Frank Shamrock

MMAstatsbox|name=Frank Shamrock


nick=The Legend
height=5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
weight=185 lb (84 kg)
birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|year=1972|month=12|day=8
died=
fightingfrom=
nationality=flagicon|USA American
hometown=Santa Monica, California, U.S.
fightteam=The Alliancecite web
url=http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=284
title=Fight Finder: Frank Shamrock
year=2007
accessdate=2007-08-15
publisher=Sherdog]
fightstyle=Catch wrestling, kickboxing
wins=23
losses=9
draws=2
nocontest=
ko=3
submissions=13| Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III on December 8, 1972 in Santa Monica, California) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight championship (renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight championship) and retired as the five-time defending undefeated champion. Frank was also crowned an Interim King of Pancrase. He has also been the Strikeforce Middleweight champion. He has been named "Fighter of the Decade" for 1990's by the Wrestling Observer, "Best Full Contact Fighter", by Black Belt magazine (1998), and three time "Fighter of the Year" by Full Contact Fighter Magazine. He is the adopted younger brother of mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler Ken Shamrock.

Childhood

From the age of 12, Frank Juarez was placed in various foster homes, group homes, and crisis centers. Eventually he went to live with Bob Shamrock, who had taken in hundreds of troubled boys (including Frank's older stepbrother Ken). Juarez went to live with Shamrock at his home in Susanville, California, and was officially adopted by Shamrock at the age of 21. As his brother Ken did previously, Frank would later change his legal name to Shamrock.

Fighting career

Pancrase

In 1994, Ken began to train Frank in submission fighting. Frank accompanied his brother to bouts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and grew to love the sport. He became a member of Ken's training school, the Lion's Den, and made his debut in the Pancrase organization in December 1994.

He debuted as a fighter in Pancrase on December 16, 1994, winning a decision victory over Holland's Bas Rutten. Shamrock went on to defeat Minoru Suzuki on January 28, 1996 to become the provisional King of Pancrase. Before a sellout crowd in Yokohama he managed to lock a kneebar on Suzuki to secure the win and gain the provisional title that had been created because Rutten was unable to defend the title due to injury. He later lost to the returning Rutten in May 1996. Shamrock found success in Pancrase, but after his brother Ken departed the company, following a falling out, Frank was fired.

Post-Pancrase

On January 17, 1997, he lost to John Lober in Hawaii's Superbrawl by split decision, having dominated the fight until his lack of cardio became a factor. After his loss to Lober, Shamrock shifted the focus of his career exclusively to mixed martial arts.

Within the "Lion's Den", Frank trained up-and-coming stars such as Jerry Bohlander, Pete Williams , and Guy Mezger. He also developed a close relationship with Maurice Smith, who trained him in kickboxing with Javier Mendez. Shamrock went on to compete in the RINGS promotion, as well as in Vale Tudo Japan '97 and "UFC Japan".

In 1997, Frank had a falling out with Ken and Bob; they would not communicate again until Bob became terminally ill years later. In separate interviews aired Jan. 18, 2007 by Sherdog.com's Beatdown radio show, both Frank and Ken said they remain estranged — Frank claimed Ken has spurned all attempts at reconciliation; Ken accused Frank of treating their adoptive father badly [http://www.sherdog.com/news/radio.asp?id=124] .

In an interview with Sam Caplan of sportsline.com, Frank revealed he felt concerned with Ken's training methods, and when he confronted Ken, he was told "You don't have what it takes, you're not going to be a world champion and I want you to run my gyms for the rest of your life."This spurred him on to leave which led to the estrangement both Ken and Bob (who took Ken's side in the disagreement)He also stated that he would be happy to fight against Ken, should the opportunity arise. [http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/9986806] Ken feels the same way, stating on Sherdog radio network, that Shamrock vs. Shamrock is a distinct possibility, stating that he taught Frank everything he knows and that it's wrong to proclaim yourself "The Legend," a moniker Frank has been using since his return at WEC 6.

UFC

Shortly afterwards, Shamrock fought the undefeated Kevin Jackson for the newly created UFC Middleweight title.
Enson Inoue had been due to fight Jackson, because the event was scheduled for Yokohama, Japan and the UFC were seeking Japanese fighters to take part, however Shamrock was scheduled to fight Inoue in between, so it was decided that the winner of that fight would meet Jackson for the title.Shamrock knocked Inoue out with a knee. He later said, that his toughest fight ever was against Enson Inoue. [ [http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler9.htm My toughest fight is when I fought Enson Inoue.] ] Later, Frank forced Jackson submit to an armbar in 22 seconds to take the middleweight title (which the UFC later renamed the light-heavyweight title). He went on to defend the belt successfully against Igor Zinoviev, Shamrock took Zinoviev down with a powerful slam that knocked him unconscious and broke his collarbone, finishing his fighting career.

