Ken Shamrock

MMAstatsbox
name=Ken Shamrock


nick=The World's Most Dangerous Man
height=height|ft=6|in=1 [http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Ken-Shamrock-4]
weight=convert|217|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
birthdate=birth date and age|1964|2|11
died=
fightingfrom=Susanville, California
hometown=Macon, Georgia, U.S.
fightteam=Lion's Den
fightstyle=Shoot Fighting, Catch Wrestling
wins=26
losses=13
draws=2
nocontest=
ko=2
submissions=22|

Ken Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick on February 11 1964 [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787900/bio Ken Shamrock - Biography ] ] ) is an American mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his participation in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pancrase, Pride Fighting Championships, 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.

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.cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?search=yes&EventID=92|title=Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1|publisher=Sherdog Fight Finder|accessdate=2008-02-27] cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?FighterID=4|title=Ken Shamrock Profile|publisher=Sherdog Fight Finder|accessdate=2008-02-27] 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.cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?search=yes&EventID=94|title=Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2|publisher=Sherdog Fight Finder|accessdate=2008-02-27] cite web|url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?search=yes&EventID=95|title=Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3|publisher=Sherdog Fight Finder|accessdate=2008-02-27]

Ultimate Fighting Championship (1993-2007)

He returned to America to fight in the newly formed Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). 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 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. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-mmanotes082508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns] ] 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 [http://www.mmamemories.com/biofiles/ken-shamrock-2/] , 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." [http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews.asp?n_id=3643&my_page=3]

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. [http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=5835] 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. [http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=920]

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 IFL. On March 8th at the Cage Rage 25, Shamrock fought Robert Berry, but was knocked out in the first round. [http://sherdog.com/events/CR-25-Bring-it-On-6180] 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 4th, 2008. On October 4, 2008 Shamrock was warming up and received a head butt and 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. [http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/6524/105/]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional wrestling career

Infobox Wrestler
name=


names=Ken Shamrock
Vince Torelli
Wayne Shamrock
billed_height=height|ft=5|in=11
billed_weight=convert|235|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
birthdate=
death_date =
birth_place=
resides=
billed=Sacramento, California
trainer=Nelson Royal
Bob Sawyer
Buzz Sawyer
debut=1990
retired=2004|

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.

World Wrestling Federation (1997-1999)

Shamrock made his WWF debut on the February 24 1997 episode of "Monday Night Raw". 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. 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 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. After breaking away from the Corporation, thus turning face once more, Shamrock went on to lose to The Undertaker at Backlash. 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 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 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.

Ring of Honor (2002)

Shamrock returned to professional wrestling in March 2002, refereeing a Ring of Honor match between American Dragon 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 Wrestling 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. 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.

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. [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/radio.asp?id=124 Interview with Frank & ken Shamrock where they discuss their lack of a relationship] .] Ken's son Ryan made his MMA debut on August 25, 2007 at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California defeating Josh Besneatte. [ [http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/08/28/ryan-shamrock-scores-quick-victory-in-mma-debut/Ryan Shamrock Scores Quick Victory in MMA Debut] ]

Ryan Shamrock, a character played on-screen in the WWF, was not really Shamrock's sister. In fact, they dated for a brief period before breaking up in 2003.

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. [http://that70scentral.com/1-15|title=That Wrestling Show|accessdate=2008-02-05|publisher=That 70's Central] [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0720177/|title="That '70s Show"That Wrestling Show (1999)|accessdate=2008-02-05]

Ken is currently providing commentary for Strikeforce on NBC alongside Lon McEachern [http://www.strikeforceusa.net/nbc/ "Strikeforce on NBC"] , Strikeforce.net] .

Theme Music

In UFC, Shamrock frequently used the song "What you got" by Reveille as he made his entrance towards the octagon.His professional wrestling theme song which originated in the WWE was titled "The Ultimate".

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves
**Ankle lock toe hold, sometimes while also locking in the Achilles tendon
**Leg hook suplex
**Guillotine choke
**Rear naked choke
**Side belly to belly suplex
**Headscissors takedown
**Heel hook
**Jumping calf kick
**Key lock
**Kneebar
**Roundhouse kick

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*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)

Professional wrestling

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**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 Wrestling
**NWA World Heavyweight Champion (1 time; First–ever champion under the TNA banner)
*World Wrestling Federation
**WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
**WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Boss Man
**King of the Ring (1998)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
**Feud of the Year (2002, 2006) – vs. Tito Ortiz

References

External links

* [http://www.kenshamrock.com/ The official website of Ken Shamrock]
*Sherdog|id=4|name=Ken Shamrock
* [http://www.ifl.tv/Team-Lions-Ken-Shamrock.html Ken Shamrock] IFL Page
*