Reflections of a Ken Shamrock Fan
By MMA Opinion on Mar 12, 2008
I consider myself one of the bigger, if not biggest, Ken Shamrock fans in the galaxy. Ken got me into MMA (at age 10) when me and my father watched “The Brawl in Buffalo.” Soon after watching that PPV, my father and I sat down and watched UFC’s 1, 3, and 5 after we had rented the tapes. I was intrigued by his demeanor and the aura that surrounded him when he entered the octagon (we still had never heard of Pancrase unfortunately). My father became interested in the sport, mainly for its violence, which allowed me to watch the early SEG days of the UFC. Along with growing up watching baseball, basketball, and football, I was lucky enough to grow up with MMA, and grow up a huge Ken Shamrock fan.
When Ken left the sport for the garbage they call pro wrestling, I didn’t follow MMA as much as I had been. Those were dark days for me, MMA without Ken Shamrock.
Since he came back, however, I had a new passion of the sport of MMA. Ken was back and, seemingly, better than ever. His Otsuka fight was unreal for me. Ken displayed a wide range of skills coming back from such a long layoff, albeit against a lower-level opponent. Even though he ‘lost’ to Fujita (I give him a pass with the stress-related issues of a divorce and child custody battle), lost to Frye (one hell of a fight where he broke both of Frye’s ankles for pete’s sake), lost to Tito (got dominated, albeit with a torn ACL), lost to Franklin, and Saku (absolute rigged bullshit), I still had a tremendous amount of excitement for him. When he defeated a much larger Kimo I thought it would be a turning point in the last stage of his career. His last two fights with Tito made me believe that his career was starting to catch up with him, but I still had high hopes of him returning to his winning ways.
When he left the UFC and signed to fight Berry, I was ecstatic because Ken would FINALLY fight a b-level fighter. We all know how that fight ended, however (I saw a bad omen when none of the famed Lion’s Den members accompanied him into the ring like so many times before). I’m a huge Alabama fan, and after that fight, I felt like ‘Bama had just lost to La. Monroe again. I was absolutely sick.
I think its BS to say that someone “should” retire. Do any of us know Ken personally? No. His drive to continue to compete, whether it’s a good decision or not, still says something about the heart he has and the competitor he always has been. No matter who you are, Ken-hater or not, you have to have admiration for someone who still has that hunger and same tenacity in his eyes every time he enters the ring. He loves the sport and if he doesn’t want to let go, who are we to tell him. What have we done for MMA? I’m not 44, but I know a few 40-50 year old men who don’t have the ability to take a Sunday walk. (I laugh at the ignorance of those who say he’s doing it just for money. Someone with multiple gyms, a promotional company, and a hall-of-fame career don’t need the coin). No doubt, Ken is truly one of the greatest warriors the sport has ever seen, and he truly was “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” in the mid-90s as the TV documentary put it.
Now whether you WANT someone to retire (to protect himself, protect a legacy, etc.) is a completely justified position to hold. I had never said it before, but on March 8th at around 10:37 pm CST, I turned to my friends and said those heart-wrenching words: “I wish Ken would retire.”
Don’t mistake me: If/when Ken decides to continue, I will be there to watch The World’s Most Dangerous compete, just like I did when I was 10, with the same passion I always have had. There is still a large portion of me that wants to see him fight Frank. If you do continue Ken, GIVE ‘EM HELL.
I have had a couple of sleepless nights about that loss, thinking about my realization on the ladder-stage of his career. With a tearful eye I thank you Ken Shamrock for introducing me and the thousands upon thousands of other fans to the great sport of MMA. I also thank you for your heart, tenacity, and love of the sport you helped build from the ground up.
But now I wish you’d ride off into the sunset and join the likes of Telligman, Mezger, White, and Bohlander, in returning the Lion’s Den to glory.
Comments (12)
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Thanks for posting this for me Brandt, a ‘stream of consciousness’ following the fight.
This is was interesting for me, as I’m a serious Ken Shamrock fan because of the effect he’s had on the sport (and because I remember watching tape of his TV debate with John McCain).
This is my offering on Shamrock. (this is also the piece that got me my first writing job, and so I thank him for that)
Wait. I think I got this. Chris from Griffon wrote this? Correct? Cause reading this I’m going, “when did Brandt do any of this and feel that way? You think you know a guy!” and after that I see Chris’s comment. So if it was Chris, good job Chris.
Sorry about that. Chris has his own account now
So does Ken Shamrock now fight Kimbo like planned after taking the most recent loss?