In October 1998, Shamrock avenged his earlier loss to John Lober by beating him in 7 minutes at "UFC Brazil".

Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz

In September 1999, Frank Shamrock defended the UFC Middleweight Championship against Tito Ortiz at "UFC 22". Shamrock won after elbows, punches, and eventual hammer blows to force Ortiz to tap out. He has stated that Tito Ortiz was his toughest opponent physically due to his weight advantage and style of fighting. [ [http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler9.htm I think that Tito was my toughest opponent, but I knew how to beat him, thus I didn't feel a lot of stress about potentially losing. ] ]

Shamrock then relinquished his title and retired from the UFC. After retiring, he initially acted as a consultant and commentator but fell out with the owners of the UFC and is seldom mentioned on their broadcasts. He has stated that Dana White telephoned him after his fight against Cesar Gracie to try and get him to return, but said he will not return as long as Dana runs the company Fact|date=June 2007.In an interview, Dana White said: [http://cbs.sportsline.com/boxing/story/10050687]

"I've talked to Frank Shamrock many times. Frank Shamrock will lead you to believe that we've never talked and we completely have hated each other forever and everything else. He's a weird guy. He's a very, very weird guy. I can't explain it. Frank is a weird guy."

Acting

After his retirement, Shamrock landed a guest role on "Walker, Texas Ranger" and the main role in a Burger King commercial. He was also featured as Damien in the 2005 movie "No Rules". [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0446010/ IMDB Page for "No Rules"] ]

Also was uncredited in an episode of Oz.

Return to fighting

After a brief retirement, Shamrock returned to mixed martial arts as a career. He signed a deal to fight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout Elvis Sinosic at K-1, the premiere kickboxing event in the world. Shamrock beat Sinosic via unanimous decision after five three-minute rounds. Later, when Sinosic faced Tito Ortiz for the UFC light-heavyweight title (formerly the middleweight title) at UFC 32, Shamrock served as guest commentator. On August 11, 2001, he took on his former student, Shannon Ritch in a kickboxing match for K-1. Just 56 seconds into the first round, Shamrock broke Ritch's arm with a roundhouse kick and thereby won the match.

Shamrock helped to train UFC veteran B.J. Penn for his early bouts with the UFC at the American Kickboxing Academy and produced his own events Bushido and ShootBox. His first MMA match since 1999 was winning the WEC light-heavyweight championship in under two minutes from Bryan Pardoe by submission in March 2003.

On March 10, 2006, at "", the first MMA event sanctioned by the state of California, he knocked out Cesar Gracie in 21 seconds. Gracie had never fought an MMA match and was 40 years old, so the fight was considered a serious mismatch. However, Gracie is an elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor with years of training under his belt as well being the mentor of students such as Nathan Diaz and Nick Diaz

On September 14, 2006, it was announced that Frank Shamrock had signed a multi-million dollar contract with startup MMA organization "The World Fighter" and was said to be scheduled to fight in January 2007. However, Shamrock told Sherdog that the World Fighter contract no longer applied because it was entirely contingent on the organization getting a television contract with Showtime; the cable network instead agreed to air fights for the EliteXC promotion.

On February 10, 2007, Shamrock lost his fight by disqualification to Renzo Gracie during the EliteXC event which was televised on Showtime. Shamrock delivered two knees to Gracie's head while both men were on the ground. After a five minute injury time out, Gracie was unable to continue. Referee Herb Dean disqualified Shamrock due to a foul (illegal strikes to the back of the head, and knees to the head of a grounded opponent). Dean had already warned Shamrock once earlier in the fight about striking to the back of the head--an illegal move under the American Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

Trainer and IFL coach

In December 2005, Shamrock opened his first school, Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose, CA. Shamrock trains his students in kickboxing and submission wrestling. He also manages Team Shamrock, his own fight team.In June 2006, Shamrock was chosen as a coach for the San Jose Razorclaws of the International Fight League. Debuting against Carlos Newton's Toronto Dragons on September 23, 2006 at the Mark in Moline, Illinois, The Dragons won 3-2. The Razorclaws subsequently lost 2-3 against the Ken Shamrock coached Nevada Lions on a January 19, 2007.

