Ken Shamrock
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Ken Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick on February 11, 1964) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his participation in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Pancrase, and the World Wrestling Federation.
Shamrock was the first UFC Superfight Champion and the first King of Pancrase in MMA . The UFC Superfight Championship was eventually merged into the UFC Heavyweight Championship, so it can be said that Shamrock was the UFC's first Heavyweight Champion. He was also the NWA World Heavyweight Champion in TNA, and the 1998 King of the Ring as well as a one-time Intercontinental Champion the WWF.
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MMA career
Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling (1993)
He debuted as a professional wrestler in All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1989. And, he worked with Toshiaki Kawada and Kenta Kobashi. However, he was not evaluated as a professional wrestler. Therefore, All Japan Pro Wrestling did not contract to him again.
Shamrock's martial arts career began following the dismantling of the UWF, in the inaugural Pancrase show on September 21, 1993. In the event, Ken Shamrock defeated Masakatsu Funaki by an arm triangle choke. There was some irony in this, as it was Funaki who had, along with Karl Gotch and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, taught Shamrock the art of catch wrestling during their days as professional wrestlers. Shamrock went on to win in the two subsequent Pancrase shows.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (1993-2007)
He returned to America to fight in the newly formed Ultimate Fighting Championship. In spite of their status as competitors in the unrehearsed environment of Pancrase, Funaki served as Shamrock's head trainer for the event. 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 progressed to the semi-finals by defeating Patrick Smith via leglock. However, he fell to Royce Gracie in his next fight, as Gracie choked Shamrock out. Despite this loss, Shamrock continued to shine in Pancrase, losing to Funaki and another of his mentors, Minoru Suzuki, but nonetheless defeating Manabu Yamada in the finals of a 24-man tournament to crown Pancrase's first champion. He also picked up a pair of wins against future mixed martial arts legend Bas Rutten.
Shamrock also founded the Lion's Den, a group dedicated to the training of mixed martial arts fighters. Many Lion's Den fighters such as Pete Williams, Jerry Bohlander, and Tra Telligman have achieved success in mixed martial arts. Others, such as Guy Mezger and Frank Shamrock have become legends in their own right.
At UFC 5 in May 1995, Shamrock and Gracie squared off in the UFC's first ever "Superfight." Unfortunately, the match did not live up to expectations. At UFC 5 the UFC had instituted time limits and 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. Shamrock then defeated Dan Severn for the newly-created Superfight belt, successfully defending this title against Oleg Taktarov and Kimo Leopoldo. In 1996, he lost the belt via judges decision in a rematch with Severn. The Severn bout marked the last time Masakatsu Funaki would serve as Ken Shamrock's trainer and cornerman.
In 2000, he made a comeback to the mixed martial arts scene following a hiatus from the WWF. He signed with PRIDE Fighting Championships, and defeated Alexander Otsuka by TKO in his first fight back from the WWF. He then competed in the Pride Grand Prix Finals 2000, but lost to Kazuyuki Fujita despite dominating the entire fight. Shamrock had his corner throw in the towel because he felt like he was having a heart attack.
Shamrock engaged in a feud with Don Frye during his career in the PRIDE Fighting Championships. In 1999, Alicia Webb (also known as Ryan Shamrock) dated Ken Shamrock until early 2003. Don Frye made comments on this case which Ken 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). Ken Shamrock was enraged by his personal life leaking out causing a feud between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye. The feud ended in a match during PRIDE 19 - Bad Blood. During this fight, Shamrock broke both of Don Frye's ankles and caused significant damage to his knees through the use of the heel hook. However, it was not enough in the judges eyes to overcome the powerful striking of Don Frye, and they awarded Frye a split decision win. The two fighters have been on good terms after that match.
Shamrock's Lion's Den has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. Ortiz defeated Lion's Den fighters Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger, eventually facing Shamrock in one of the highest-selling mixed martial arts Pay Per View events of all time in the United States. At UFC 40, Ortiz defeated an injured Shamrock by TKO (corner stoppage). Shamrock fought Ortiz with a torn acl, which severely limited his ability to fight.
