately flipped off
the Lion's Den
corner and then put on a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch". The actions by Ortiz shocked and stunned the MMA world because at the time, the Lion's Den
was highly respected, arguably the most elite fight team in MMA and was composed of numerous top fighters. At the top was the leader, Ken Shamrock, who at the time still held a reputation as being one of the scariest and most skilled fighters associated with the UFC.
After Shamrock saw the shirt, he yelled into the octagon "Hey Tito, don't let me see you wearing that shirt!". Shamrock then famously leaped onto the top of the cage, screaming at Ortiz and angrily waving his finger in Ortiz's face. Referee John McCarthy picked Ortiz up and carried him across the octagon to prevent the situation from escalating further, as a livid Shamrock was on the verge of jumping into the octagon.
Shamrock, who was still in the WWF at the time, was furious after the event. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva said: "SEG knew this was bad. Ken was really freaking out. Tables were getting flipped, who knows what was going to happen. So they have to usher Tito back to a room and get him away from the Lion's Den. It was craziness, everybody was just looking at each other and saying, 'Did I see that right? Did that shirt really say what I thought that it said?' Everybody's freaking out about it...there was such a buzz about it, everybody was running around everywhere."
Ortiz's manager, Sal Garcia, added: "one of the other fighters comes in at that point and says, 'hey, Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den, they want to come over and kick Tito and Sal's ass'." The tension backstage was so great that some feared a brawl between the Lion's Den
and Tito Ortiz
, Kevin Randleman
, Mark Coleman
and others from the Hammer House (who were in Ortiz's locker room after the event). The situation was escalated to the point that police and security had to be called in to monitor the situation. Jeff Sherwood, creator of Sherdog.com, wrote after the event: "Someone needs to remind Ken Shamrock that it wasn't Monday Night RAW out there. Not saying he wouldn't tear Tito up though."
Sherwood was not alone in his opinion that Shamrock would have been too much for Ortiz to deal with at the time. Shamrock had a reputation of thoroughly and brutally dominating everybody in training at the Lion's Den, including top UFC fighters Guy Mezger
and Jerry Bohlander
, and Shamrock, at north of 240 lb (108.9 kg; 17.1 st), was considerably larger than Ortiz and would be a full weight class above him. Ortiz also expressed reluctance in confronting Shamrock, saying shortly after UFC 19
: Many fans were upset that this fight probably would never happen due to the weight difference. However, over time, Shamrock began to lose size and by the time he fought Don Frye
three years later in 2002, Shamrock was down to around 220 lbs, making it possible to cut weight to 205.
On November 22, 2002, at UFC 40
, nearly four years after the confrontation at UFC 19
, Shamrock returned to the UFC for the first time since December 1996 to fight Ortiz in a title match for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in one of the biggest, most anticipated and most important fights in UFC history. At nearly 39 years old, Shamrock's skills had diminished significantly due to injuries and aging but he was still considered to be a very dangerous and strong opponent. Although it was understood that Shamrock was past his prime, many people gave Shamrock a good chance to win based on his size (Ortiz had not fought someone as big as Shamrock to that point in his career), punching power and submission skills. Shamrock's apparent size advantage did not factor into the fight, however; Shamrock experienced difficultly cutting weight for the first time and cut too much weight, weighing in at 201 lbs, 4 lbs under the 205 lb. limit. Ortiz shed light upon his feelings before the fight in his book This is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion; "Ken Shamrock is a real good fighter. I was not intimidated by him, but I guess you can say I was a little bit afraid."
Color commentator Joe Rogan
called the fight a "dream match" and "the most incredible night in mixed martial arts history" at the start of the show and admitted that he had no idea who was going to win the fight. The hype and buzz surrounding the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the event was unlike anything mixed martial arts had ever seen before. The event was also monumental for the future of the UFC and the sport as a whole in America for a variety of reasons. UFC 40
sold out the MGM Grand Arena
and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. It also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN
and USA Today
, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40
and the anticipation for Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz
saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The commercial success of UFC 40
provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the dream that mixed martial arts
could become big. Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
Although many in the mixed martial arts media either deemed the fight too close to call or gave a slight edge to the younger Ortiz, the fight was not nearly as close as originally expected. Shamrock nearly scored a knockout early in round 1, buckling Ortiz's knees with a punch and dropping him to one knee. However, Ortiz recovered shortly after and went on to dominate the fight with takedowns and ground and pound. The manner in which Ortiz dominated the fight was surprising to some because the fighters at the Lion's Den claimed that nobody took Shamrock down in training yet Ortiz easily scored takedowns numerous times throughout the fight. Shamrock provided excitement for the crowd at the end of rounds 2 and 3, dramatically scrambling to his feet after being dominated from his back, but was unable to mount any significant offense after getting up. Right before Round 4 started, Shamrock's cornerman threw in the towel and Ortiz successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight championship.
After the fight was over, Shamrock revealed that he fought Ortiz with a serious knee injury (a torn ACL
). Bruce Buffer
has said on various occasions that this fight was one of the greatest fights he has ever seen and that the energy from the crowd that night was one of the greatest feelings he has ever experienced.
Shortly after the Ortiz fight, Shamrock seriously contemplated retirement from MMA, citing the fact that he had never lost two fights in a row in his career before and also citing a build up of injuries. Shamrock ultimately decided to not retire.
, Royce Gracie
and Ken Shamrock became the first inductees to the UFC Hall of Fame. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the UFC. UFC President Dana White
said; Shamrock spoke to the fans with a heartfelt speech: "Until now, I felt I had a satisfying career in the UFC. But, being one of the first to be inducted in the Hall of Fame brings it all together. I will never forget you and now I will not be forgotten. God bless." A poll was also conducted on the UFC's website among UFC fans to determine the most popular UFC fighters and Shamrock was voted the second most popular fighter in the UFC by the fans.
In 2003, Shamrock had surgery done to repair a torn ACL
in his knee. Shamrock originally injured it during training in preparation for the Don Frye
fight in February 2002 and completely tore it prior to his fight with Tito Ortiz
in November 2002. Shamrock has said that since his knee injury, he has had difficulty shooting and taking people down, which resulted in Shamrock changing his primary style from a wrestler/grappler and moving more towards a standup fighter.
On June 19, 2004, at UFC 48
, a 40-year-old Shamrock returned to fight the 244 lb (110.7 kg; 17.4 st) Kimo Leopoldo
at UFC 48
in a rematch of the UFC 8
Superfight Championship match, which Shamrock won via submission due to a kneebar. Shamrock was coming off a long layoff to recover from ACL
surgery. Kimo's previous fight consisted of an impressive win over Shamrock's longtime rival, Tank Abbott
. Shamrock won the bout in the first round by KO via knee to the head. Shamrock's knee strike to Kimo's chin was so hard that he opened up a cut on his knee after landing the shot. Shamrock's mega drawing power was evident when the pay per view numbers came out for the event; UFC 48
amazingly drew more pay per view buys than the ultra hyped super fight between mixed martial arts stars Chuck Liddell
and Tito Ortiz
one event earlier at UFC 47
.
Shamrock injured his shoulder during his fight against Kimo at UFC 48
. He originally thought it was just "wear and tear", but a MRI revealed a rotator cuff
tear. Shamrock had surgery to repair the tear in his shoulder.
April 9, 2005, was a turning point in Shamrock's career and future in mixed martial arts. Shamrock faced rising star and future UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin
in the main event in a light heavyweight bout on the popular reality
series The Ultimate Fighter
finale
. The event was a monumental moment in UFC history because it was the first ever UFC appearance on basic cable TV
. Shamrock slapped on a heel hook early in the fight that put Franklin on crutches for a week, but Franklin escaped and defeated Shamrock by a TKO
in the first round after taking advantage of a Shamrock slip while executing a high kick. At 41 years old, this was the first time Shamrock had ever been knocked out in a mixed martial arts fight in his career. Franklin's win over an icon like Shamrock propelled him into UFC stardom and established him as one of the organization's biggest stars.
On October 24, 2005, Shamrock lost to fellow mixed martial arts legend Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba in Pride: Fully Loaded, by TKO. The stoppage was very controversial because Shamrock immediately got up and protested to the referee, showing no signs of damage. There was also a feeling that PRIDE may have had a quick trigger on Shamrock because they were heavily biased in favor of the Japanese legend Sakuraba. However, his brother Frank Shamrock commented on the stoppage in an interview with the site Sherdog.com: "...if you're sleeping with your head through the second rope, you're in a bad way. He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."
, Dana White
, the UFC president, announced that Shamrock would be one of the coaches (along with Tito Ortiz
) for the upcoming third season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The season unexpectedly turned out to be very problematic between Shamrock and his fighters. This was unexpected because Shamrock had a reputation for being an outstanding coach; he built one of the most successful MMA fight teams of all time, the legendary Lion's Den
and molded his Lion's Den fighters into UFC Champions. Shamrock was portrayed very badly on the show, feuding with his fighters and often appearing uninterested. Shamrock admitted to doing a poor job with his fighters: "I failed them miserably, completely. So I have to figure out a way to get this...back in the driver's seat", Shamrock said during the show. The problems between Shamrock and his fighters on the show caused many newer fans to question Shamrock's coaching style. Shamrock responded to his critics in an interview: "I trained three fighters that were the first three (UFC) Middleweight Champions: Jerry Bohlander
, Guy Mezger
and Frank Shamrock
. And I’ve trained dozens of guys to be champs in other organizations. In Pancrase
, I had eight fighters in the top ten at one point. I was the champion and (Masakatsu) Funaki was the number one contender. The rest were all Lion's Den
fighters. My reputation doesn’t have to be spoken for or defended. The UFC and Spike TV did what they thought they needed to do for ratings, but in the end, my fans, my family and my God know exactly who I am." Shamrock also commented about his portrayal on "TUF": "People always come up to me now and say, ‘They portrayed you in such a bad light on that show.’ That’s always how they phrase it. They portrayed you that way. I guess that means people really know what I’m like. They wouldn’t say that if they thought that was really me. It makes me feel better to know that people feel that way." Roy Nelson
also defended Shamrock as a coach. Roy said, "He's not how they depict him on The Ultimate Fighter. He's a good guy and he's been in the business for a long time. He knows what works and what doesn't."
In a separate interview with UGO.com, Shamrock shed light upon the reason for the turmoil between himself and his fighters on "TUF": "Anytime you're put into a situation where the fighter or the trainer have to work with each other whether they mesh or not, it always becomes a problem. Then, when there are one or two guys you don't really mesh with, then it trickles down to the rest of the team. Unfortunately for me, not that the fighters were bad or anything, I just got a bunch of guys on the team that I didn't see eye to eye with. Me being a coach and running my own team for a long time, being able to call all the shots, it didn't work very well for me to have guys telling me what they wanted to do...It's a tough thing for a coach, especially for me. For so long I've been in control things and bring these guys up and nurture them and mold them into great fighters. I was very successful at that early on. But when I was thrown into that situation, I knew the score. I knew there could be problems and there were. I had a hard time with that. Other guys, like Tito (Ortiz) and Randy (Couture) really had some success with it. But for me it was difficult."
On July 8, 2006, at UFC 61
, the highly anticipated rematch between Shamrock and a heavily favored Tito Ortiz
took place. The pay per view numbers set North American MMA records with 775,000 buys on pay-per-view and a $3.4 million gate. Not everyone, however, was thrilled with the fight. At 42 years old, Shamrock was significantly past his prime and no longer a championship caliber fighter. Former UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz said;
A small incident between Shamrock and Ortiz took place prior to the fight at the UFC 61 weigh-ins. After Shamrock weighed in at 206, Ortiz threw a fit, arguing that the fight contract was clear about the weight limit being 205. Nevada State rules, however, allow a fighter in a non-title match to go over the limit by one pound, so Shamrock's weight was not against the rules. Ironically, Ortiz proceeded to weigh in at 206.5 lbs. and had to drop the half-pound before weighing in again.
Shamrock lost the rematch with Ortiz in 1:18 of the first round by a technical knockout in a fight that ended in chaotic controversy. Shamrock came out firing, landing a combination of punches to back Ortiz into the cage, but Ortiz successfully secured a double leg takedown on Shamrock, lifting him up and slamming him to the mat. Although Shamrock was now on his back in a disadvantageous position, he did have Ortiz in his full guard
. Ortiz, while in Shamrock's full guard, was able to land several elbows to Shamrock's head which went undefended. Referee Herb Dean
deemed that Shamrock was no longer able to intelligently defend himself and stopped the fight. Watching the slow-mo, Shamrock did go limp from one elbow but revived for the next. Shamrock and the crowd were furious at the early stoppage and Dana White immediately put together a rematch on television.
On October 10, 2006, at Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 - The Final Chapter, Shamrock was dominated again by Ortiz by KO
after referee John McCarthy
stopped the fight following multiple undefended fist strikes. The fight took place live on Spike TV. The two-hour broadcast drew a 3.1 overall rating, with the main event of Tito Ortiz
vs. Ken Shamrock drawing a 4.3 rating. Quoting MMA Weekly's Ivan Trembow, "That breaks down to an amazing 5.7 million viewers for the Ortiz vs. Shamrock fight. This shatters the UFC's previous record for the number of people watching a UFC fight at any given time." The overall ratings record would not be matched until UFC 75
on September 8, 2007. Immediately after the fight, Ortiz initially celebrated his victory with a mocking "grave digger" routine and an offensive t-shirt that said, "Punishing Him Into Retirement" after giving him the finger. However, Shamrock approached Ortiz and, after the two talked for several seconds, Shamrock said they could put all of their animosity aside as it was always "just business", shaking hands and burying the hatchet. Ortiz then declared that facing Shamrock had made him a better fighter and thanked Ken for "passing the torch". Ortiz added in his post-fight interview that he has always looked up to Shamrock. Shamrock gave a gracious speech after the fight but left it ambiguous whether he would retire from the sport. In an interview with Sherdog.com, he stated he was not leaning one way or another whether he will not fight again, but he did not want to lead the fans on. Ken also expressed his feelings after the match:
Ultimately, Shamrock's feud with Ortiz was critically important for the UFC's future and present day success. Shamrock and Ortiz's trilogy, along with the emergence of stars like Chuck Liddell
and Randy Couture
, resulted in the sport's explosion into the mainstream.
at UFC 75
but was ultimately released from his UFC
contract shortly after in June 2007.
Shamrock expressed anger about his release, saying that he was released from the UFC solely because his decision to coach in the International Fight League
. Shamrock said, "I talked to Dana White
when I was fighting with Tito Ortiz on the Ultimate Fighter show and let him know there was an opportunity to get some of the Lion's Den
fighters some fights on the team concept in the IFL. Dana kind’ve flipped out on that, saying he was gonna squash them and kill them, and that they’re nothing but scumbags and he was gonna crush ‘em. And it just kind of took me off guard, and he was very upset at them. And I guess he took them to court and lost a lawsuit to them, so he was pretty upset about that, because he thought that they had taken some things from him or whatever, but they were found innocent of all that. So, I told him, “You know, it’s not like I’m fighting and it’s not against my contract to coach my fighters on a show.” And he said, “Well, if you do that, even if it’s not in your contract, you will never work for us again.” Which I thought was kind of a threat - it had no bearing on my contract and that he was just trying to push me around. And at that point, I went ahead, and - because I didn’t want to cause a problem at that point in time - I went ahead and said, “Alright, I’ll just wait until I’m done with the fight with Ortiz.” So, I finished the fight with Ortiz and then I went ahead and coached in the IFL. At that point, Dana White decided that he was going to go ahead and breach my contract and cut me loose."