Frank Shamrock vs Phil Baroni

Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni had engaged in a war of words following Shamrock's fight with Renzo Gracie. The two faced off at Shamrock vs. Baroni, a co-promotion between EliteXC and Strikeforce on June 22, 2007 on Pay-Per-View. [http://blogs.chron.com/fighting/2007/02/elitexc_debut_lacked_bigleague_1.html]

Frank went on to out-strike Baroni in the first part of this fight in the stand-up. Frank was deducted a point for using strikes to the back of the head while he had Baroni's back. In the second round Frank took some strikes from Baroni, but he was able to regain control and drop Phil, transition to his back and end the fight with a rear naked choke. Baroni refused to tap-out and was choked unconscious. As soon as he regained his senses, he walked over to Frank, congratulated him and left the cage. By winning the match, Frank became the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le

On January 11, 2008, it was announced that Shamrock would face Cung Le in a match on March 29, 2008 for the Strikeforce Middle Weight Championship during the joint Strikeforce-Elite XC event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. Throughout the fight, Shamrock kept his promise to keep standing up. Cung Le arguably controlled the fight, at times outstriking the more MMA-experienced Shamrock. At one point in the later stages of round 3 Shamrock appeared to have Le hurt but was unable to finish him with a barrage of punches against the cage. Le recovered and responded in the closing seconds of the round with more kicks and a spinning backfist. Frank was unable to answer the bell to begin round 4 due a broken arm caused by one of Le's kicks and the fight was ruled a TKO as a result of corner stoppage. Frank indicated post fight that these kicks had broken his right arm.

Frank Shamrock vs Ken Shamrock

Shamrock has publicly stated that he'd like to face his adopted brother Ken Shamrock in the first quarter of 2009. [ [http://www.pwbpodcastlive.com/2008/06/20/pwb-hotline-frank-shamrock-june-20-2008/ PWB Hotline: Frank Shamrock, June 20, 2008] ] Afterwards he said that he would like to fight Tito Ortiz and then Cung Le and then "do some boxing stuff." [http://www.frankshamrock.com/index.html]

Private life

Frank and his wife, Amy, reside in San Jose. The couple had a daughter named Nicolette on April 24, 2008. [ [http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=22688 Congratulations to Frank Shamrock, whose wife Amy gave birth to a seven pound, eight ounce girl named Nicolette, yesterday] ] Shamrock also has a nineteen year old son from a previous relationship. [ [http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/567 A 19-year-old son, little Frank] ] Shamrock runs a franchise of schools, a merchandising company, Frank Shamrock, Inc. (a personal asset management company), MMA Entertainment (an entertainment company) and Mixed Martial Arts For Law Enforcement (a law enforcement training business). [ [http://cbs.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/9986806 BOXING - CBSSports.com ] ]

MMA record

MMArecordbox
wins=23
losses=9
ko-wins=3
ko-losses=3
sub-wins=13
sub-losses=2
dec-wins=5
dec-losses=3 {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:85%;"
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Date
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Result
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Record
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Opponent
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Event
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Method
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Round
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Time
align="center" style = "background: #f0f0f0"| Notes
-
3/29/2008
no2Loss
23-9-1
Cung Le
EliteXC / Strikeforce -
TKO (Broken Arm)
3
5:00
Lost Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
-
6/22/2007
yes2Win
23-8-1
Phil Baroni
EliteXC / Strikeforce - Shamrock vs. Baroni
TKO (Rear Naked Choke)
2
4:00
Won Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
-
2/10/2007
no2Loss
22-8-1
Renzo Gracie
EliteXC Destiny
DQ (Knees to the back of the head of a grounded opponent)
2
2:00

-
3/10/2006
yes2Win
21-7-1
Cesar Gracie
Strike Force-Shamrock vs. Gracie
KO (Punch)
1
0:21

-
3/27/2003
yes2Win
20-7-1
Bryan Pardoe

Submission (Armbar)
1
1:46
Won WEC Light Heavyweight Championship
-
12/10/2000
yes2Win
19-7-1
Elvis Sinosic
K-1-Grand Prix 2000 Final
Decision (Unanimous)
5
3:00

-
9/24/1999
yes2Win
18-7-1
Tito Ortiz
UFC 22-There Can Be Only One Champion
Submission (Strikes)
4
4:42
Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Forfeited title due to retirement
-
10/16/1998
yes2Win
17-7-1
John Lober
UFC Brazil-Ultimate Brazil
Submission (Strikes)
1
7:40
Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
-
5/15/1998
yes2Win
16-7-1
Jeremy Horn
UFC 17-Redemption
Submission (Kneebar)
1
16:28
Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
-
3/13/1998
yes2Win
15-7-1
Igor Zinoviev
UFC 16-Battle in the Bayou
KO (Slam)
1
0:22
Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
-
12/21/1997
yes2Win
14-7-1
Kevin Jackson
UFC Japan-Ultimate Japan 1
Submission (Armbar)
1
0:16
Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
-
11/29/1997
yes2Win
13-7-1
Enson Inoue
VTJ 1997-Vale Tudo Japan 1997
DQ (Egan Inoue Ran Into the Ring)
2
7:17

-
10/26/1997
yes2Win
12-7-1
Wes Gassaway
WPC-World Pankration Championships 1
DQ (Rope Escapes)
1
?