April 9, 2005 was a turning point in Shamrock's career and future in mixed martial arts. In the main event, the first ever UFC appearance on basic cable TV, on the popular reality series The Ultimate Fighter finale, Shamrock faced rising star Rich Franklin in a light heavyweight bout. Although Shamrock had more experience and almost caught Franklin in a modified heel hook, he was defeated by a TKO in the first round when Franklin took advantage of Shamrock's slip (while executing a kick) and ground and pounded him to victory.
On October 24, 2005, Shamrock lost to fellow mixed martial arts legend Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba in PRIDE: Fully Loaded, by TKO. The decision to stop the fight was controversial to some, including Shamrock, since he was able to get right back up after being knocked down. However, Ken did turn his back to Sakuraba and wasn't intelligently defending himself, so the referee stopped the fight. His own 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."
On November 19, 2005 at UFC 56, 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. At UFC 61 Shamrock and Ortiz had a rematch of their UFC 40 fight.
On July 8, 2006, Shamrock faced Ortiz for the second time at UFC 61 and lost in 1:18 of the first round by a technical knockout. Although Shamrock landed some punches to back Ortiz up, the latter 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.
On October 10, 2006, Shamrock lost to Ortiz for the third and final time by KO after referee John McCarthy stopped the fight following multiple undefended fist strikes. 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 cussing him and 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." 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 was released of his UFC contract as of June 2007. He currently claims to be in the best shape in 7 years, due to the fact all of his injuries have healed.
Post UFC Career (2007-Present)
In the early 2007, Ken Shamrock became the coach of the Nevada Lions for the International Fight League. On March 8th at the Cage Rage 25, Shamrock fought Robert Berry, but was knocked out in the first round. It was announced on August 25th that Shamrock's next opponent will be Kimbo Slice at the Elite XC Saturday Night Fight Special on October 4, 2008.
MMA record
| 26 Wins - 13 Losses - 2 Draws | ||||||
| Result | Method | Opponent | Event | Date | Round : Time | |
| Loss | Robert Berry | KO (Punches) | Cage Rage 25: Bring It On | 03/08/2008 | Round 1 : 3:26 | |
| Loss | Tito Ortiz | TKO (Strikes) | Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter | 10/10/2006 | Round 1 : 2:23 | |
| Loss | Tito Ortiz | TKO (Strikes) | UFC 61: Bitter Rivals | 07/08/2006 | Round 1 : 1:18 | |
| Loss | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (Strikes) | PRIDE 30 | 10/23/2005 | Round 1 : 2:27 | |
| Loss | Rich Franklin | TKO (Strikes) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 | 4/9/2005 | Round 1 : 2:42 | |
| Win | Kimo Leopoldo | KO | UFC 48: Payback | 6/19/2004 | Round 1 : 1:26 | |
| Loss | Tito Ortiz | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | UFC 40: Vendetta | 11/22/2002 | Round 3 : 5:00 | |
| Loss | Don Frye | Decision (Split) | PRIDE 19 | 2/24/2002 | Round 3 : 5:00 | |
| Win | Sam Adkins | Submission (Kimura) | WMMAA 1 - Megafights | 8/10/2001 | Round 1 : 1:26 | |
| Loss | Kazuyuki Fujita | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | PRIDE 10 | 8/27/2000 | Round 1 : 6:46 | |
| Win | Alexander Otsuka | TKO (Strikes) | PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals | 5/1/2000 | Round 1 : 9:43 | |
| Win | Brian Johnston | Submission (Forearm Choke) | UFC The Ultimate Ultimate 2 | 12/7/1996 | Round 1 : 5:48 | |
| Loss | Dan Severn | Decision (Split) | UFC 9: Motor City Madness | 5/17/1996 | Round 1 : 30:00 | |
| Win | Kimo Leopoldo | Submission (Kneebar) | UFC 8: David vs. Goliath | 2/16/1996 | Round 1 : 4:24 | |
| Win | Yoshiki Takahashi | Decision (Lost Points) | Pancrase - Truth 1 | 1/28/1996 | Round 1 : 20:00 | |
| Win | Katsuomi Inagaki | Submission | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 7 | 12/14/1995 | Round 1 : 3:19 | |
| Draw | Oleg Taktarov | Draw | UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo | 9/8/1995 | Round 1 : 33:00 | |