Shamrock then engaged in a feud with White in the media and ultimately sued the UFC for breach of contract, citing that he had one fight left on his deal that the UFC had to honor. Shamrock added, "I’ll tell you what I’m looking for right now. I’m looking for UFC to step up to the line, sit down, and start talking - and stop acting like children. Because what they’re doing … this is a multi-billion dollar business, and they’re acting like they’re in high school or kindergarten, and they just broke up with their girlfriend. I was a big part of their business in helping them make money. And they completely turned their back on me. And of course I’m angry. But you know what? I’m also a man, and I can sit down at the table and discuss things. But these guys have no intentions of doing that. The fact is, Dana White would rather go on the air and trash me and try and make me look bad and try and hurt my credibility, rather than step up like a man and sit down and let’s work this thing out...they’re hurting the people who built this sport. They didn’t do it themselves, this is what we call a “team”. They did their part, we did our part, and everybody should be holding up to their end of the bargain.
Shamrock ultimately lost his suit against the UFC and was ordered by the court to pay Zuffa's attorney fees, totaling $175,000.
for the IFL
. Roy Nelson
, one of Shamrock's fighters, was the reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion when the league was bought out and disbanded.
On March 8 at the Cage Rage 25, Shamrock fought Robert Berry
, but lost in the first round by Technical knockout
due to punches. It was announced on August 25 that Shamrock's next opponent would be Kimbo Slice
at Elite XC Saturday Night Fight Special on October 4, 2008. However, Shamrock would never get the chance as he was injured shortly before the two men were to start the bout. On the day of the fight, Shamrock was warming up and received a head butt which opened a cut. He needed 6 stitches and was not able to compete against Slice. The doctor who examined Ken said he would not be able to compete for at least 45 days because of the injury.
Ken Shamrock Productions co-promoted an event with War Gods on February 13, 2009, in which Ken fought in the main event against 6'6, 380 lb. Ross Clifton
. Shamrock knocked Clifton down with a right hand and finished him via arm bar from side control in the first round. The fight was streamed live on Sherdog.com
and had over 200,000 live views. Shamrock was then scheduled to fight fellow WWE alum Bobby Lashley, but tested positive for steroids after the Clifton fight and received a one year suspension. Shamrock's manager and attorney Rod Donohoo said the fighter has adamantly denied the allegations.
Shamrock faced fellow UFC legend Pedro Rizzo
on July 18, 2010 at an event called Impact Fighting Championships in Sydney
, Australia
. Shamrock lost by TKO due to leg kicks. His next fight was against Johnathan Ivey
for the USA MMA promotion on October 16, 2010. Shamrock earned a unanimous decision against Ivey, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 for the 46-year-old. His most recent bout was against Mike Bourke on November 25, 2010 in Durban
, South Africa
for the King of the Cage
promotion. Shamrock knocked Bourke down with a punch but was injured shortly after during a scramble and subsequently lost the bout via TKO (injury) in the first round, as he was unable to continue due to a leg injury.
Shamrock was scheduled to face Antony Rea
at WEF 46 on April 22, 2011. Ken withdrew from the fight with Rea due to a staph infection.
Shamrock was rumored to be scheduled to face Mike Bourke, in a rematch, on 24 July 2011 for King of the Cage, but Ken has denied all knowledge of the rematch.
Shamrock has stated that he wants to fight 4 or 5 times in 2011 and is trying to put fights together with Royce Gracie
, Tank Abbott
, Marco Ruas
, Dan Severn
and his brother Frank Shamrock
. Shamrock currently has no fights scheduled and is recovering from MRSA, a serious bacterial infection he contracted while taking care of his son at the hospital.
in a special rules bout, in which there will be 8 three minute rounds instead of the traditional 3 five minute rounds. There will also be a '30 second stand-up rule' which means if the fight goes to the ground, after 30 seconds the referee will stand up the fighters. The time will be held if a submission hold is in place, and it will continue if the hold is broken or released. Despite these new rules, which gives James Toney more of an advantage, it was Shamrock who suggested it, saying it will make the fight more fun to watch.
The proposed special rules mixed martial arts match between UFC veteran Ken Shamrock and boxing world champion James Toney is being targeted for November. Ivaylo Gotzev, one of the fight’s promoters, advised MMAWeekly.com of the month targeted for the unique bout. In addition, Gotzev and his partners are nearing finalization of the venue, which could be in one of two American states or out of the country. “(We’re looking at) two different states and, actually, going outside of the country,” Gotzev said. “We’re zeroing in right now, but it’s going to be November.”
It has been said that this fight will 'likely' take place in 2012, as there hasn't seemed to been an agreement with payment for both fighters, as well as Toney's ambition to fight rising Russia
n boxing prospect Denis Lebedev
at cruiserweight.
media and fanbase for fighting too far past his prime. Jeremy Botter of Heavy.com
wrote: "Ken Shamrock used to be the baddest man on the planet. In the early days of mixed martial arts
, it was tough to find anybody who inspired more fear than Shamrock. His muscled and ripped frame...his intensity was unequaled in the sport at the time, and his bag of submissions made him a very real threat to any opponent he faced during those early years. But those early years were a long time ago, and Shamrock is no longer even a shell of the man he once was."
After the Impact FC 2
show, sympathy for Shamrock's decline became even more pronounced. Longtime mixed martial arts reporter Dave Meltzer
wrote: "Impact Fighting Championship's pay-per-view show from Sydney was a sad reminder of what the future may hold for many of today’s top stars. Ken Shamrock, Carlos Newton
, Murilo Bustamante
, Pedro Rizzo
and Josh Barnett
were all at various points either UFC champions or groomed to be top stars. But there they were, on the other side of the world, fighting before quiet, small crowds in an atmosphere that hardly felt like they were part of a booming sport."
UFC President Dana White
said in 2008; "Ken Shamrock was in a beef with us over his contract. We thought he retired, he was claiming he didn't and still had one fight. And my attitude was, I'd rather pay Ken Shamrock to not fight. I'd rather pay him to not fight and just say, "stay home, Ken". Ken is way past his prime, it gets to the point where it's dangerous for that guy to still be fighting."
WWE announcer Jim Ross
said before Shamrock's scheduled fight with Bobby Lashley in early 2009; "There was a time that I could see the veteran, 45 year old Shamrock, a former WWE superstar, schooling the MMA rookie Lashley but that ship has long since sailed. I have great respect for Ken but he's outstayed his welcome in the octagon, cage, whatever and needs to teach and coach and stop fighting...Kenny is fighting for one more pay day while Lashley is fighting to help establish what he hopes will be a long term, lucrative, MMA career."
under Bob Sawyer, Buzz Sawyer
and Nelson Royal. He debuted in 1990 in the Charlotte, North Carolina
-based South Atlantic Pro Wrestling promotion
under the ring name
Wayne Shamrock. He later changed his ring name to just Shamrock and turned heel
, adopting the nickname "Mr. Wrestling". In 1990, Shamrock travelled to Japan, where he competed in the Universal Wrestling Federation
and its successor promotion, Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
.
His first taste of mixed martial arts came following the exodus of his mentors Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki from Fujiwara's promotion to found one of the formative Japanese mixed martial arts associations, Pancrase
. Later, he returned to America to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
.
Shamrock would split time between the two organizations until 1996, whereupon he returned to professional wrestling, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation
.
. On March 23, 1997, Shamrock, identified as Ken Shamrock and billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Man"—a name given to him by ABC News
, refereed a submission match between Bret Hart
and Steve Austin
at WrestleMania 13
.
Shamrock returned to the ring following WrestleMania, squashing Vernon White
(one of his Lion's Den students) in his debut WWF match. He went on to feud
with Vader, Bret Hart and The Hart Foundation throughout 1997, culminating in a bout between Shamrock and The British Bulldog
at SummerSlam 1997
which Shamrock lost after refusing to relinquish a chokehold, following Shamrock going on a rampage after being slapped across the face by The British Bulldog with a handful of dog-food. Shamrock was considered a candidate to win the WWF Championship
from the departing Bret Hart, before the Montreal Screwjob
occurred. Shamrock went on to challenge Shawn Michaels
for the WWF Championship at In Your House
in December, defeating Michaels by disqualification after Triple H
and Chyna interfered in the match.
Throughout early 1998, Shamrock feuded with WWF Intercontinental Champion
Rocky Maivia. He lost to Maivia via disqualification at the 1998 Royal Rumble
and a victory over Maivia at WrestleMania XIV
was reversed after Shamrock continued to apply his ankle lock after Maivia had submitted. In June 1998, Shamrock won the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Jeff Jarrett
in the semi-finals and Maivia in the finals. Following the King of the Ring, Shamrock feuded with Owen Hart
, with Hart defeating Shamrock in a "Hart Family Dungeon match" at Fully Loaded and Shamrock defeating Hart in a "Lion's Den match" at SummerSlam
. In September, he formed a short-lived stable with Mankind
and The Rock.
Shamrock turned heel in October 1998 and won the vacant Intercontinental Championship on October 12, defeating X-Pac
in the finals of an eight man tournament. In November, Shamrock consolidated his heel status by joining Mr. McMahon's
Corporation
. On December 14, Shamrock and fellow Corporation member Big Boss Man
defeated the New Age Outlaws
for the WWF Tag Team Championship, making Shamrock a dual champion. The duo held the titles until January 25, 1999, when they lost to Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart.
In January 1999, Shamrock began feuding with Billy Gunn
, Goldust and Val Venis
, all of whom had made overtures to his sister, Ryan
. He lost the Intercontinental Championship to Venis on February 14 when Gunn, the guest referee, delivered a fast count. Shamrock took part in a four way bout for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XV
. The reigning champion Road Dogg
, was able to retain his title by pinning Goldust after Shamrock and Venis were counted out while brawling outside the ring.
In mid-1999, the Corporation began feuding with The Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness
, with The Undertaker's minions repeatedly ambushing Shamrock and kidnapping
Ryan, sacrificing her on the Undertaker's symbol. After breaking away from the Corporation, thus turning face
once more, Shamrock went on to feud with The Undertaker at Backlash and lost. In May, Shamrock, The Big Show
, Mankind
and Test formed The Union
, a stable of wrestlers in opposition to the Corporate Ministry
. The Union dissolved soon after defeating the Corporate Ministry at Over the Edge
in May.
Shamrock briefly feuded with Jeff Jarrett before beginning a rivalry with martial artist Steve Blackman
that saw he and Blackman fight one another in a series of unorthodox matches. The feud ended at SummerSlam 1999
, where Shamrock defeated Blackman in a "Lion's Den weapons match". He went on to feud with the newly debuted Chris Jericho
until departing the WWF in late 1999 in order to resume his mixed martial arts career. His departure was attributed to an injury inflicted by Jericho's bodyguard, Mr. Hughes
.
match between Bryan Danielson
and Low-Ki.
promotion. On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, Shamrock won the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship
in a Gauntlet for the Gold
match, and is recognized as TNA's first ever World Champion. After feuding with Malice
for several weeks, Shamrock left TNA shortly after losing the title to Ron Killings
on August 7. He briefly returned to TNA in June 2004 as an ally of Jeff Jarrett before leaving the company and the sport once more.
company Juggalo Championship Wrestling, owned by Psychopathic Records
, during their flagship annual event, Bloodymania 3.
, who was instrumental in turning Shamrock's life around as a teenager. Along with his brother Frank Shamrock
, he is adopted. According to Shamrock, he lived in cars and was abandoned as a child. This was also integrated into the personal history of his WWE persona
. He is the head trainer of the Lion's Den, a school of shoot-fighting, or what is more commonly referred to as submission fighting. He attended junior college at Shasta College
in Redding, California
and has been considered a possible choice for induction into the Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame.
Ken and Frank Shamrock have an estranged relationship; Ken has claimed that Frank mistreated their foster father Bob, while Frank claims that the real reason for the fallout with Ken is due to his feeling that Ken was trying to keep Frank's career down. Frank asserts that he and Ken have never been close and that his attempts to mend their relationship were rejected by Ken.
Shamrock has been married twice. His first marriage, to Tina Ramirez, ended in divorce in early 2002. Together they have four children: Ryan (born November 24, 1988), Connor Kenneth (born September 26, 1991), Sean and one daughter, Fallon. In 2005, Shamrock married a woman named Tonya whom he had known since childhood. He is now stepfather to her three children. In total, Shamrock has seven children and two grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Malen.
Shamrock's eldest son Ryan Shamrock made his MMA debut on August 25, 2007, at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California
defeating Josh Besneatte. He lost his next two fights and hasn't fought since April, 2010.
Shamrock's third son Sean Shamrock made his MMA debut against Lucas Goulet on July 31, 2010 at KOTC - Underground 59. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Sean Shamrock was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March 2011 and is continuing his fight career after having the affected kidney removed.
Shamrock appeared in the film
s Champions, Virtuosity
, Scarecrow Gone Wild, the wrestling documentary and the high school wrestling movie which are both coincidently titled Beyond the Mat. He also appeared in That '70s Show
episode "That Wrestling Show" as Wrestler #1.
On January 14, 2010, Frank and Ken Shamrock's adoptive father, Bob Shamrock, died due to health complications from diabetes.
as he made his entrance towards the Octagon. For his last 2 fights in the UFC Shamrock used the song "Slayed" by British DJ Rob Overseer. His professional wrestling theme song which originated in the WWF was titled "Dangerous", composed by longtime WWF theme music creator Jim Johnston
and first appeared on WWF The Music, Vol. 2
a remixed version appeared on WWF The Music, Vol. 3
.
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 28–15–2
| Mike Bourke
| TKO (injury)
| King of the Cage: Platinum
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:00
| Durban
, South Africa
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 28–14–2
| Johnathan Ivey
| Decision (unanimous)
| USA MMA: Return of the Champions
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Lafayette
, U.S
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 27–14–2
| Pedro Rizzo
| TKO (leg kicks and punches)
| Impact FC 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:33
| Sydney
, Australia
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 27–13–2
| Ross Clifton
| Submission (armbar)
| WarGods: Valentine's Eve Massacre
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:00
| Fresno
, U.S.
| Shamrock tested positive for steroids after fight.