-
1/17/1997
no2Loss
11-7-1
John Lober
SB 3-SuperBrawl 3
Decision (Split)
1
30:00

-
12/15/1996
no2Loss
11-6-1
Kiuma Kunioku
Pancrase-Truth 10
Decision (Unanimous)
1
20:00

-
9/7/1996
no2Loss
11-5-1
Yuki Kondo
Pancrase-1996 Anniversary Show
KO (Kick)
1
12:43

-
7/22/1996
yes2Win
11-4-1
Manabu Yamada
Pancrase-1996 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1
Submission (Strikes)
1
12:44

-
5/16/1996
no2Loss
10-4-1
Bas Rutten
Pancrase-Truth 5
TKO (Cut)
1
11:11
Lost Interim King of Pancrase Championship
-
4/8/1996
yes2Win
10-3-1
Osami Shibuya
Pancrase-Truth 4
Decision (Lost Points)
1
15:00

-
3/2/1996
yes2Win
9-3-1
Ryushi Yanagisawa
Pancrase-Truth 2
Decision (Lost Points)
1
20:00

-
1 /28/1996
yes2Win
8-3-1
Minoru Suzuki
Pancrase-Truth 1
Submission (Kneebar)
1
22:53
Won Interim King of Pancrase Championship
-
12/14/1995
yes2Win
7-3-1
Vernon White
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 7
Submission (Achilles Lock)
1
5:23

-
11/4/1995
yes2Win
6-3-1
Masakatsu Funaki
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 6
Submission (Toehold)
1
10:31

-
9/1/1995
yes2Win
5-3-1
Takafumi Ito
Pancrase-1995 Anniversary Show
Submission (Strikes)
1
7:23 |
-
7/23/1995
no2Loss
4-3-1
Bas Rutten
Pancrase-1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2
Decision (Unanimous)
1
15:00

-
6/13/1995
yes2Win
4-2-1
Takaku Fuke
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 5
Submission (Strikes)
1
8:16

-
5/13/1995
style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw
3-2-1
Allan Goes
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 4
Decision (Draw)
1
10:00

-
4/8/1995
yes2Win
3-2
Minoru Suzuki
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 3
Submission (Strikes)
1
3:23

-
3/10/1995
no2Loss
2-2
Masakatsu Funaki
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 2
Submission (Position)
1
5:11

-
1/26/1995
yes2Win
2-1
Katsuomi Inagaki
Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 1
Submission (Position)
1
6:14

-
12/16/1994
no2Loss
1-1
Manabu Yamada
Pancrase-King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1
Submission (Strikes)
1
8:38 |
-
12/16/1994
yes2Win
1-0
Bas Rutten
Pancrase-King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1
Decision (Majority)
1
10:00

-
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Championships

Former Interim King of Pancrase

First & Former UFC Middleweight Champion (Name was later changed to the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)

Former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion

Former WKC Submission Champion

Former Contenders Light Heavyweight Champion

Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion

=Footnotes=

=External links=
* [http://www.frankshamrock.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.shamrockmartialarts.com/ Frank Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose, CA]
* [http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1320 Tour of Frank Shamrock Martial Arts Academy]
* [http://frankshamrock.proelite.com Frank Shamrock's profile on ProElite.com]
* [http://www.develitexc.com/fighter/show/frankshamrock Frank Shamrock's profile on EliteXC]
* [http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterid=284 Professional MMA record]
*Sherdog|id=284|name=Frank Shamrock
* [http://www.ifl.tv/Team-Razorclaws-Frank-Shamrock.html Frank Shamrock] International Fight League Page
* [http://www.ifl.tv/Team-Razorclaws.html San Jose Razorclaws]
* [http://frankshamrock.com/videos/fShamrock%20short%20reelMed_Prog.wmv Frank Shamrock Demo reel - video]
* [http://frankshamrock.com/videos/gary_radnich_ifl.wmv Frank Shamrock interviewed by local sports anchor Gary Radnich - video]
* [http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews.asp?n_id=3643 Frank Shamrock has Sights Set on Lofty Future]
* [http://www.mmafighting.com/gettingtoknow/frankshamrock.html MMAFighting.com - 10 questions with Frank Shamrock]
* [http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-mmacol9feb09,1,5499308.story?ctrack=1&cset=true LA Times - It's showtime for Frank Shamrock by Dave Meltzer]
* [http://www.stuffmagazine.com/articles/index.aspx?id=1759&src=cl19 Frank Shamrock interview with Stuff Magazine]
* [http://www.sportsline.com/boxing/story/9986806 Five Ounces of Pain: Interview with Frank Shamrock]
*