| Win | Larry Papadopoulos | Submission (Achilles Lock) | Pancrase - Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1 | 7/22/1995 | Round 1 : 2:18 | |
| Win | Dan Severn | Submission (Guillotine choke) | UFC 6: Clash of the Titans | 7/14/1995 | Round 1 : 2:14 | |
| Loss | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (Kneebar) | Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 4 | 5/13/1995 | Round 1 : 2:14 | |
| Draw | Royce Gracie | Draw | UFC 5: The Return of the Beast | 4/7/1995 | Round 1 : 36:00 | |
| Win | Bas Rutten | Submission (Kneebar) | Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 2 | 3/10/1995 | Round 1 : 1:01 | |
| Win | Leon Dijk | Submission | Pancrase - Eyes Of Beast 1 | 1/26/1995 | Round 1 : 4:45 | |
| Win | Manabu Yamada | Decision (Unanimous) | Pancrase - King Of Pancrase Tournament, Round 2 | 12/17/1994 | Round 1 : 30:00 | |
| Win | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission | Pancrase - King Of Pancrase Tournament, Round 2 | 12/17/1994 | Round 1 : 5:50 | |
| Win | Maurice Smith | Submission | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 | 12/16/1994 | Round 1 : 4:23 | |
| Win | Alex Cook | Submission | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 | 12/16/1994 | Round 1 : 1:31 | |
| Win | Takaku Fuke | Submission (Rear naked choke) | Pancrase - Road To The Championship 5 | 10/15/1994 | Round 1 : 3:13 | |
| Win | Felix Mitchell | Submission (Rear naked choke) | UFC 3: The American Dream | 9/9/1994 | Round 1 : 4:34 | |
| Win | Christophe Leninger | Submission (Strikes) | UFC 3: The American Dream | 9/9/1994 | Round 1 : 4:49 | |
| Loss | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission | Pancrase - Road To The Championship 4 | 9/1/1994 | Round 1 : 2:30 | |
| Win | Bas Rutten | Submission | Pancrase - Road To The Championship 3 | 7/26/1994 | Round 1 : 16:42 | |
| Win | Matt Hume | Submission (Armbar) | Pancrase - Road To The Championship 2 | 7/6/1994 | Round 1 : 5:50 | |
| Win | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Submission | Pancrase - Pancrash! 3 | 4/21/1994 | Round 1 : 7:30 | |
| Loss | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase - Pancrash! 1 | 1/19/1994 | Round 1 : 7:37 | |
| Win | Andre Van Den Oetelaar | Submission | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 4 | 12/8/1993 | Round 1 : 1:04 | |
| Loss | Royce Gracie | Submission (gi choke) | UFC 1 - The Beginning | 11/12/1993 | Round 1 : 0:57 | |
| Win | Patrick Smith | Submission (Heel Hook) | UFC 1 - The Beginning | 11/12/1993 | Round 1 : 1:49 | |
| Win | Takaku Fuke | Submission | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3 | 11/8/1993 | Round 1 : 0:44 | |
| Win | Yoshiki Takahashi | Submission (Heel Hook) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2 | 10/14/1993 | Round 1 : 12:23 | |
| Win | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (Choke) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 | 9/21/1993 | Round 1 : 6:15 | |
Early career
In 1988, Shamrock trained as a professional wrestler 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 Vince Torelli 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.
Personal life
He legally changed his name to Ken Shamrock in tribute to Bob Shamrock, owner of the Shamrock Ranch, a facility for troubled boys in Susanville, California, 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 WWF 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 is being considered a possible choice for induction into the Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame.
Ken and Frank 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 have been rejected by Ken.
Ken's son Ryan made his MMA debut on August 25, 2007 at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California defeating Josh Besneatte.
He appeared in the films Champions, Virtuosity, and Scarecrow Gone Wild. He also appeared in the That '70s Show episode "That Wrestling Show" as Wrestler #1.
Ken is currently providing commentary for Strikeforce on NBC alongside Lon McEachern.
Championships and accomplishments
- Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
- King of Pancrasist (1994) (First–ever champion)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Superfight Championship (1 time; First–ever champion)
- UFC Hall of Fame Inductee
- World Mixed Martial Arts Association
- WMMAA Heavyweight Championship (1 time; First–ever champion)