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–13–2
| Robert Berry
| KO (punches)
| Cage Rage 25
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:26
| London
, England
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–12–2
| Tito Ortiz
| TKO (punches)
| Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 – The Final Chapter
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:23
| Hollywood, Florida
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–11–2
| Tito Ortiz
| TKO (elbows)
| UFC 61
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:18
| Las Vegas
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–10–2
| Kazushi Sakuraba
| TKO (punch)
| Pride 30
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:27
| Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–9–2
| Rich Franklin
| TKO (punches)
| The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:42
| Las Vegas
, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–8–2
| Kimo Leopoldo
| KO (knee)
| UFC 48
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:26
| Las Vegas
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–8–2
| Tito Ortiz
| TKO (corner stoppage)
| UFC 40
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Las Vegas
, U.S.
| For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–7–2
| Don Frye
| Decision (split)
| Pride 19
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–6–2
| Sam Adkins
| Submission (kimura)
| WMMAA 1: Megafights
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:26
| Atlantic City
, U.S.
| Won WMMAA Heavyweight title
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 24–6–2
| Kazuyuki Fujita
| TKO (corner stoppage)
| Pride 10
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6:46
| Saitama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 24–5–2
| Alexander Otsuka
| KO (punches)
| Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9:43
| Tokyo
, Japan
| Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Superfight
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 23–5–2
| Brian Johnston
| Submission (choke)
| Ultimate Ultimate 1996
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:48
| Birmingham
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 22–5–2
| Dan Severn
| Decision (split)
| UFC 9
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 30:00
| Detroit, U.S.
| Lost UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 22–4–2
| Kimo Leopoldo
| Submission (kneebar)
| UFC 8
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:24
| Bayamon
, Puerto Rico
| Defended UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 21–4–2
| Yoshiki Takahashi
| Decision (lost points)
| Pancrase: Truth 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 20:00
| Yokohama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 20–4–2
| Katsuomi Inagaki
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 7
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:19
| Sapporo, Japan
|
|-
| Draw
| style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–2
| Oleg Taktarov
| Draw
| UFC 7
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 33:00
| Buffalo
, U.S.
| Retains UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges.
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–1
| Larry Papadopoulos
| Submission (achilles lock)
| Pancrase 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:18
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 18–4–1
| Dan Severn
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| UFC 6
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:14
| Casper
, U.S.
| Won UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–4–1
| Minoru Suzuki
| Submission (kneebar)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:14
| Urayasu
, Japan
| Lost King of Pancrase title.
|-
| Draw
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–3–1
| Royce Gracie
| Draw
| UFC 5
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 36:00
| Charlotte
, U.S.
| For UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges.
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–3
| Bas Rutten
| Submission (kneebar)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:01
| Yokohama
, Japan
| Defends King of Pancrase title
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 16–3
| Leon Dijk
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:45
| Nagoya, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 15–3
| Manabu Yamada
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 30:00
| Tokyo
, Japan
| Won King of Pancrase Tournament
: Became first Pancrase Champion
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 14–3
| Masakatsu Funaki
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:50
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 13–3
| Maurice Smith
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:23
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 12–3
| Alex Cook
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:31
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 11–3
| Takaku Fuke
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 5
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:13
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 10–3
| Felix Mitchell
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| UFC 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:34
| Charlotte
, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 9–3
| Christophe Leininger
| Submission (punches)
| UFC 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:49
| Charlotte
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 8–3
| Masakatsu Funaki
| Submission (choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:30
| Osaka
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 8–2
| Bas Rutten
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 16:42
| Tokyo
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 7–2
| Matt Hume
| Submission (armlock)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:50
| Amagasaki, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 6–2
| Ryushi Yanagisawa
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase: Pancrash! 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7:30
| Osaka
, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 5–2
| Minoru Suzuki
| Submission (heelhook/kneebar)
| Pancrase: Pancrash! 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7:37
| Yokohama
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 5–1
| Andre Van Den Oetelaar
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:04
| Hakata, Japan
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–1
| Royce Gracie
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0:57
| Denver, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–0
| Patrick Smith
| Submission (heel hook)
| UFC 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:49
| Denver, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–0
| Takaku Fuke
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0:44
| Kobe
, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–0
| Yoshiki Takahashi
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 12:23
| Nagoya, Japan
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
| Masakatsu Funaki
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6:15
| Urayasu
, Japan
|
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
(MMA) fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler. Shamrock emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts, headlining over 15 main event
Main Event
Main Event is Australia's only pay-per-view channel. It transmits through Foxtel, Optus Television and Austar, which jointly own the channel...
s and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
and Pride Fighting Championships during the course of his career and set numerous pay per view records with his drawing power. Shamrock is widely considered to be a legendary figure and icon in the sport of mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
. Shamrock was named The World's Most Dangerous Man by ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
in a special entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Things" in the early part of his UFC career, a moniker which has become synonymous as his nickname.
Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
. After fighting to a draw with Gracie in the inaugural Superfight, he became the first UFC Superfight Champion after defeating Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
at UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
; the title was eventually renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. Shamrock was also ranked by Inside MMA
Inside MMA
Inside MMA is an hour-long program on Mark Cuban's HDNet television network hosted by Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice. The hosts, along with a revolving panel of three guests, provide commentary on mixed martial arts events around the globe...
as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time.
Shamrock is the founder of the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
mixed martial arts training camp. The Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
became one of the most successful camps in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
history and was famous dominating the early scene of mixed martial arts. He is also the older adopted brother of former UFC champion Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
.
In addition to his mixed martial arts career, Shamrock enjoyed considerable success in professional wrestling, achieving championship success during his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
. Among other accolades, he is a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
, one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
, one-time WWF Tag Team Champion, and the 1998 WWF King of the Ring. World Wrestling Entertainment—formerly the World Wrestling Federation—has credited Shamrock for popularizing the ankle lock (later used by fellow professional wrestling world champions Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...
and Jack Swagger), which was named by the organization as the second best submission hold in its history.
Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling (1993–1996)
The origins of Shamrock's mixed martial arts career began in the Japanese pro wrestling organization Fujiwara Gumi. On October 4, 1992, at the Tokyo DomeTokyo Dome
Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...
, a legitimate match between "Wayne" (Shamrock's show title in Japan) Shamrock and kickboxing champion Don Nayaka Nielsen took place. Shamrock took Nielsen down and submitted him with an arm lock in 45 seconds. The success of this match made young pro wrestlers Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
and Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
question what they had been told since entering into predetermined wrestling: that nobody would ever pay to see real matches.
Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki then founded a group of pro wrestlers and decided to pursue marketable legitimate matches. They formed a promotion called Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
, named by ’60s wrestling star Karl Gotch after the sport of Pankration
Pankration
Pankration was a martial art introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC and founded as a blend of boxing and wrestling but without any rules. The term comes from the Greek , literally meaning "all powers" from "all" + "strength, power". Spartans were taught to use this ancient...
in the ancient Olympics, which combined all different forms of fighting into one sport. Using pro-wrestling rules – no closed fisted punching to the head (closed fisted punches were allowed to the body), breaks on the ropes, but fighting for real – Shamrock beat his friend and mentor, MMA legend Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
by arm-triangle choke in the main event of the very first Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
show on September 21, 1993. The show attracted a sell-out audience of 7,000.
Shamrock, now an enormous star in Japan, defeated world kickboxing champion and future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith and Alex Cook in the Opening Round of the 16 man King of Pancrase Tournament
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
-External links:* *...
and Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
and Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada Is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He is best known for his participation in the Pancrase fighting organization. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Matt Hume, Jason Delucia, and Vernon White. Yamada has also fought Ken...
in the Second Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
to become the first King of Pancrase before crowds of 11,000 fans both nights at Tokyo’s Sumo Hall in December 1994. He then defended his King of Pancrase title against Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
in 1995, submitting him with a kneebar. He lost the title in his next fight against Pancrase co-creator, Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
.
In addition to his MMA bouts in Pancrase, Shamrock also competed in a kickboxing match in 1994 with kickboxing legend Frank "The Animal" Lobman
Frank Lobman
Frank "The Animal" Lobman is a Dutch-Surinamese former kickboxer. He was five times the European kickboxing champion and had an astonishing 9:10 knockout ratio...
, who holds a pro record of 110-6 with a 90% KO ratio. Shamrock broke Lobman's nose with a right cross early in the bout but was ultimately defeated by TKO due to leg kicks.
Shamrock eventually had a falling out with Pancrase management in early 1996 and left the company to compete in the UFC full time. Shamrock left Pancrase with a record of 17-3.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (1993–1996)
On November 12, 1993, after the first three PancrasePancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
shows, Shamrock returned to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to fight in the newly formed Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
(UFC), despite fighting in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
just four days earlier. Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
served as Shamrock's head trainer for the event. The event was held under a one-night tournament format with minimal rules (in contrast to Pancrase, which had extensive rules and a gentleman's agreement not to strike on the ground). Shamrock's first opponent was Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith (fighter)
Patrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
. In the opening seconds of the fight, Smith came forward and threw a leg kick, but Shamrock shot off the kick for a double-leg takedown. Following some ground and pound, Shamrock seized Smith’s right leg and dropped back, applying a heel hook
Leglock
A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock...
, forcing Smith to tap out.
First UFC rivalry: Ken Shamrock vs Royce Gracie
Shamrock's opponent in the semi finals of UFC 1UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
was Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
. To start the fight, Gracie immediately shot for a takedown
Takedown (grappling)
A takedown is a martial arts and combat sports term for a technique that involves off-balancing an opponent and bringing him or her to the ground, typically with the combatant performing the takedown landing on top. The process of quickly advancing on an opponent and attempting a takedown is known...
on Shamrock, who sprawled and following a brief scramble, ended up in Gracie's open guard. Shamrock then grabbed Gracie's ankle and sat back to attempt a heel hook. However, according to Shamrock, Shamrock's arm had gotten tangled in Gracie's gi and when Shamrock sat back, it pulled Gracie on top of him. Gracie then secured a rear naked choke and advanced to the finals. The bout was a source of controversy at the end because the referee did not see the tap and ordered the two fighters to continue fighting after Gracie had let go of the hold. Shamrock paused for a few seconds but declined, admitting to the ref that he tapped out and that it would not be fair for him to continue fighting. After the fight, Shamrock admitted that he underestimated Gracie: “I didn’t know who Royce Gracie was...when I saw him in his gi
Jujutsugi
Jujutsugi is the Japanese name for a jujutsu training uniform.For traditional jujutsu only a judogi or a karategi is allowed....
, I thought he was some karate guy (with no ground skills).” The loss to Gracie haunted Shamrock and was the beginning of a large rivalry between the two fighters.
Shamrock, haunted by his loss to Gracie, aggressively sought a rematch. He was originally scheduled to compete at UFC 2
UFC 2
UFC 2: No Way Out was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado...
but broke his hand after blocking a high kick while sparring with a teammate. He still wanted to compete, but when doctors told him that he might never fight again if he injured his hand any further, he reluctantly withdrew from the show.
On September 9, 1994, Shamrock returned to the octagon at UFC 3
UFC 3
UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
in an event that was marketed by the UFC as the ultimate rematch between two-time champion Royce Gracie and #1 contender Ken Shamrock. Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
, Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
and Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
served as Ken's cornermen for the event. Shamrock's first fight was against top ranked judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
practitioner Christophe Leininger. Leininger was the #2 ranked judo player in the United States with U.S. Olympic team experience and was also versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After a feeling out process to start the fight, Leininger engaged for a takedown, but Shamrock crossed faced him so hard into the mat that Leininger admitted to being knocked out for a second. After regaining full guard, Leininger attempted a triangle choke
Triangle choke
A triangle choke, or sankaku-jime in Judo, is a type of figure-four chokehold which strangles the opponent by encircling the opponent's neck and one arm with the legs in a configuration similar to the shape of a triangle...
, but Shamrock defended it and took Leininger's back. Leininger eventually rolled back to full guard, but after Shamrock landed a series of hard punches to his head, Leininger tapped out. Leininger suffered a mild concussion during this fight. Shamrock's next fight was in the semifinals against kickboxer Felix Mitchell. Shamrock took Mitchell down and forced him to tap out due to a rear naked choke
Rear naked choke
The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...
.
With this win, Shamrock advanced to the finals of UFC 3
UFC 3
UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
. However, when he learned Gracie had dropped out of the tournament, Shamrock refused to come out for the finals. Bob Shamrock, Ken's father, tried to explain to him how much money Shamrock would make by winning the championship, but he refused. "When something is taken from you, you lose everything...everything I trained for, everything I had wanted...you get so hyped up for it and now it's gone!" Shamrock said. Alternate Steve Jennum
Steve Jennum
Steve Jennum is a retired American mixed martial artist and Nebraska police officer. He was the winner of the UFC 3 tournament in 1994.-Mixed martial arts career:...
took his place in the final and won the title, having not fought previously.
Shamrock was unable to compete in his rematch with Gracie at UFC 4
UFC 4
UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event was seen live on pay-per-view, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 4 used an eight-man tournament...
either, as he was fighting in the King of Pancrase Tournament
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
-External links:* *...
to determine the first champion of Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
. Shamrock defeated Alex Cook and future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith in the Opening Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
-External links:* *...
and defeated top Japanese fighters Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
and Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada Is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He is best known for his participation in the Pancrase fighting organization. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Matt Hume, Jason Delucia, and Vernon White. Yamada has also fought Ken...
in the Second Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
to win the tournament. With this win, Shamrock became the first King of Pancrase and became the first ever foreign champion in mixed martial arts history in Japan.
On April 5, 1995, at UFC 5
UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
, Shamrock finally got his rematch with Gracie in a match that would determine the UFC Champion. The match, called "The Superfight", was the first singles match in UFC history and it was created to match the best fighters in the world against each other in a non-tournament format. The match was the most anticipated match in UFC history to that date, which resulted in a massive 260,000 pay per view buys, a record that stood all the way until Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
and Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
's rematch in 2005 at UFC 52
UFC 52
UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 16, 2005, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada, and later released on DVD.-History:Headlining the...
. Gracie had obvious concerns about his relative lack of size in comparison to Shamrock, so he came into the octagon at 190 pounds – roughly fifteen pounds above what had been his normal fighting weight; Shamrock also cut his weight down to 205 pounds for the bout.
Hours before the event, the UFC suddenly instituted a 30 minute time limit, mainly due to pay per view time constraints. Both Gracie and Shamrock were upset at the sudden rule change. For Shamrock, it ruined his game plan, who had been training for months to utilize his natural advantages in size and strength to wear Gracie down over the course of two hours, not in spectacular fashion but incrementally. "I didn't want to just go out there and beat Royce," said Shamrock. "I wanted to shut down his whole bragging system, which was, 'We're in better condition, our skills are better and we can beat anybody, anywhere, anytime'. My whole strategy going in was to wear him out, make him dog-assed tired to where he could hardly stand. I was going to beat him...beat on his ribs, slowly break him down and then treat him like a baby." Shamrock did not change his strategy to better fit the sudden 30 minute time window which resulted in a dull match that did not live up to its high expectations. Shamrock and Gracie fought for the entire allotted time of 30 minutes along with 5 minutes of overtime before the match was declared a draw due to the fight not having judges.
The fight ended in a draw, but most people watching the fight feel that, if the UFC at the time had ringside judges, Shamrock would have easily won the decision. The fans reacted with displeasure after the fight because a winner was not determined. Fans have been calling for a rematch ever since and much talk has surfaced over the years between both sides about who would have won if there were no time limits in place. The Gracies feel that Royce's jiu jitsu skills would have eventually won him the fight if it continued. Shamrock, however, feels that he was minutes away from finishing Gracie when time expired because he felt Gracie was badly hurt from the punch he landed to start the overtime period. In addition, the fact that Royce needed to be carried out of the octagon by his brothers after time expired showed Shamrock that Gracie did not have much left in the tank. Gracie's larger than life reputation was dented for the first time in the UFC and with the melon sized welt closing Gracie's eye after the fight it appeared as though Gracie had lost. However, the swollen eye was a result of a standing punch due to a sudden change of the rules in which both of the fighters were restarted on their feet.
