Ken Shamrock

[Hollywood Naitch]

I have always been a fan of Ken Shamrock, ever since he debuted in the WWF in the mid-to-late 1990s. He was known as "The World's Most Dangerous Man" for good reason, the guy was a beast.

He had a hugely successful MMA career, being one of the guys who put the sport on the map, before returning to pro-wrestling and becoming a success in the WWF, becoming IC champion, tag-team champion and winning the KOTR tournament.

After leaving the WWF, Ken went back to fighting, but was never the same.

I happened to stumble across this article about Shamrock, who is still fighting in the minor leagues into his mid-40s and losing match after match, ruining his legacy and I feel sorry for the guy. I would have thought he would have saved enough money to have retired and not have to keep getting beat up for money. It made me very sad to see a legend like Shamrock in this state.

Quote:
The Sad Spectacle of Ken Shamrock: An Aged Legend Dances for Nickels Down Under

by JonathanSnowden on Jul 18, 2010 12:20 PM EDT in Events 186

I remember Ken Shamrock in the glory days. Shredding Pat Smith's leg. Tapping the mat three times against Royce Gracie. Showing the integrity to admit to referee Joao Alberto Barreto that he had indeed quit. Learning, growing, and coming back for UFC V to control the seemingly unbeatable Gracie.

Ken Shamrock helped make MMA. He was the biggest star in the promotion's glory days. When things got dicey, he used his newly built tough guy reputation to make big money with the WWE. When he returned to MMA, he helped spearhead Pride's first attempted invasion of America, and then showed Zuffa how it was done by making them a mint. In a third act with the UFC, he and Tito Ortiz set PPV records and were rolling in dough.

Ken Shamrock should be settling into a life of comfortable retirement. He should be introduced to the crowd during every UFC event to raucous applause. He should be making media appearances as the sport's elder statesman. Instead, Ken Shamrock is 46 years old, broke, and has burned his bridges with both the UFC and Showtime/CBS. So we get what we got last night.

It was a sad moment for the man who once inspired such fear and awe. Shamrock, wearing every one of his 46 years on his weathered face, was thrown to the wolves against Pedro Rizzo for Impact FC in Australia. Rizzo, one of the most successful and dangerous leg kickers of all time, wailed away on Shamrock's brittle bones. Each shot made the audience wince in empathy-it didn't help that Ken looked like he wanted to cry with every blow.

Shamrock, who is a very proud man, tried to get out of the bout gracefully. In a moment of quiet desperation he dropped to a knee, practically begging referee "Big" John McCarthy to stop the fight. Rizzo looked to the referee as well. McCarthy, perhaps remembering Ken's vehement complaints about Herb Dean's "early" stoppage of the second Ortiz fight, forced Rizzo to inflict more punishment. It was a sad and pathetic moment, not just for Ken Shamrock, but for fans of mixed martial arts.

We've all seen athletes who didn't know it was time to hang it up. For every Bret Favre, who returns to form long after his salad days, there are ten Willie Mays, embarrassing themselves in unfamiliar jerseys and hanging on simply because they don't know what to do next. That's not the Ken Shamrock story. Ken Shamrock knows he shouldn't be fighting. Ken Shamrock doesn't want to be fighting. Ken Shamrock has to fight. He has no other options, and in a moment of candor after the fight, Shamrock let the worldwide audience know he was available for future beatings-at a cost.

"As long as the fans come and keep watching me, I'll keep getting beat up."


What happened to The Lion's Den? Why doesn't Ken just hang them up and keep training fighters? Or do something to promote the sport instead of fighting on, making himself look sad and pathetic and losing more and more brain cells?

 

[JWGunslinger]

I was a major Ken Shamrock fan back in the day, I remember watching him take out Bas Rutten back in the day and thinking the guy was a god. But like everybody else, now when he's brought up it's just a sad topic.

Lions Den is still up and running, but they aren't getting as many members as when the guys training there were currrent champions like Vernon White, Maurice Smith, Frank Shamrock and ofcourse Ken. But i'm guessing that his main reasoning is that it just doesn't bring in enough money, and even though he talks about not wanting to really fight but doing it anyway, I think there's a peice of him that doesn't want to or maybe doesnt know how to stop.

I watched that that Impact FC fight, and it was just painful to watch, he looked pathetic and I wanted it to just be over. But that's another thing that might fuel him, all his career Ken has been a guy who demands and craves respect. Perhaps hearing people talk about how horrible he is now has made him angry and he wants to score a good win or two to gain back his respect and then he can retire. Only Ken really knows what's going on in his head but I hope that sometime soon the thought of giving it up before he literally dies in the octagon crosses his mind.

 

[Fizzy]

What happened to The Lion's Den?

It's still around but nowhere near what it once was. They had a bunch of good guys back in the early days of the UFC and that was it. Now, there are gyms that are much better that all the fighters use. Lion's Den needs a huge change if they want to hang with Jackson's, Blackhouse, ATT, and others. I highly doubt it will ever become a mainstream gym again.

Why doesn't Ken just hang them up and keep training fighters? Or do something to promote the sport instead of fighting on, making himself look sad and pathetic and losing more and more brain cells?