Curtis, I hope so. I really think this is a bad fight, in that it doesn’t prove anything if Kimbo wins, but if Ken wins then we get to see Kimbo as the unskilled fighter he really is.
True! it is almost a lose-lose situation for Kimbo. If he wins it proves he has beat two over the hill fighters. A loss like you said showes he is the unskilled fighter many thinks he is.
I usually don’t favor one fighter heavily over another (unless its the typical Fedor can-feeding), but I see Kimbo, as such a heavy-handed brawler, adding another KO win if he does fight Shamrock. Just go back and watch all of the standup beatings that Ken has been taking and I think you’ll see why I’m leaning so heavily.
I agree that that’s probable, Brandt, but I also think that it’s important to remember that where Kimbo is the weakest is where Ken’s best, and that’s on the ground. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to see Ken taking this fight to the ground early (given Kimbo’s wild striking) and pulling out the submission. I agree that Kimbo’s a favorite in this fight, given that Ken’s dropped a bunch of fights, but I also think that that may contribute to Kimbo making a stupid mistake. Against Tank, he knew that he had something to prove, but against Ken, if he doesn’t feel that way, he could get choked out.
While I can definitely empathize with the author & his feelings regarding watching the Shamrock of today ( try to ) perform in the cage, I have a bit more of a critical take on Shammy’s career status.
Though the man is absolutely a true & legendary pioneer of MMA, he’s been basically shot as a legitimate fighter since his return from his stint in the WWF. Though he has a small handful of rather nondescript wins on his record since then & he managed to put forth gutsy efforts in his battle with Don Frye & in his initial bout with Tito Ortiz, he’s spent the remainder of the better part of the past decade getting his ass handed to him.
Not to be cruel in my assessment of his current abilities, but honestly, instead of “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, Shamrock is far more accurately described now as having “The World’s Most Fragile Chin”. Not only has his current career skid included two quick back to back beatdowns by Ortiz, but also an embarrassing pair of KO losses to much smaller men in Rich Franklin & Kazushi Sakuraba. The latter being a fighter who’s never been noted as any sort of a puncher.
Now usually, ( in boxing anyhow, MMA’s closest related legit combat sport ) such late career losing streaks & non-competitive efforts by once formidable fighters are dismissed in regard to said fighter’s legacy. But, IMO, Shamrock is dangerously close to erasing all his career’s credibility with the general/ non-diehard MMA fans who’ve only begun following the sport over the past couple/few years by continuing to ( try to ) fight.
This past Saturday’s most recent belt out of Shamrock is further proof that the man just can NOT take any sort of a shot anymore. This time he was KO’d by a JAB! Replays showed that “Buzz” Berry’s follow up right hand was partially blocked & fell short of Shammy’s head as he was already on his way down from the jab.
And watching Shamrock’s passive acceptance of this latest loss made it clear that he’s not only physically finished as a fighter, but mentally & emotionally done as well. Therefore, the LAST place he needs to be is back in a cage standing across from Kimbo Slice ( or anyone else for that matter ). Especially in a main event on network television!
If, after watching Shamrock go out like he did against Berry, Gary Shaw still has any inkling toward putting him in against the “internet phenom” in a further attempt at putting Kimbo over with the masses, then this deal with CBS is doomed to fail. Because, it’ll be obvious then that Shaw’s plans are to just milk the deal for a quick buck while feeding the network garbage “gimmick” matches rather than legitimate contests between evenly matched opponents.
Back to subject at hand, I’m afraid that at this point, Ken Shamrock is not even capable of providing a competitive fight to a “gimmick” opponent. Because sadly, right now, anyone with two hands & a pulse is a good bet to knock him out.
Jim,
I appreciate your reply. Though I totally disagree with the Sakuraba fight (obviously rigged), I agree with you. As soon as I heard about a possible Shamrock/Kimbo fight, I did not like the idea. If he does fight Kimbo, heal hook.
hi guyz im a big big ken shamrock fan [i think] especially becouse of how he stood up for his fighter n friend[ guy mezger] but hes lost last 8 outta 10 bouts well that proves he doesn have it anymore. but hes a legend he’ll always be remembered as a legend.one thing that bothers me tho is how much is he gonna embarass himself and his fans couse there was a time when i cudnot see ken getting beat but now i already know that hes gonna get beat no matter what. well he was 22-5-2 when he fought fujita and now hes 26 – 13 – 2 does it even look like worlds most dangerous mans record. like aurthur said its his decision not ours to retire or not but i really dont wanna see ken with 26-20-2 record do u??