Although many people viewed this fight as a dull match with little action, Shamrock did earn a lot of respect for this performance; back in those days, the Gracie guard was a mythical death trap and Shamrock became the first person to ever neutralize Royce Gracie's jiu jitsu attack in the UFC. In addition, Shamrock also became the first person to visibly hurt Gracie in a fight. Some fans felt that Shamrock was the unofficial winner of the Superfight. Play by play commentator Bruce Beck
Bruce Beck
Bruce Beck is the weekday Sports anchor at WNBC-TV. He is currently in his twelfth year with News 4 New York. He also files numerous sports reports for the station's various newscasts....
said at the end of the fight, "Gracie is a mess. Shamrock looks marvellous!" Shamrock was also treated with a lot of adulation from the fans after the fight was over as if he was the winner, cheering him as he left the octagon with his arms raised.
Despite this, Shamrock was not satisfied with his performance against Gracie, saying "it's certainly not a win. You gain nothing (with a draw)". Shamrock expressed desire to fight Gracie again for a third time in 1996, saying that if it went to a draw again, he would have Gracie declared the winner and Shamrock would forfeit his UFC Superfight Championship belt to Gracie. Gracie left the UFC after his fight with Shamrock and did not return until 11 years later at UFC 60
UFC 60
UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 27, 2006. The event took place at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada.-Background:Headlining the card was a...
. Shamrock would headline the subsequent 'superfight' bouts in Gracie's absence and became the main draw in the UFC.
UFC Champion
Despite some fans holding the opinion that Shamrock unofficially won the UFC 5UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
Superfight with Gracie, the UFC was still without an official reigning Superfight champion. Shamrock was then matched up with UFC 5
UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
tournament champion Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
at UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
on July 14, 1995 to determine the reigning champion of the UFC. The 'superfight', a match presented as a fight between the "best of the best", was still the match that would determine the UFC champion and the tournament winners would be considered the #1 contender for the newly created UFC Superfight Championship, the first single world MMA championship outside of Japan. The Superfight title would later be renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. The Superfight title was created for the UFC 5 Superfight between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, but since the match ended in a draw, the title remained vacant.
Before the match started, a storm was brewing between Severn and Shamrock, which led to the second major UFC rivalry: Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
. The feud began at the pre-fight press conference. After most of the attention from the media was given to Shamrock, Severn got up and walked out of the door without explanation. Shamrock took Severn's action as a sign of disrespect. Severn later said that he walked out because he felt that it would be unfair to Shamrock for him to be present in the room while Shamrock was discussing his fight strategy to the media. Shamrock became even more furious when he found a newsletter back at the hotel that explained to readers how Severn was going to destroy Shamrock. Fueled by anger, Shamrock could not wait to fight Severn in the octagon. Shamrock, wearing his anger on his sleeve, came out very aggressive in the fight, shooting for a takedown in the opening seconds and then clinching with Severn, a Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...
specialist. Shamrock proceeded to win the fight with Severn quickly and easily, choking out Severn in 2:14 to win the UFC Superfight Championship. Shamrock displayed excellent wrestling skills in this fight, having out-wrestled Severn, a four-time All-American Division 1 wrestler at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
. With this win, Shamrock became the reigning UFC Champion and became the man who the tournament winners would challenge for the title. As the UFC Superfight Champion, Ken Shamrock was considered by many to be the best no holds barred/mixed martial arts fighter in the world.
On September 8, 1995, at UFC 7
UFC 7
-External links:***...
, Shamrock successfully defended the UFC Superfight title against UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
Tournament Champion "The Russian Bear" Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...
, in what would have been a very lopsided decision victory for Shamrock if there had been judges. Shamrock went from coaching and cornering Oleg in his tournament finals fight at UFC 6 to having to fight him at the next UFC, a situation that made Shamrock uneasy. Shamrock stated in his autobiography that he was uncomfortable fighting Taktarov, as Oleg trained with the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
and he did not wish to injure his friend and teammate. He claimed to be trying to open a cut on Taktarov's face to get the referee to stop the fight because he knew that Oleg would never tap out. In Beyond the Lion's Den, Shamrock states; "In addition to being his friend, I was also trying to get him into Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
and if I broke his leg it would be a while before he could recover and he needed the money. I figured my best chance of winning without seriously hurting him was to beat on him with punches... If I could open a cut and get him to start pouring blood, I could get a referee stoppage. It might not have been the best plan going into a fight, but considering the options it seemed like the best option available. And it turned out fine. I battered him around for the duration of the match, the bout was declared a draw and when Oleg recovered he went on to fight in Pancrase." Longtime UFC cutman
Cutman
A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typically handle swelling, nosebleeds and lacerations...
Leon Tabbs recalled Oleg's condition after the fight: "I go in there to stop the bleeding and he's halfway unconscious. He finally comes out of it and looks at me and says, 'Leon, why did you stop the fight?'"
Shamrock then defended his belt against Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo , or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo...
at UFC 8
UFC 8
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
in February 1996 in front of 13,000+ energetic fans in Puerto Rico. Kimo was best known at this time as the man who ended Royce Gracie's consecutive UFC tournament wins dating back to their fight at UFC 3. Kimo was also coming off a dominant, brutal ground and pound victory over UFC 2
UFC 2
UFC 2: No Way Out was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado...
finalist Pat Smith
Patrick Smith (fighter)
Patrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
at K-1 Legend in Japan. Kimo charged at Shamrock to start the fight and threw a kick, but Shamrock countered the kick by popping Kimo in the jaw with an overhand right and simultaneously caught Kimo's extended leg for a single leg takedown. Shamrock eventually passed his guard into full mount. Shamrock chose not to strike Kimo and instead went for a choke and allowed Kimo to reverse the position into Shamrock's half guard. Kimo landed a heavy punch to swell Shamrock's eye, but Shamrock regained full guard and spun for a kneebar from his back. Shamrock secured the kneebar, forcing Kimo to pound the mat in submission
Submission
Submission is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the power of one's superior or superiors.Submission may also refer to:* Submission/Submitter , an Islamic organisation...
. With the win, Shamrock defended his UFC Superfight title for the second time and his title reign continued with no end in sight.
The Detroit Dance
After defending his UFC title at UFC 8UFC 8
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
, Shamrock was scheduled to face number one contender and rival Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
at UFC 9
UFC 9
UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan...
in a rematch of their fight at UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
, which Shamrock won by guillotine choke
Guillotine choke
The guillotine choke is a chokehold in martial arts and wrestling applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint that prevents air flow...
in 2:14. Severn was coming off winning the Ultimate Ultimate 1995
Ultimate Ultimate 1995
-External links:***...
tournament and by all accounts Severn and Shamrock did not like each other. Their rematch at UFC 9 was highly anticipated and was marketed as the "Clash of the Titans 2" and took place in the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in Severn's home state.
Shamrock had a lot on the line at UFC 9; Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
was there to do a story on him and if he beat Severn again, Shamrock was going to be on the magazine's cover. In addition, he would also be featured in a story on the mainstream network CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. Shamrock would be the first mixed martial artist ever to be featured on the cover of a major sports magazine, let alone the biggest one in America. However, despite high expectations, the fight would go down as one of the worst in MMA history for a variety of reasons. UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz, referee John McCarthy
John McCarthy (referee)
John Michael McCarthy, the 'Octagon's ninth side', is the first head referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a retired Los Angeles Police Officer, and a Tactical Self-Defense Instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy. He formerly provided commentary and analysis for The Fight Network's...
and a team of lawyers were in court until 4:30 p.m. on the day of the fight battling with the District Attorney of Michigan, who was trying to prevent the UFC from holding the event in Michigan. An ultimatum was issued: the fight could go on as long as there were no closed fisted strikes to the head and no headbutts. The UFC, desperate to put the show on, agreed to the terms. Fighters were warned hours before the show that they would be arrested if they punched to the head with a closed fist (although many fights that night included closed fisted punches, no fighters were arrested).
When Shamrock learned of the sudden rule change, he made up his mind that he was not going to fight. While training for UFC 9, Shamrock suffered a torn lateral meniscus
Tear of meniscus
In sports and orthopedics, a tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of one of the tibiae. Menisci...
, a partially torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
, a broken nose, and cracked ribs. Combined with the rule that he could not punch, he did not think he could win a fight because all of his weapons were taken away from him. Shamrock was also fearful that he would be arrested; the troubled boys from his father's foster home would be watching him and he was afraid of setting a bad example. If Shamrock withdrew, the main event would have been cancelled and the UFC could have suffered substantial monetary damage. After UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz and other UFC officials pleaded with Shamrock to go on with the show, Shamrock, despite the injuries and new rules, reluctantly gave in to the pressure for the sake of the UFC.
In a fight that would be called "The Detroit Dance", both Severn and Shamrock circled each other with little to no contact for a combined total of almost thirty minutes. "I took the center of the ring understanding that I was going to be fighting for my life and Dan never came at me," Shamrock said. Severn later said that his strategy was to purposely not engage with Shamrock and wait for the fans to boo, hoping that the booing would affect Shamrock psychologically and force him to make a mistake that Severn could capitalize on. Finally, after over 15 minutes of stalling, Severn shot for a takedown, but was unsuccessful and following a brief scramble, Shamrock put Severn on his back in full mount. Shamrock held the mount for close to five minutes, throwing open fist palm strikes to Severn's head and an occasional closed fist punch to the body. Shamrock felt as though he would have damaged Severn badly and perhaps finished him from this position of full mount if he was allowed to punch Severn in the face with a closed fist. Severn eventually gave his back in an attempt to get out and the risk paid off as Shamrock slid off Severn's back and onto his back in full guard. Severn landed a headbutt to open a cut above Shamrock's eye and followed with elbow strikes and punches from Shamrock's guard. Shamrock eventually got back to his feet and after six more minutes stalling, the fight went to a judges decision. The judges gave a split decision win to Dan Severn, which upset Shamrock because he felt as though Severn had broken the rules by utilizing the banned closed fist punches to the head and headbutts. Chants of "boring!" and "Let's go Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
!" were echoed throughout the arena during the fight. Shamrock later stated that going through with this fight was the biggest regret of his fighting career. This fight would mark the last time Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
would serve as Ken Shamrock's trainer and cornerman.
After taking time off away from the octagon, including being a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, Shamrock entered the UFC's Ultimate Ultimate 96
Ultimate Ultimate 96
The Ultimate Ultimate 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 7, 1996...
in December 1996. Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
served as Ken's head cornerman for the event. Before the event, Shamrock promised to be aggressive in this fight to make up for the dance with Severn. Shamrock honored his word, beating Brian Johnston in the quarterfinals. Shamrock, however, broke the same hand during this fight that kept him out of UFC 2 and had to withdraw from the tournament.
Leaving MMA for the WWF
After UFC 9, United States SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
was successful in pulling UFC pay-per-view broadcasts from numerous cable systems, including TCI cable, which greatly hurt pay-per-view revenue. Combined with money drying out and being burnt out from fighting, Shamrock left MMA for professional wrestling, signing with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
. Shamrock left MMA while he was seemingly at the top of his game; he was in his prime and he was at this time considered by many to be one of the best fighters in the world. Shamrock was never close to the same fighter after the transition to pro wrestling, largely due to the amount of injuries he received while in the WWF, including a serious neck injury he suffered in late 1999 during a feud with Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
and Curtis Hughes
Curtis Hughes
Curtis Hughes is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation. In addition to the WWF, Hughes has also worked for World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, the American...
.
Despite not competing in the UFC as a fighter while with the WWF, Shamrock continued to coach his Lion's Den fighters in the UFC and even coached Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
at UFC 18. Shamrock left MMA with a professional record of 23 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws.
Controversy at the PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round
On January 30, 2000, Shamrock was involved in one of the largest and most publicized controversies in MMA history. At the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening RoundPRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round
The Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 30, 2000. The event began the Pride Openweight tournament of 2000.-Results:...
, Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...
, one of Shamrock's best fighters, fought Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
, who at the time was considered to be one of the best pound for pound
Pound for pound
Pound for pound is a term to describe how any two things compare when bearing in mind their varying quantities; for example, a tin of tomatoes weighing 250 g and costing $2.50 is more expensive, pound for pound, than one weighing 500 g and costing $4 .It is used in combat sports such as boxing or...
fighters in the world. Mezger took the fight on two weeks notice and had a broken foot going into the fight. The contract that Mezger signed stipulated that the fight would be one 15 minute round with no overtime. The fight mostly consisted of Mezger controlling the fight by stopping Sakuraba's takedown attempts while landing strikes from the outside. The round ended and Mezger expected the fight to go to the judges, but Pride officials wanted the fight to go to overtime. This resulted in one of the largest and most publicized controversies in MMA history.
According to Mezger, Pride did not like the outcome of the fight and changed the agreement/contract on the spot in order to give Sakuraba another chance to win the fight. Ken Shamrock, Mezger's corner man, entered the ring and an argument ensued. Mezger was then ordered out of the ring and back to the locker room by Shamrock, who was livid at the decision to extend the fight because of Mezger's foot injury and the fact that he took the fight on short notice. Mezger said, "For some reason, I had a tremendous amount of energy for that 15 minutes, but I started to kind of wilt near the end. Then they called it a draw and I'm like, "What?" Everyone blames Ken for being unprofessional. Really, Ken was protecting his fighter. We had an agreement.
Sakuraba said, "I wanted to go another round, thinking it would be possible to salvage the match, but when it was decided to extend the fight, Ken Shamrock was making scary faces. Later I heard that Mezger's contract was only for a one-round fight. I thought, "Ah, then it couldn't be helped." But Shamrock didn't have to get so angry like that. Seeing Mezger getting scolded by him, I felt sorry for (Mezger)."
PRIDE's U.S. producer, Michael Braverman, said, "Kenny (Shamrock) went out of his mind. Kenny went crazy. He stormed into their (Pride administration's) office. I was going, "This can't be good." He was furious. Have you ever seen Kenny mad? It was one of the most terrifying things I've ever seen. He could eat your head if he felt like it. Kenny foaming at the mouth is enough to scare the s--- out of anybody."
Later that night, the president of Pride FC made a public apology to Mezger at the Tokyo Dome for the miscommunication. Braverman added, "We had a big meeting (with PRIDE). We were able to get some concessions out of them, money and guarantees of future fights. They wanted to make it right. One thing I said in the meeting was, "Do you want me to call Kenny back in here and see what he says?" "No, no, no, no!"
Return to MMA- Pride Fighting Championships (2000–2002)
In 2000, Shamrock made a comeback to the mixed martial arts scene following a 4 year hiatus from the WWF. He signed with Pride Fighting Championships and defeated Alexander OtsukaAlexander Otsuka
, better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka, is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He won his last fight at VFX - Vale Tudo Fighters Mexico against Masada Masada on May 27, 2006...
by TKO due to punches at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals
The Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on May 1, 2000. The event concluded the Pride open-weight tournament of 2000. It is famous for containing one of the most anticipated matches...
in the superfight, his first fight back from the WWF. Shamrock was very impressive in this fight as he was able to knock out Otsuka, something that powerful striker and PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....
could not do to Otsuka in their fight a few months earlier. This was the first ever Pride event to be broadcasted live in America and Pride strategically used Shamrock's drawing power in America by making his Superfight with Otsuka the co-headliner of the event.