I feel it's just him not interested in training new fighters. I may be wrong, but that's how it looks to me. It's sad how far legends have fallen and Ken leads that club. You think Chuck was past his prime, Ken is a decade or more past his and he continues fighting. At some point, every single fighting league should make a pact to not offer him a fight. He isn't even a draw anymore, people hardly care. I get that he's been doing this his entire life and it's hard to leave, but draw the line somewhere. It's getting quite sad when a legend resorts to fighting James Toney after seeing his embarrassing fight against Randy.

 

[JWGunslinger]

It's getting quite sad when a legend resorts to fighting James Toney after seeing his embarrassing fight against Randy.

I couldn't agree more, and not only is it sad but there is a decent possibility of him getting clipped. We all know that Toney has no place in MMA but the sad fact is that the state and age of Ken could catch up to him again and he could suffer the most embarrassing loss of his career to Mushmouth. I wonder though, would Toney beating him be a blow to MMA and a real win for boxing? There's no way it would be on the same level as Couture vs Toney but would it have any impact at all? I would say no but I bet Toney would say otherwise. For the sake of Shamrock's legacy(as tattered as it is) I pray he doesn't lose, if I were him and I lost to the Michelin tire guy I'd be depressed as hell.

 

[Fizzy]

I have doubts Shamrock will even show up for the fight after him recently dropping out of a number of fights. If he does show up and loses, Toney will brag, that's a given. He will talk about boxing being superior and how much MMA's legends suck. Thing is, nobody gives a fuck about Toney including his fellow boxers. Everybody already knows everything that comes out of his punch-drunk mouth is fucking stupid. Luckily, nearly every boxer respects MMA nowadays and understands that our legends are just as respectable as boxing legends. Hell, Bernard Hopkins who was once totally anti-MMMA is now a fan of the sport. Mike Tyson is a HUGE fan of MMA, and even Pac-Man has shown interest in fighting MMA. The only people besides Toney that would take this as a win for boxing would be Mayweather and Arum, two others who everybody views as completely delusional. This match will not impact anything

 

[INDYjon22]

Ken Shamrock was the first fighter I ever knew about. I only learned about MMA because I knew who Shamrock was, so I guess I can give him credit for getting me intrigued. I like Shamrock, I think he is a pioneer for the sport but I have lost a ton of respect for him because of he won't hang it up. He just isn't a good fighter anymore and he is making a mockery of his legacy. He isn't funny anymore and it is just sad to see him fight anymore, kind of like it was to watch Chuck fight in the latter days of his career, though Chuck was way more bearable. Shamrock was once a good, and dare I say great fighter, but now a days he is a joke and his once unintentionally funny promos are no longer amusing. My view is that he needs to retire and salvage what legacy he has left. These C level fights he is taking and losing aren't doing anything for him anymore and no one cares.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Ken Shamrock was the first fighter I ever knew about. I only learned about MMA because I knew who Shamrock was, so I guess I can give him credit for getting me intrigued. I like Shamrock, I think he is a pioneer for the sport but I have lost a ton of respect for him because of he won't hang it up. He just isn't a good fighter anymore and he is making a mockery of his legacy. He isn't funny anymore and it is just sad to see him fight anymore, kind of like it was to watch Chuck fight in the latter days of his career, though Chuck was way more bearable. Shamrock was once a good, and dare I say great fighter, but now a days he is a joke and his once unintentionally funny promos are no longer amusing. My view is that he needs to retire and salvage what legacy he has left. These C level fights he is taking and losing aren't doing anything for him anymore and no one cares.

I am glad everyone else seems to my opinionhat Keny needs to hang up the gloves. I hate seeing a favourite of mine in the position he is now

However, if Shamrock has financial problems you can see why he is carrying on. He knows he is past it, he must hate going out there and getting beat up but he has been fighting all his life, its all he knows. He is like one of those old boxers like Mike Tyson or old wrestlers who has never saved any money and is now trying to scrounge for the last few dollars he can get from his past-name value, and thats sad to see, especially for a true great of the sport like Ken Shamrock.

I hope he manages to do something else with his life and can get away from fighting, as he just doesnt have it anymore. His time has gone and its terrible to see people beating him so badly, that winning a match against Shamrock has no credibility any more. And thats a crying shame

 

[INDYjon22]

Maybe so, but I still feel like he could commentate or make some decent money as a trainer if he really wanted. He could certainly make more doing those things then fighting because he isn't fighting anyone of note and on top of that the fights he gets or for dirt poor organizations. He isn't terrible when he speaks, he just shouldn't get excited. He was at one time fairly entertaining on both a WWE microphone and when he would talk smack in the UFC. Plus his knowledge of the sport would be great to hear, certainly better then the three stooges on Showtime. While I can see why he is still fighting and respect it, I just feel like he has options that he isn't taking that would both be better financially and health wise.

 

[Dusty Roids]

Ken is the Ric Flair of MMA. Ken will stop fighting until his hart stops pumping when he is in the ring. It's sad that once a very feared fighter is now a washed up hasbeen who still has to fight for the money. I loved his short WWF run but that is the reason why he failed at his second run as a fighter. With that decision obviously for the money, he took atleast 3 prime years of his MMA career. Perhaps he could have focused more on his Lion's Den also. He did however, benefit from it because after his WWF career he had alot more name recognition.

 

[MrExcitement]

Ken used to be a beast but now he just cant do it anymore. Someone compared him to Ric Flair, but i think he's more like Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, prostituting his name for a bit of coin. Please Ken, train others or just retire.