Shamrock then fought consensus top 10 heavyweight "Ironhead" Kazuyuki Fujita
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....
at Pride 10
PRIDE 10
Pride 10: Return of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, on August 27, 2000...
, who was coming off a huge upset victory over Mark Kerr. Fujita was highly accomplished wrestler in Japan; he missed making the Japanese Olympic wrestling team by one point and was also a national champion in Greco Roman wrestling. Fujita was also famous for his ability to take inhumane amounts of damage to his head without being knocked out (hence his nickname "Ironhead") and for his ability to withstand a guillotine choke
Guillotine choke
The guillotine choke is a chokehold in martial arts and wrestling applied from in front of the opponent. The choke involves using the arms to encircle the opponent's neck in a fashion similar to a guillotine. The technique is either a type of tracheal compression restraint that prevents air flow...
due to his strong neck.
During the time before the fight, Shamrock was going through a divorce and had to take care of his young kids during the day, which severely cut into his training time for the fight. Despite this, Shamrock dominated Fujita throughout the entire fight, putting on a sprawl and brawl clinic and nearly knocking Fujita out. However, he eventually had his corner throw in the towel because he felt like he was having a heart attack, ending an exciting fight in anticlimactic fashion. He was evaluated after the fight and it was determined that he was suffering from heart palpitations. Shamrock talked about what happened to him in an interview: "I'm not sure, even to this day, I'm not sure. Everything went white and I couldn't see. My heart felt like it was pounding through my chest. I'm not quite sure what happened. I couldn't control my vision, my balance, I don't know what was wrong with me. I was going through a lot just then, I was going through a divorce and my 4 kids were dropped off on me in a two bedroom apartment, so I didn't get to train properly for the fight. There was a lot going on in my life at the time and I think that there was a whole bunch of stress built up on me and it came out when I didn't want it to."
In December 2000, PRIDE tried to set up a dream fight between Ken Shamrock and then current PRIDE Grand Prix
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals
The Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on May 1, 2000. The event concluded the Pride open-weight tournament of 2000. It is famous for containing one of the most anticipated matches...
Champion, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and consensus #1 ranked heavyweight Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
. Shamrock and Coleman had trained together at the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
in late 1998 to help prepare Coleman for his fight with Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
at UFC 18
UFC 18
UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 8, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, in which Shamrock served as Coleman's coach and cornerman. MMA fighter Ashe Bowman claimed he witnessed Shamrock knock Coleman out during one of their training sessions.
PRIDE offered the fight with Coleman to Shamrock and he accepted it. The dream match up with Shamrock greatly excited Coleman, but after training for a few days, Coleman decided that he was not physically ready to fight someone of Shamrock's caliber. Coleman talked about his feelings on the fight in an interview: "For about a four day stand I contemplated taking the fight because it's something that's very hard to turn down. It's a dream match up and a question I've been asked over and over again, whether I would fight Ken Shamrock. So I wanted to take the fight very badly, I turned up my training for about 4 days, then on Friday night I came to the conclusion that I'm just not physically ready to fight Ken Shamrock...Certainly if you're going to fight someone with Ken Shamrock's skills then you want to be as close to 100 percent as you can."
Shamrock was then scheduled to fight feared PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....
at Pride 13
PRIDE 13
Pride 13: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. This was the first Pride event allowing knee strikes to the head of someone in the "four-points" position . It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on March 25, 2001...
, but suffered a neck injury during training two weeks before the fight. Tra Telligman
Tra Telligman
Tracy Telligman is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer who has fought in Japan, Russia and the USA...
, a Lion's Den fighter, replaced Shamrock on two weeks notice and defeated Vovchanchyn in an upset victory.
Shamrock engaged in a feud with Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
during his career in the Pride Fighting Championships. The feud ended in a match during Pride 19
PRIDE 19
Pride 19: Bad Blood was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on February 24, 2002.-Results:...
– Bad Blood, where Shamrock fought Frye in the main event in a match that potentially had PRIDE Heavyweight Championship title implications (PRIDE FC considered giving the winner of this fight a title shot against current Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira is a Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a former UFCInterim Heavyweight Champion...
). In what many fans regard as one of the greatest MMA fights of all time, Shamrock lost an incredibly close split decision, despite successfully applying several leglocks on Frye, who refused to tap, ruining his knees and ankles and resulting in Frye becoming addicted to pain killers from the damage he suffered.
The background of the feud was Don Frye's trash talking. In 1999, Alicia Webb
Alicia Webb
Alicia Nicole Webb is an American professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1998 until 1999 as Ryan Shamrock-World Wrestling Federation:...
(also known as Ryan Shamrock) dated Ken Shamrock until early 2003. Don Frye made comments to the effect that Shamrock cheated on and divorced his wife to date a young girl (Alicia Webb was 19 and Ken Shamrock was 35 when they started dating). Frye also joked that Ken's (at the time) estranged father Bob and brother Frank would be in Frye's corner for the fight. Ken Shamrock was enraged by Frye's trash talk, causing a feud between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye. Since then, Frye has stated that he only resorted to personal trash talk to make Ken want to fight him. Frye said: "I saw Ken Shamrock whoop him (Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
) at UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
and I thought, "That's a guy I gotta fight. Anybody who can whoop Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
like that has gotta be a man and I want to test my size against his size. I had the chance to talk trash and they gave me the fight; I crossed the line. I wasn't professional about it, but Ken was and after the fight, we shook hands and went our separate ways." Frye also commented on how Shamrock injured his ankles: "I talked a bunch of trash, so I had to back it up. I couldn't walk away after talking all that garbage. You're damn right it hurt. He messed up both my ankles real bad. That caused me to start taking the pain pills and I got a little dependent on the pain meds for a couple of years." Frye also said: "If I'd known it was going to hurt this bad, I'd have kept my mouth shut!"
ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Josh Gross attended the event from ringside and described his experience: "It was an all out war...I've taken the time to thank fighters for their efforts maybe three times. This was the first. The next day, as each man struggled to get on a bus in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
that would take us back to Narita airport, I was stunned -- and admittedly upset -- by how beat up they were. Regular folk would be in an ICU
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
. These guys were hardly normal."
The two fighters have been on good terms since that match.
Many feel that the war with Frye was the last great bout of Shamrock's career and his final showing as a top level MMA competitor. Both Frye and Shamrock would go on to greatly decline after this point.
Feud with Tito Ortiz and fighting to reclaim UFC championship gold for the second time
Shamrock's Lion's DenLion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
camp has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
. The feud began to build on January 8, 1999, at UFC 18
UFC 18
UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 8, 1999 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
. After upsetting top UFC fighter and Lion's Den member Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander is an American former mixed martial artist. He is most notable for his UFC appearances and was a former UFC champion, winning the first lightweight tournament at UFC 12. He was a member of the legendary fight team the Lion's Den alongside other notable fighters such as Ken...
, Ortiz, with his fingers, acted like he was shooting at the Lion's Den corner and coach Ken Shamrock and additionally put on a disrespectful shirt in the octagon after the fight with Bohlander which read "I just f**ked your ass".
On March 5, 1999, at UFC 19
UFC 19
UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 5, 1999 at the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi...
, the feud with Ortiz exploded in one of the biggest and most famous altercations in mixed martial arts history. After Ortiz won a referee stoppage in his rematch with Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...
, Ortiz immediately flipped off
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
corner and then put on a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch". The actions by Ortiz shocked and stunned the MMA world because at the time, the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
was highly respected, arguably the most elite fight team in MMA and was composed of numerous top fighters. At the top was the leader, Ken Shamrock, who at the time still held a reputation as being one of the scariest and most skilled fighters associated with the UFC.
After Shamrock saw the shirt, he yelled into the octagon "Hey Tito, don't let me see you wearing that shirt!". Shamrock then famously leaped onto the top of the cage, screaming at Ortiz and angrily waving his finger in Ortiz's face. Referee John McCarthy picked Ortiz up and carried him across the octagon to prevent the situation from escalating further, as a livid Shamrock was on the verge of jumping into the octagon.
Shamrock, who was still in the WWF at the time, was furious after the event. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva said: "SEG knew this was bad. Ken was really freaking out. Tables were getting flipped, who knows what was going to happen. So they have to usher Tito back to a room and get him away from the Lion's Den. It was craziness, everybody was just looking at each other and saying, 'Did I see that right? Did that shirt really say what I thought that it said?' Everybody's freaking out about it...there was such a buzz about it, everybody was running around everywhere."
Ortiz's manager, Sal Garcia, added: "one of the other fighters comes in at that point and says, 'hey, Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den, they want to come over and kick Tito and Sal's ass'." The tension backstage was so great that some feared a brawl between the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
and Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
, Kevin Randleman
Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is a retired American mixed martial arts fighter and a former UFC heavyweight champion. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for The Ohio State University...
, Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...
and others from the Hammer House (who were in Ortiz's locker room after the event). The situation was escalated to the point that police and security had to be called in to monitor the situation. Jeff Sherwood, creator of Sherdog.com, wrote after the event: "Someone needs to remind Ken Shamrock that it wasn't Monday Night RAW out there. Not saying he wouldn't tear Tito up though."
Sherwood was not alone in his opinion that Shamrock would have been too much for Ortiz to deal with at the time. Shamrock had a reputation of thoroughly and brutally dominating everybody in training at the Lion's Den, including top UFC fighters Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...
and Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander is an American former mixed martial artist. He is most notable for his UFC appearances and was a former UFC champion, winning the first lightweight tournament at UFC 12. He was a member of the legendary fight team the Lion's Den alongside other notable fighters such as Ken...
, and Shamrock, at north of 240 lb (108.9 kg; 17.1 st), was considerably larger than Ortiz and would be a full weight class above him. Ortiz also expressed reluctance in confronting Shamrock, saying shortly after UFC 19
UFC 19
UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 5, 1999 at the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi...
: Many fans were upset that this fight probably would never happen due to the weight difference. However, over time, Shamrock began to lose size and by the time he fought Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
three years later in 2002, Shamrock was down to around 220 lbs, making it possible to cut weight to 205.
On November 22, 2002, at UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
, nearly four years after the confrontation at UFC 19
UFC 19
UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 5, 1999 at the Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi...
, Shamrock returned to the UFC for the first time since December 1996 to fight Ortiz in a title match for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in one of the biggest, most anticipated and most important fights in UFC history. At nearly 39 years old, Shamrock's skills had diminished significantly due to injuries and aging but he was still considered to be a very dangerous and strong opponent. Although it was understood that Shamrock was past his prime, many people gave Shamrock a good chance to win based on his size (Ortiz had not fought someone as big as Shamrock to that point in his career), punching power and submission skills. Shamrock's apparent size advantage did not factor into the fight, however; Shamrock experienced difficultly cutting weight for the first time and cut too much weight, weighing in at 201 lbs, 4 lbs under the 205 lb. limit. Ortiz shed light upon his feelings before the fight in his book This is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion; "Ken Shamrock is a real good fighter. I was not intimidated by him, but I guess you can say I was a little bit afraid."
Color commentator Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
called the fight a "dream match" and "the most incredible night in mixed martial arts history" at the start of the show and admitted that he had no idea who was going to win the fight. The hype and buzz surrounding the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the event was unlike anything mixed martial arts had ever seen before. The event was also monumental for the future of the UFC and the sport as a whole in America for a variety of reasons. UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
sold out the MGM Grand Arena
MGM Grand Arena
MGM Grand Garden Arena is located in the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, USA, and is patterned after New York's Madison Square Garden. The arena has a seating capacity of 16,800 people and is located at 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South.-Notable events hosted:...
and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. It also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
and the anticipation for Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The commercial success of UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the dream that mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
could become big. Long time UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said that he felt UFC 40 was the turning point in whether or not the sport of MMA would survive in America.
Although many in the mixed martial arts media either deemed the fight too close to call or gave a slight edge to the younger Ortiz, the fight was not nearly as close as originally expected. Shamrock nearly scored a knockout early in round 1, buckling Ortiz's knees with a punch and dropping him to one knee. However, Ortiz recovered shortly after and went on to dominate the fight with takedowns and ground and pound. The manner in which Ortiz dominated the fight was surprising to some because the fighters at the Lion's Den claimed that nobody took Shamrock down in training yet Ortiz easily scored takedowns numerous times throughout the fight. Shamrock provided excitement for the crowd at the end of rounds 2 and 3, dramatically scrambling to his feet after being dominated from his back, but was unable to mount any significant offense after getting up. Right before Round 4 started, Shamrock's cornerman threw in the towel and Ortiz successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight championship.
After the fight was over, Shamrock revealed that he fought Ortiz with a serious knee injury (a torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
). Bruce Buffer
Bruce Buffer
Bruce Anthony Buffer is the main octagon announcer for Zuffa main events. On UFC broadcasts, he is introduced as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon." He is the half brother of the well-known boxing and wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is President and CEO of their company "The Buffer...
has said on various occasions that this fight was one of the greatest fights he has ever seen and that the energy from the crowd that night was one of the greatest feelings he has ever experienced.
Shortly after the Ortiz fight, Shamrock seriously contemplated retirement from MMA, citing the fact that he had never lost two fights in a row in his career before and also citing a build up of injuries. Shamrock ultimately decided to not retire.
UFC Hall of Fame
On November 21, 2003, at UFC 45UFC 45
UFC 45: Revolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 21 November 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut...
, Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
and Ken Shamrock became the first inductees to the UFC Hall of Fame. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the UFC. UFC President Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
said; Shamrock spoke to the fans with a heartfelt speech: "Until now, I felt I had a satisfying career in the UFC. But, being one of the first to be inducted in the Hall of Fame brings it all together. I will never forget you and now I will not be forgotten. God bless." A poll was also conducted on the UFC's website among UFC fans to determine the most popular UFC fighters and Shamrock was voted the second most popular fighter in the UFC by the fans.
In 2003, Shamrock had surgery done to repair a torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
in his knee. Shamrock originally injured it during training in preparation for the Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
fight in February 2002 and completely tore it prior to his fight with Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
in November 2002. Shamrock has said that since his knee injury, he has had difficulty shooting and taking people down, which resulted in Shamrock changing his primary style from a wrestler/grappler and moving more towards a standup fighter.
On June 19, 2004, at UFC 48
UFC 48
UFC 48: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada...
, a 40-year-old Shamrock returned to fight the 244 lb (110.7 kg; 17.4 st) Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo , or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo...
at UFC 48
UFC 48
UFC 48: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada...
in a rematch of the UFC 8
UFC 8
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
Superfight Championship match, which Shamrock won via submission due to a kneebar. Shamrock was coming off a long layoff to recover from ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
surgery. Kimo's previous fight consisted of an impressive win over Shamrock's longtime rival, Tank Abbott
Tank Abbott
David Lee Abbott is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting"...
. Shamrock won the bout in the first round by KO via knee to the head. Shamrock's knee strike to Kimo's chin was so hard that he opened up a cut on his knee after landing the shot. Shamrock's mega drawing power was evident when the pay per view numbers came out for the event; UFC 48
UFC 48
UFC 48: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada...
amazingly drew more pay per view buys than the ultra hyped super fight between mixed martial arts stars Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
and Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
one event earlier at UFC 47
UFC 47
UFC 47: It's On! was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 2, 2004 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada...
.
Shamrock injured his shoulder during his fight against Kimo at UFC 48
UFC 48
UFC 48: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada...
. He originally thought it was just "wear and tear", but a MRI revealed a rotator cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
tear. Shamrock had surgery to repair the tear in his shoulder.
April 9, 2005, was a turning point in Shamrock's career and future in mixed martial arts. Shamrock faced rising star and future UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
in the main event in a light heavyweight bout on the popular reality
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...
finale
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 9, 2005. Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 1 in both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions....
. The event was a monumental moment in UFC history because it was the first ever UFC appearance on basic cable TV
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. Shamrock slapped on a heel hook early in the fight that put Franklin on crutches for a week, but Franklin escaped and defeated Shamrock by a TKO
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in the first round after taking advantage of a Shamrock slip while executing a high kick. At 41 years old, this was the first time Shamrock had ever been knocked out in a mixed martial arts fight in his career. Franklin's win over an icon like Shamrock propelled him into UFC stardom and established him as one of the organization's biggest stars.
On October 24, 2005, Shamrock lost to fellow mixed martial arts legend Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba in Pride: Fully Loaded, by TKO. The stoppage was very controversial because Shamrock immediately got up and protested to the referee, showing no signs of damage. There was also a feeling that PRIDE may have had a quick trigger on Shamrock because they were heavily biased in favor of the Japanese legend Sakuraba. However, his brother Frank Shamrock commented on the stoppage in an interview with the site Sherdog.com: "...if you're sleeping with your head through the second rope, you're in a bad way. He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."
The Ultimate Fighter: Season 3
On November 19, 2005 at UFC 56UFC 56
UFC 56: Full Force was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2005. It was held at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and released on DVD.-History:Headlining the card were the...
, Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
, the UFC president, announced that Shamrock would be one of the coaches (along with Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
) for the upcoming third season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The season unexpectedly turned out to be very problematic between Shamrock and his fighters. This was unexpected because Shamrock had a reputation for being an outstanding coach; he built one of the most successful MMA fight teams of all time, the legendary Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
and molded his Lion's Den fighters into UFC Champions. Shamrock was portrayed very badly on the show, feuding with his fighters and often appearing uninterested. Shamrock admitted to doing a poor job with his fighters: "I failed them miserably, completely. So I have to figure out a way to get this...back in the driver's seat", Shamrock said during the show. The problems between Shamrock and his fighters on the show caused many newer fans to question Shamrock's coaching style. Shamrock responded to his critics in an interview: "I trained three fighters that were the first three (UFC) Middleweight Champions: Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander
Jerry Bohlander is an American former mixed martial artist. He is most notable for his UFC appearances and was a former UFC champion, winning the first lightweight tournament at UFC 12. He was a member of the legendary fight team the Lion's Den alongside other notable fighters such as Ken...
, Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger
Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...
and Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
. And I’ve trained dozens of guys to be champs in other organizations. In Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
, I had eight fighters in the top ten at one point. I was the champion and (Masakatsu) Funaki was the number one contender. The rest were all Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
fighters. My reputation doesn’t have to be spoken for or defended. The UFC and Spike TV did what they thought they needed to do for ratings, but in the end, my fans, my family and my God know exactly who I am." Shamrock also commented about his portrayal on "TUF": "People always come up to me now and say, ‘They portrayed you in such a bad light on that show.’ That’s always how they phrase it. They portrayed you that way. I guess that means people really know what I’m like. They wouldn’t say that if they thought that was really me. It makes me feel better to know that people feel that way." Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson (fighter)
Roy Nelson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after winning Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. The September 30, 2009 broadcast of his fight against Kimbo Slice, officially an exhibition, was the 2nd...
also defended Shamrock as a coach. Roy said, "He's not how they depict him on The Ultimate Fighter. He's a good guy and he's been in the business for a long time. He knows what works and what doesn't."
In a separate interview with UGO.com, Shamrock shed light upon the reason for the turmoil between himself and his fighters on "TUF": "Anytime you're put into a situation where the fighter or the trainer have to work with each other whether they mesh or not, it always becomes a problem. Then, when there are one or two guys you don't really mesh with, then it trickles down to the rest of the team. Unfortunately for me, not that the fighters were bad or anything, I just got a bunch of guys on the team that I didn't see eye to eye with. Me being a coach and running my own team for a long time, being able to call all the shots, it didn't work very well for me to have guys telling me what they wanted to do...It's a tough thing for a coach, especially for me. For so long I've been in control things and bring these guys up and nurture them and mold them into great fighters. I was very successful at that early on. But when I was thrown into that situation, I knew the score. I knew there could be problems and there were. I had a hard time with that. Other guys, like Tito (Ortiz) and Randy (Couture) really had some success with it. But for me it was difficult."
On July 8, 2006, at UFC 61
UFC 61
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, July 8, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.-Background:The main event was a...
, the highly anticipated rematch between Shamrock and a heavily favored Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
took place. The pay per view numbers set North American MMA records with 775,000 buys on pay-per-view and a $3.4 million gate. Not everyone, however, was thrilled with the fight. At 42 years old, Shamrock was significantly past his prime and no longer a championship caliber fighter. Former UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz said;
A small incident between Shamrock and Ortiz took place prior to the fight at the UFC 61 weigh-ins. After Shamrock weighed in at 206, Ortiz threw a fit, arguing that the fight contract was clear about the weight limit being 205. Nevada State rules, however, allow a fighter in a non-title match to go over the limit by one pound, so Shamrock's weight was not against the rules. Ironically, Ortiz proceeded to weigh in at 206.5 lbs. and had to drop the half-pound before weighing in again.
Shamrock lost the rematch with Ortiz in 1:18 of the first round by a technical knockout in a fight that ended in chaotic controversy. Shamrock came out firing, landing a combination of punches to back Ortiz into the cage, but Ortiz successfully secured a double leg takedown on Shamrock, lifting him up and slamming him to the mat. Although Shamrock was now on his back in a disadvantageous position, he did have Ortiz in his full guard
Guard (grappling)
The guard is a ground grappling position where one combatant has their back to the ground, while attempting to control the other combatant using the legs...
. Ortiz, while in Shamrock's full guard, was able to land several elbows to Shamrock's head which went undefended. Referee Herb Dean
Herb Dean
Herb Dean is an American mixed martial arts fighter and referee. Dean is one of the most seen and well respected referees in mixed martial arts with well over 3,500 professional matches worldwide...
deemed that Shamrock was no longer able to intelligently defend himself and stopped the fight. Watching the slow-mo, Shamrock did go limp from one elbow but revived for the next. Shamrock and the crowd were furious at the early stoppage and Dana White immediately put together a rematch on television.
On October 10, 2006, at Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 - The Final Chapter, Shamrock was dominated again by Ortiz by KO
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
after referee John McCarthy
John McCarthy (referee)
John Michael McCarthy, the 'Octagon's ninth side', is the first head referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a retired Los Angeles Police Officer, and a Tactical Self-Defense Instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy. He formerly provided commentary and analysis for The Fight Network's...
stopped the fight following multiple undefended fist strikes. The fight took place live on Spike TV. The two-hour broadcast drew a 3.1 overall rating, with the main event of Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
vs. Ken Shamrock drawing a 4.3 rating. Quoting MMA Weekly's Ivan Trembow, "That breaks down to an amazing 5.7 million viewers for the Ortiz vs. Shamrock fight. This shatters the UFC's previous record for the number of people watching a UFC fight at any given time." The overall ratings record would not be matched until UFC 75
UFC 75
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2 in London, England. The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, TV4 Sport in Sweden, PPV1 in Ireland, and offered on tape delay on...
on September 8, 2007. Immediately after the fight, Ortiz initially celebrated his victory with a mocking "grave digger" routine and an offensive t-shirt that said, "Punishing Him Into Retirement" after giving him the finger. However, Shamrock approached Ortiz and, after the two talked for several seconds, Shamrock said they could put all of their animosity aside as it was always "just business", shaking hands and burying the hatchet. Ortiz then declared that facing Shamrock had made him a better fighter and thanked Ken for "passing the torch". Ortiz added in his post-fight interview that he has always looked up to Shamrock. Shamrock gave a gracious speech after the fight but left it ambiguous whether he would retire from the sport. In an interview with Sherdog.com, he stated he was not leaning one way or another whether he will not fight again, but he did not want to lead the fans on. Ken also expressed his feelings after the match:
Ultimately, Shamrock's feud with Ortiz was critically important for the UFC's future and present day success. Shamrock and Ortiz's trilogy, along with the emergence of stars like Chuck Liddell
Chuck Liddell
Charles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
and Randy Couture
Randy Couture
Randy Duane Couture is a retired American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor, a three-time former heavyweight champion, two-time former light-heavyweight champion, former interim light heavyweight champion and UFC 13 tournament winner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, resulted in the sport's explosion into the mainstream.
Release from UFC
Shamrock was rumored to fight Englishman Michael BispingMichael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light...
at UFC 75
UFC 75
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2 in London, England. The event was on Setanta Sports 1 in the United Kingdom, TV4 Sport in Sweden, PPV1 in Ireland, and offered on tape delay on...
but was ultimately released from his UFC
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
contract shortly after in June 2007.
Shamrock expressed anger about his release, saying that he was released from the UFC solely because his decision to coach in the International Fight League
International Fight League
The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006 and closed on July 31, 2008...
. Shamrock said, "I talked to Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
when I was fighting with Tito Ortiz on the Ultimate Fighter show and let him know there was an opportunity to get some of the Lion's Den
Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)
The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California and San Diego, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant...
fighters some fights on the team concept in the IFL. Dana kind’ve flipped out on that, saying he was gonna squash them and kill them, and that they’re nothing but scumbags and he was gonna crush ‘em. And it just kind of took me off guard, and he was very upset at them. And I guess he took them to court and lost a lawsuit to them, so he was pretty upset about that, because he thought that they had taken some things from him or whatever, but they were found innocent of all that. So, I told him, “You know, it’s not like I’m fighting and it’s not against my contract to coach my fighters on a show.” And he said, “Well, if you do that, even if it’s not in your contract, you will never work for us again.” Which I thought was kind of a threat - it had no bearing on my contract and that he was just trying to push me around. And at that point, I went ahead, and - because I didn’t want to cause a problem at that point in time - I went ahead and said, “Alright, I’ll just wait until I’m done with the fight with Ortiz.” So, I finished the fight with Ortiz and then I went ahead and coached in the IFL. At that point, Dana White decided that he was going to go ahead and breach my contract and cut me loose."
Shamrock then engaged in a feud with White in the media and ultimately sued the UFC for breach of contract, citing that he had one fight left on his deal that the UFC had to honor. Shamrock added, "I’ll tell you what I’m looking for right now. I’m looking for UFC to step up to the line, sit down, and start talking - and stop acting like children. Because what they’re doing … this is a multi-billion dollar business, and they’re acting like they’re in high school or kindergarten, and they just broke up with their girlfriend. I was a big part of their business in helping them make money. And they completely turned their back on me. And of course I’m angry. But you know what? I’m also a man, and I can sit down at the table and discuss things. But these guys have no intentions of doing that. The fact is, Dana White would rather go on the air and trash me and try and make me look bad and try and hurt my credibility, rather than step up like a man and sit down and let’s work this thing out...they’re hurting the people who built this sport. They didn’t do it themselves, this is what we call a “team”. They did their part, we did our part, and everybody should be holding up to their end of the bargain.
Shamrock ultimately lost his suit against the UFC and was ordered by the court to pay Zuffa's attorney fees, totaling $175,000.
Post-UFC Career (2007–present)
In early 2007, Ken Shamrock became the coach of the Nevada LionsNevada Lions
The Nevada Lions were an International Fight League team based in Reno, Nevada. Coached by UFC and MMA legend Ken Shamrock the Lions were one of four teams established at the beginning of the 2007 season.-Record/Roster:...
for the IFL
International Fight League
The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006 and closed on July 31, 2008...
. Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson (fighter)
Roy Nelson is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division. He last competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after winning Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. The September 30, 2009 broadcast of his fight against Kimbo Slice, officially an exhibition, was the 2nd...
, one of Shamrock's fighters, was the reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion when the league was bought out and disbanded.
On March 8 at the Cage Rage 25, Shamrock fought Robert Berry
Robert Berry (fighter)
Robert "Buzz" Berry is a retired English mixed martial artist. He formerly competed in the Heavyweight division and is a Cage Rage veteran.-Career:...
, but lost in the first round by Technical knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
due to punches. It was announced on August 25 that Shamrock's next opponent would be Kimbo Slice
Kimbo Slice
Kevin Ferguson , better known as Kimbo Slice, is a Bahamian-American boxer, mixed martial artist and occasional actor...
at Elite XC Saturday Night Fight Special on October 4, 2008. However, Shamrock would never get the chance as he was injured shortly before the two men were to start the bout. On the day of the fight, Shamrock was warming up and received a head butt which opened a cut. He needed 6 stitches and was not able to compete against Slice. The doctor who examined Ken said he would not be able to compete for at least 45 days because of the injury.
Ken Shamrock Productions co-promoted an event with War Gods on February 13, 2009, in which Ken fought in the main event against 6'6, 380 lb. Ross Clifton
Ross Clifton
Ross Clifton was an American professional mixed martial artist and former Gladiator Challenge Super Heavyweight Champion. His most notable fight was against UFC Hall Of Famer and legend Ken Shamrock, and has a submission victory over Paul "Bear" Vasquez, a.k.a. The Double Rainbow Guy. Clifton ran...
. Shamrock knocked Clifton down with a right hand and finished him via arm bar from side control in the first round. The fight was streamed live on Sherdog.com
Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...
and had over 200,000 live views. Shamrock was then scheduled to fight fellow WWE alum Bobby Lashley, but tested positive for steroids after the Clifton fight and received a one year suspension. Shamrock's manager and attorney Rod Donohoo said the fighter has adamantly denied the allegations.
Shamrock faced fellow UFC legend Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
on July 18, 2010 at an event called Impact Fighting Championships in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Shamrock lost by TKO due to leg kicks. His next fight was against Johnathan Ivey
Johnathan Ivey
Johnathan Ivey is an American Heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has fought notable fighters such as Gan McGee, Jeremy Horn, Ben Rothwell, Dan Severn, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed martial arts career:...
for the USA MMA promotion on October 16, 2010. Shamrock earned a unanimous decision against Ivey, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 for the 46-year-old. His most recent bout was against Mike Bourke on November 25, 2010 in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for the King of the Cage
King of the Cage
King of the Cage, also known as KOTC, is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, USA.-History:KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features up and coming MMA stars as well as experienced combat fighters....
promotion. Shamrock knocked Bourke down with a punch but was injured shortly after during a scramble and subsequently lost the bout via TKO (injury) in the first round, as he was unable to continue due to a leg injury.
Shamrock was scheduled to face Antony Rea
Antony Rea
Antony Rea is an French professional mixed martial artist. Antony is a Cage Rage veteran and has fought for Shooto, bodogFIGHT and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. He is notable for his fights with Ultimate Fighting Championship contenders Vitor Belfort, Marvin Eastman, Jason MacDonald, Kazuo Takahashi,...
at WEF 46 on April 22, 2011. Ken withdrew from the fight with Rea due to a staph infection.
Shamrock was rumored to be scheduled to face Mike Bourke, in a rematch, on 24 July 2011 for King of the Cage, but Ken has denied all knowledge of the rematch.
Shamrock has stated that he wants to fight 4 or 5 times in 2011 and is trying to put fights together with Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
, Tank Abbott
Tank Abbott
David Lee Abbott is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He has described his fighting style, which he developed brawling in the bars and streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting"...
, Marco Ruas
Marco Ruas
Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas is a retired mixed martial arts fighter and instructor. Most notably, he was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion and is considered one of the earliest examples of the complete mixed martial artist, highly skilled in both striking and grappling.-Biography:Ruas is famous for...
, Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
and his brother Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
. Shamrock currently has no fights scheduled and is recovering from MRSA, a serious bacterial infection he contracted while taking care of his son at the hospital.
Shamrock vs. Toney
Shamrock is now scheduled to face boxer James ToneyJames Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
in a special rules bout, in which there will be 8 three minute rounds instead of the traditional 3 five minute rounds. There will also be a '30 second stand-up rule' which means if the fight goes to the ground, after 30 seconds the referee will stand up the fighters. The time will be held if a submission hold is in place, and it will continue if the hold is broken or released. Despite these new rules, which gives James Toney more of an advantage, it was Shamrock who suggested it, saying it will make the fight more fun to watch.
The proposed special rules mixed martial arts match between UFC veteran Ken Shamrock and boxing world champion James Toney is being targeted for November. Ivaylo Gotzev, one of the fight’s promoters, advised MMAWeekly.com of the month targeted for the unique bout. In addition, Gotzev and his partners are nearing finalization of the venue, which could be in one of two American states or out of the country. “(We’re looking at) two different states and, actually, going outside of the country,” Gotzev said. “We’re zeroing in right now, but it’s going to be November.”
It has been said that this fight will 'likely' take place in 2012, as there hasn't seemed to been an agreement with payment for both fighters, as well as Toney's ambition to fight rising Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n boxing prospect Denis Lebedev
Denis Lebedev
Denis Lebedev , is a Russian professional boxer from Stary Oskol. He is a contender in the Cruiserweight division.-Professional career:...
at cruiserweight.
Criticism and Calls for Retirement
Shamrock has been criticized by some in the mixed martial artsMixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
media and fanbase for fighting too far past his prime. Jeremy Botter of Heavy.com
Heavy.com
Heavy.com is a broadband entertainment website founded in 1999 in New York City. The site was founded by David Carson and Simon Assaad in the wake of the popularity of their first series of video shorts, Behind the Music that Sucks...
wrote: "Ken Shamrock used to be the baddest man on the planet. In the early days of mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
, it was tough to find anybody who inspired more fear than Shamrock. His muscled and ripped frame...his intensity was unequaled in the sport at the time, and his bag of submissions made him a very real threat to any opponent he faced during those early years. But those early years were a long time ago, and Shamrock is no longer even a shell of the man he once was."
After the Impact FC 2
Impact FC 2
Impact FC 2 - The Uprising: Sydney was a mixed martial arts event held by Impact Fighting Championships on 18 July 2010 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.-Background:Big John McCarthy was the referee for the series....
show, sympathy for Shamrock's decline became even more pronounced. Longtime mixed martial arts reporter Dave Meltzer
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...
wrote: "Impact Fighting Championship's pay-per-view show from Sydney was a sad reminder of what the future may hold for many of today’s top stars. Ken Shamrock, Carlos Newton
Carlos Newton
Carlos Newton is a Canadian mixed martial artist and former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is considered one of the true pioneers in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Known as the "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizations including UFC, Pride FC, IFL, K-1, Shooto and most...
, Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante |Lion's Den]], Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryuta Sakurai , Dave Menne and undefeated top ranked Middleweight Matt Lindland .-Instructor lineage:Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr...
, Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
and Josh Barnett
Josh Barnett
Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who currently fights in the heavyweight division of Strikeforce. Barnett has been an accomplished fighter in mixed martial arts, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship and the King of Pancrase Openweight...
were all at various points either UFC champions or groomed to be top stars. But there they were, on the other side of the world, fighting before quiet, small crowds in an atmosphere that hardly felt like they were part of a booming sport."
UFC President Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
said in 2008; "Ken Shamrock was in a beef with us over his contract. We thought he retired, he was claiming he didn't and still had one fight. And my attitude was, I'd rather pay Ken Shamrock to not fight. I'd rather pay him to not fight and just say, "stay home, Ken". Ken is way past his prime, it gets to the point where it's dangerous for that guy to still be fighting."
WWE announcer Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
said before Shamrock's scheduled fight with Bobby Lashley in early 2009; "There was a time that I could see the veteran, 45 year old Shamrock, a former WWE superstar, schooling the MMA rookie Lashley but that ship has long since sailed. I have great respect for Ken but he's outstayed his welcome in the octagon, cage, whatever and needs to teach and coach and stop fighting...Kenny is fighting for one more pay day while Lashley is fighting to help establish what he hopes will be a long term, lucrative, MMA career."
Early career
In 1988, Shamrock trained as a professional wrestlerProfessional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
under Bob Sawyer, Buzz Sawyer
Buzz Sawyer
Bruce Woyan was a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Buzz Sawyer. Throughout his career, he was also known by the nickname "Mad Dog". He was characterized by his crazy antics inside the ring and out.-Career:Sawyer started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance 's...
and Nelson Royal. He debuted in 1990 in the Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
-based South Atlantic Pro Wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
under the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Wayne Shamrock. He later changed his ring name to just Shamrock and turned heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, adopting the nickname "Mr. Wrestling". In 1990, Shamrock travelled to Japan, where he competed in the Universal Wrestling Federation
Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan)
The original Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1984 to 1986, formed by wrestlers who had left New Japan Pro Wrestling. It was a pioneer in the shoot-style of pro-wrestling, which emphasized realistic moves. It was revived as the...
and its successor promotion, Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Group was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion based in Japan, operating from 1991 to 1995...
.
His first taste of mixed martial arts came following the exodus of his mentors Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki from Fujiwara's promotion to found one of the formative Japanese mixed martial arts associations, Pancrase
Pancrase
Pancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
. Later, he returned to America to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
.
Shamrock would split time between the two organizations until 1996, whereupon he returned to professional wrestling, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
.
World Wrestling Federation (1997–1999)
Shamrock made his WWF debut on the February 24, 1997 episode of Monday Night RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. On March 23, 1997, Shamrock, identified as Ken Shamrock and billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Man"—a name given to him by ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, refereed a submission match between Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
and Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
at WrestleMania 13
WrestleMania 13
WrestleMania 13 was the thirteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
.
Shamrock returned to the ring following WrestleMania, squashing Vernon White
Vernon White
Vernon Verdell White is a professional mixed martial arts fighter who has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship , Pride Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, King of the Cage, Pancrase, and the International Fight League . He lives in California, and belongs to the fighting team The Lion's...
(one of his Lion's Den students) in his debut WWF match. He went on to feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Vader, Bret Hart and The Hart Foundation throughout 1997, culminating in a bout between Shamrock and The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...
at SummerSlam 1997
SummerSlam (1997)
SummerSlam was the tenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 3, 1997 at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.-Background:...
which Shamrock lost after refusing to relinquish a chokehold, following Shamrock going on a rampage after being slapped across the face by The British Bulldog with a handful of dog-food. Shamrock was considered a candidate to win the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
from the departing Bret Hart, before the Montreal Screwjob
Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob was a controversial, purportedly real life professional wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart, during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event...
occurred. Shamrock went on to challenge Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
for the WWF Championship at In Your House
D-Generation X: In Your House
D-Generation X: In Your House was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 7, 1997 at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.-WWF Light Heavyweight Championship tournament:The tournament to determine the...
in December, defeating Michaels by disqualification after Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
and Chyna interfered in the match.
Throughout early 1998, Shamrock feuded with WWF Intercontinental Champion
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
Rocky Maivia. He lost to Maivia via disqualification at the 1998 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....
and a victory over Maivia at WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV
WrestleMania XIV was the fourteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 29, 1998 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts....
was reversed after Shamrock continued to apply his ankle lock after Maivia had submitted. In June 1998, Shamrock won the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
in the semi-finals and Maivia in the finals. Following the King of the Ring, Shamrock feuded with Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
, with Hart defeating Shamrock in a "Hart Family Dungeon match" at Fully Loaded and Shamrock defeating Hart in a "Lion's Den match" at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1998)
SummerSlam was the eleventh annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 30, 1998 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....
. In September, he formed a short-lived stable with Mankind
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
and The Rock.
Shamrock turned heel in October 1998 and won the vacant Intercontinental Championship on October 12, defeating X-Pac
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
in the finals of an eight man tournament. In November, Shamrock consolidated his heel status by joining Mr. McMahon's
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
Corporation
The Corporation (professional wrestling)
The Corporation was a heel stable in the late 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation .-History:The group was put together and led by WWF Chairman Vince McMahon in an attempt to secure control of the WWF and "crush the rebels" that were popping up on the WWF landscape...
. On December 14, Shamrock and fellow Corporation member Big Boss Man
Ray Traylor
Ray Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
defeated the New Age Outlaws
New Age Outlaws
The New Age Outlaws, later known as the James Gang and the Voodoo Kin Mafia, were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , Jersey All Pro Wrestling, and Maryland Championship Wrestling consisting of B.G...
for the WWF Tag Team Championship, making Shamrock a dual champion. The duo held the titles until January 25, 1999, when they lost to Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart.
In January 1999, Shamrock began feuding with Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
, Goldust and Val Venis
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...
, all of whom had made overtures to his sister, Ryan
Alicia Webb
Alicia Nicole Webb is an American professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1998 until 1999 as Ryan Shamrock-World Wrestling Federation:...
. He lost the Intercontinental Championship to Venis on February 14 when Gunn, the guest referee, delivered a fast count. Shamrock took part in a four way bout for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV
WrestleMania XV was the fifteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on March 28, 1999 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
. The reigning champion Road Dogg
Brian Gerard James
Brian Gerard James is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE as an agent and producer. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James or simply Road Dogg...
, was able to retain his title by pinning Goldust after Shamrock and Venis were counted out while brawling outside the ring.
In mid-1999, the Corporation began feuding with The Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness
Ministry of Darkness
The Ministry of Darkness was a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation during the WWF Attitude Era of the late 1990s...
, with The Undertaker's minions repeatedly ambushing Shamrock and kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
Ryan, sacrificing her on the Undertaker's symbol. After breaking away from the Corporation, thus turning face
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
once more, Shamrock went on to feud with The Undertaker at Backlash and lost. In May, Shamrock, The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....
, Mankind
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
and Test formed The Union
The Union (professional wrestling)
The Union was a stable consisting of former Corporation members Ken Shamrock, The Big Show and Test, and their leader, Mankind...
, a stable of wrestlers in opposition to the Corporate Ministry
Corporate Ministry
The Corporate Ministry was a stable in the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 composed of members from both The Corporation and the Ministry of Darkness.-Background:...
. The Union dissolved soon after defeating the Corporate Ministry at Over the Edge
Over the Edge (1999)
Over The Edge was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , which took place on May 23, 1999, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, USA...
in May.
Shamrock briefly feuded with Jeff Jarrett before beginning a rivalry with martial artist Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman is a American professional wrestler who is best known for his career in the World Wrestling Federation under his own name.-Stampede Wrestling and South Africa :...
that saw he and Blackman fight one another in a series of unorthodox matches. The feud ended at SummerSlam 1999
SummerSlam (1999)
SummerSlam was the twelfth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 22, 1999 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Results:Tag Team Turmoil...
, where Shamrock defeated Blackman in a "Lion's Den weapons match". He went on to feud with the newly debuted Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
until departing the WWF in late 1999 in order to resume his mixed martial arts career. His departure was attributed to an injury inflicted by Jericho's bodyguard, Mr. Hughes
Curtis Hughes
Curtis Hughes is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation. In addition to the WWF, Hughes has also worked for World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, the American...
.
Ring of Honor (2002)
Shamrock returned to professional wrestling in March 2002 after being billed as The World's Most Dangerous Man, refereeing a Ring of HonorRing of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
match between Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE where he wrestles on its SmackDown brand as Daniel Bryan, and currently holds the SmackDown Money in the Bank briefcase, which enables him to have a World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of his choosing...
and Low-Ki.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002, 2004)
In May 2002, he signed a one year contract with the newly formed Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
promotion. On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, Shamrock won the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
The National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
in a Gauntlet for the Gold
Gauntlet for the Gold
The Gauntlet match as defined by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, is a battle royal-style match. When it involves title implications, such as a title on the line or contendership for a title, it is called a Gauntlet for the Gold...
match, and is recognized as TNA's first ever World Champion. After feuding with Malice
Jerry Tuite
Jerry Tuite was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring names, The Wall in World Championship Wrestling and Malice while performing for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.-Career:...
for several weeks, Shamrock left TNA shortly after losing the title to Ron Killings
Ron Killings
Ronald Aaron "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE working on its Raw brand. Since working for the company, he has been a one time United States Champion under the ring name R-Truth and a two time Hardcore Champion under the ring name K-Kwik...
on August 7. He briefly returned to TNA in June 2004 as an ally of Jeff Jarrett before leaving the company and the sport once more.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling (2009)
Shamrock made an appearance in the independent WrestlingIndependent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
company Juggalo Championship Wrestling, owned by Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records, also known as "The Hatchet", is an American independent record label based in Farmington Hills, Michigan that specializes in hip hop music. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip hop group Insane Clown Posse....
, during their flagship annual event, Bloodymania 3.
Personal life
Shamrock legally changed his name to Ken Shamrock in tribute to Bob Shamrock, owner of the Shamrock Ranch, a facility for troubled boys in Susanville, CaliforniaSusanville, California
Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the south-central part of the county, at an elevation of 4186 feet . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the 2000 census...
, who was instrumental in turning Shamrock's life around as a teenager. Along with his brother Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion...
, he is adopted. According to Shamrock, he lived in cars and was abandoned as a child. This was also integrated into the personal history of his WWE persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
. He is the head trainer of the Lion's Den, a school of shoot-fighting, or what is more commonly referred to as submission fighting. He attended junior college at Shasta College
Shasta College
Shasta College is an American two-year to four- year community college located in Redding, California founded in 1950. It later moved to a much bigger campus, while the original campus became the new location of Shasta High School....
in Redding, California
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
and has been considered a possible choice for induction into the Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame.
Ken and Frank Shamrock have an estranged relationship; Ken has claimed that Frank mistreated their foster father Bob, while Frank claims that the real reason for the fallout with Ken is due to his feeling that Ken was trying to keep Frank's career down. Frank asserts that he and Ken have never been close and that his attempts to mend their relationship were rejected by Ken.
Shamrock has been married twice. His first marriage, to Tina Ramirez, ended in divorce in early 2002. Together they have four children: Ryan (born November 24, 1988), Connor Kenneth (born September 26, 1991), Sean and one daughter, Fallon. In 2005, Shamrock married a woman named Tonya whom he had known since childhood. He is now stepfather to her three children. In total, Shamrock has seven children and two grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Malen.
Shamrock's eldest son Ryan Shamrock made his MMA debut on August 25, 2007, at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California
Oroville, California
Oroville is the county seat of Butte County, California. The population was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 at the 2000 census...
defeating Josh Besneatte. He lost his next two fights and hasn't fought since April, 2010.
Shamrock's third son Sean Shamrock made his MMA debut against Lucas Goulet on July 31, 2010 at KOTC - Underground 59. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Sean Shamrock was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March 2011 and is continuing his fight career after having the affected kidney removed.
Shamrock appeared in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s Champions, Virtuosity
Virtuosity
Virtuosity is a 1995 techno-thriller film directed by Brett Leonard. The movie tells the story of a virtual villain's successful attempt to escape into the "real world". SID 6.7, the villain program portrayed by Russell Crowe, is eventually transplanted into an android body and escapes...
, Scarecrow Gone Wild, the wrestling documentary and the high school wrestling movie which are both coincidently titled Beyond the Mat. He also appeared in That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
episode "That Wrestling Show" as Wrestler #1.
On January 14, 2010, Frank and Ken Shamrock's adoptive father, Bob Shamrock, died due to health complications from diabetes.
Theme music
In the UFC, Shamrock frequently used the song "What You Got" by ReveilleReveille (band)
Reveille was a nu metal/rap metal group from Harvard, Chelmsford, and Shirley, Massachusetts, USA.-History:The band formed in 1998 and recorded a six-track demo that attracted the attention of major labels. After a standout performance at the famous CBGB in Manhattan, New York the band signed with...
as he made his entrance towards the Octagon. For his last 2 fights in the UFC Shamrock used the song "Slayed" by British DJ Rob Overseer. His professional wrestling theme song which originated in the WWF was titled "Dangerous", composed by longtime WWF theme music creator Jim Johnston
Jim Johnston (composer)
James Alan "Jim" Johnston is an American music composer who has been working for WWE since 1985. His work is often accredited to the names Jim Johnston, James A...
and first appeared on WWF The Music, Vol. 2
WWF The Music, Vol. 2
WWF The Music, Vol. 2 is an album that was released by the World Wrestling Federation in 1997. It primarily features contemporary theme tunes of wrestlers on the roster at the time.-Track listing:# The Undertaker - "Dark Side"...
a remixed version appeared on WWF The Music, Vol. 3
WWF The Music, Vol. 3
WWF The Music, Vol. 3 is a compilation album released by the World Wrestling Federation in 1998. It features mostly recent theme tunes of wrestlers on the roster at the time. All of the songs were produced by Jim Johnston; although, a few themes were performed by other bands. This is also the first...
.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Ankle lock toe hold, sometimes while also locking in the Achilles tendon
- Guillotine choke
- Rear naked choke
- Signature moves
- Headscissors takedown
- Heel hook
- Jumping calf kick
- Cradle suplex
- Key lock
- Kneebar
- Side belly to belly suplex
- Roundhouse kickRoundhouse kickA roundhouse kick is a kick in which the attacker swings his leg around in a semicircular motion, striking with the front of the leg or foot. This type of kick is utilized in many different martial arts and is popular in both non-contact and full-contact martial arts competitions...
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUltimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- UFC Superfight Championship (1 time, first)
- UFC Hall of Fame
- UFC Viewer's Choice AwardUFC 45UFC 45: Revolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on 21 November 2003, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut...
- UFC 1 Tournament SemifinalistUFC 1The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
- UFC 3 Tournament FinalistUFC 3UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
- Pancrase Hybrid WrestlingPancrasePancrase is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. Pancrase is taken from Pankration, a sport in the ancient Olympic games. Suzuki and Funaki are particularly skilled in the art of catch wrestling and based the...
- King of Pancrase (1994)
- King of Pancrase TournamentPancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second RoundPancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
winner
- PRIDE Fighting Championships
- Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Superfight Winner
- World Mixed Martial Arts Association
- WMMAA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Black Belt MagazineBlack Belt MagazineBlack Belt is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports founded in 1961 by Mitoshi Uyehara. During the early years of the publication, Uyehara was a hands-on owner and publisher...
- 2000 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- 2002 Feud of the Year vs. Tito OrtizTito OrtizJacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
- 2006 Feud of the Year vs. Tito OrtizTito OrtizJacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
- 2002 Feud of the Year vs. Tito Ortiz
Professional wrestling
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1997)
- PWI ranked him #226 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
- NWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Its lineage has been traced from the first World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage to Georg Hackenschmidt's 1905 title and...
(1 time)
- NWA World Heavyweight Championship
- World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWF Intercontinental ChampionshipWWE Intercontinental ChampionshipThe WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
(1 time) - WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Boss ManRay TraylorRay Walter Traylor, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Big Boss Man and World Championship Wrestling under various ring names, most notably Big Bubba Rogers.-Early years:Traylor, a prison guard in...
- King of the RingKing of the RingKing of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
(1998)
- WWF Intercontinental Championship
Mixed martial arts record
|-| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 28–15–2
| Mike Bourke
| TKO (injury)
| King of the Cage: Platinum
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:00
| Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 28–14–2
| Johnathan Ivey
Johnathan Ivey
Johnathan Ivey is an American Heavyweight mixed martial artist. He has fought notable fighters such as Gan McGee, Jeremy Horn, Ben Rothwell, Dan Severn, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed martial arts career:...
| Decision (unanimous)
| USA MMA: Return of the Champions
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
, U.S
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 27–14–2
| Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Rizzo
Pedro Augusto Rizzo is an Brazilian mixed martial artist and Muay Thai fighter. He has a professional MMA record of 19–9–0 as of July 17, 2010. He holds notable victories over former UFC Champions Mark Coleman, Dan Severn, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez and Ken Shamrock.-Mixed...
| TKO (leg kicks and punches)
| Impact FC 2
Impact FC 2
Impact FC 2 - The Uprising: Sydney was a mixed martial arts event held by Impact Fighting Championships on 18 July 2010 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia.-Background:Big John McCarthy was the referee for the series....
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:33
| Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 27–13–2
| Ross Clifton
Ross Clifton
Ross Clifton was an American professional mixed martial artist and former Gladiator Challenge Super Heavyweight Champion. His most notable fight was against UFC Hall Of Famer and legend Ken Shamrock, and has a submission victory over Paul "Bear" Vasquez, a.k.a. The Double Rainbow Guy. Clifton ran...
| Submission (armbar)
| WarGods: Valentine's Eve Massacre
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:00
| Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, U.S.
| Shamrock tested positive for steroids after fight.
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–13–2
| Robert Berry
Robert Berry (fighter)
Robert "Buzz" Berry is a retired English mixed martial artist. He formerly competed in the Heavyweight division and is a Cage Rage veteran.-Career:...
| KO (punches)
| Cage Rage 25
Cage Rage 25
EliteXC Presents Cage Rage 25: Bring it On was a mixed martial arts event co-promoted by England's Cage Rage Championships and the United States' Elite Xtreme Combat that took place on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at the Wembley Arena in London, England...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:26
| London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–12–2
| Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
| TKO (punches)
| Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 – The Final Chapter
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:23
| Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–11–2
| Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
| TKO (elbows)
| UFC 61
UFC 61
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, July 8, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States.-Background:The main event was a...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:18
| Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–10–2
| Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...
| TKO (punch)
| Pride 30
PRIDE 30
Pride 30: Starting Over was a mixed martial arts event held by Pride Fighting Championships on October 23, 2005 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.- Henry "Sentoryu" Miller vs Zuluzinho:...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:27
| Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–9–2
| Rich Franklin
Rich Franklin
Rich Jay Franklin II is an American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion.-Background:...
| TKO (punches)
| The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 9, 2005. Featured were the finals from The Ultimate Fighter 1 in both the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions....
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:42
| Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 26–8–2
| Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo , or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo...
| KO (knee)
| UFC 48
UFC 48
UFC 48: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:26
| Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–8–2
| Tito Ortiz
Tito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
| TKO (corner stoppage)
| UFC 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, U.S.
| For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–7–2
| Don Frye
Don Frye
Donald Frye is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments...
| Decision (split)
| Pride 19
PRIDE 19
Pride 19: Bad Blood was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on February 24, 2002.-Results:...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:00
| Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 25–6–2
| Sam Adkins
Sam Adkins
Samuel Adam Adkins is a former professional American football player. He attended Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA and Wichita State University. He played for the NFL Seattle Seahawks from 1977–1983, and is the only member of the Seahawks to wear the number 12...
| Submission (kimura)
| WMMAA 1: Megafights
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:26
| Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, U.S.
| Won WMMAA Heavyweight title
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 24–6–2
| Kazuyuki Fujita
Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....
| TKO (corner stoppage)
| Pride 10
PRIDE 10
Pride 10: Return of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, on August 27, 2000...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6:46
| Saitama
Saitama, Saitama
' is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture in Japan, situated in the south-east of the prefecture. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 24–5–2
| Alexander Otsuka
Alexander Otsuka
, better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka, is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He won his last fight at VFX - Vale Tudo Fighters Mexico against Masada Masada on May 27, 2006...
| KO (punches)
| Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals
PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals
The Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals was a mixed martial arts event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on May 1, 2000. The event concluded the Pride open-weight tournament of 2000. It is famous for containing one of the most anticipated matches...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9:43
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
| Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Superfight
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 23–5–2
| Brian Johnston
Brian Johnston (fighter)
Brian Johnston was a mixed martial artist who competed throughout the mid 1990s, most notably in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His effective mix of precision striking and ground fighting, as seen with other fighters such as Marco Ruas, would set the standard for what are now common traits in...
| Submission (choke)
| Ultimate Ultimate 1996
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:48
| Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 22–5–2
| Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
| Decision (split)
| UFC 9
UFC 9
UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 30:00
| Detroit, U.S.
| Lost UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 22–4–2
| Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo
Kimo Leopoldo , or simply Kimo, is an American mixed martial artist. He made his MMA debut at UFC 3 in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. Kimo's fighting style has been described as freestyle, with a mixture of striking and grappling techniques.He was credited with a black belt in Taekwondo...
| Submission (kneebar)
| UFC 8
UFC 8
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:24
| Bayamon
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
| Defended UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 21–4–2
| Yoshiki Takahashi
| Decision (lost points)
| Pancrase: Truth 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 20:00
| Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 20–4–2
| Katsuomi Inagaki
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 7
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:19
| Sapporo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Draw
| style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–2
| Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...
| Draw
| UFC 7
UFC 7
-External links:***...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 33:00
| Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, U.S.
| Retains UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges.
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–1
| Larry Papadopoulos
| Submission (achilles lock)
| Pancrase 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:18
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 18–4–1
| Dan Severn
Dan Severn
Daniel DeWayne Severn is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, notable for his success in the early years of Ultimate Fighting Championship tournaments. Severn has fought and wrestled for many mixed martial arts and professional wrestling promotions, including King of the...
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| UFC 6
UFC 6
UFC 6: Clash of the Titans was the sixth mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 14, 1995, at the Casper Events Center in Casper, Wyoming. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 6 featured the...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:14
| Casper
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, U.S.
| Won UFC Superfight Championship
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–4–1
| Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
| Submission (kneebar)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:14
| Urayasu
Urayasu, Chiba
is a city located in the far western corner of northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 164,822 and a population density of 9530 persons per km²...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
| Lost King of Pancrase title.
|-
| Draw
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–3–1
| Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
| Draw
| UFC 5
UFC 5
UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.-History:UFC 5 used an...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 36:00
| Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, U.S.
| For UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges.
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 17–3
| Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
| Submission (kneebar)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:01
| Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
| Defends King of Pancrase title
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 16–3
| Leon Dijk
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:45
| Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 15–3
| Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada
Manabu Yamada Is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts fighter. He is best known for his participation in the Pancrase fighting organization. He holds notable wins over Frank Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Matt Hume, Jason Delucia, and Vernon White. Yamada has also fought Ken...
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 30:00
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
| Won King of Pancrase Tournament
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
: Became first Pancrase Champion
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 14–3
| Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round
Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round was a mixed martial arts event held by Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. It took place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan on December 17, 1994...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:50
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 13–3
| Maurice Smith
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
-External links:* *...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:23
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 12–3
| Alex Cook
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round
-External links:* *...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:31
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 11–3
| Takaku Fuke
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 5
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3:13
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 10–3
| Felix Mitchell
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| UFC 3
UFC 3
UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:34
| Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 9–3
| Christophe Leininger
| Submission (punches)
| UFC 3
UFC 3
UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.-History:UFC 3 used an...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4:49
| Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, U.S.
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 8–3
| Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
| Submission (choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2:30
| Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 8–2
| Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten is a retired Dutch mixed martial artist, Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt, and kickboxer. He was a UFC Heavyweight Champion, a three time King of Pancrase world champion, and finished his career on a 22 fight unbeaten streak...
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 16:42
| Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 7–2
| Matt Hume
Matt Hume
Matt Hume is an American mixed martial artist. He currently trains fighters for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and DREAM.The son of a policeman, Hume's father briefly trained with Bruce Lee...
| Submission (armlock)
| Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5:50
| Amagasaki, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 6–2
| Ryushi Yanagisawa
Ryūshi Yanagisawa
Ryūshi Yanagisawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer. His real name is Atsushi Yanagisawa . As a martial artist, he competed in K-1, Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling and Fighting Network RINGS and holds victories over Oleg Taktarov, Paul Varelans, Vernon White, Jason...
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase: Pancrash! 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7:30
| Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 5–2
| Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Suzuki was the co-founder of Pancrase, one of the first mixed martial arts organizations in the world. During the 1990s he was known as one of the best fighters in the Pancrase promotion and was the second King of Pancrase world champion...
| Submission (heelhook/kneebar)
| Pancrase: Pancrash! 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7:37
| Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 5–1
| Andre Van Den Oetelaar
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 4
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:04
| Hakata, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Loss
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–1
| Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...
| Submission (rear naked choke)
| UFC 1
UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0:57
| Denver, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 4–0
| Patrick Smith
Patrick Smith (fighter)
Patrick Smith is a retired American kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events....
| Submission (heel hook)
| UFC 1
UFC 1
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993...
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1:49
| Denver, U.S.
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 3–0
| Takaku Fuke
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0:44
| Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 2–0
| Yoshiki Takahashi
| Submission (heel hook)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 12:23
| Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|
|-
| Win
| style="text-align:center;"| 1–0
| Masakatsu Funaki
Masakatsu Funaki
, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling, PWFG, as well as the UWF. He is currently performing at All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is one half of the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champions, along with Keiji Mutoh...
| Submission (arm triangle choke)
| Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6:15
| Urayasu
Urayasu, Chiba
is a city located in the far western corner of northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 164,822 and a population density of 9530 persons per km²...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
|