Ken Shamrock and a Rivalry’s Old Wounds
Those who fancy themselves as old-school MMA fans have a soft spot in their hearts for Ken Shamrock. They remember the glory days of “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” at a time when Ultimate Fighting Championship events were defined by flying teeth, groin shots and various other types of barbarism.
When the muscle-bound shoot fighter first entered the Octagon back in 1993, many expected Shamrock to steamroll the competition on his way to becoming the UFC 1 tournament winner. Of course, that never happened, as he succumbed to the submission wizardry of a lanky Brazilian named Royce Gracie in the semifinals. The two rivals met again atop UFC 5 in the promotion’s first super fight, and they battled to a draw after 36 minutes. Their score has never been settled.
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“With where I am right now and looking back on those five years I took off before my last fight, it really showed where I was,” Shamrock told Sherdog.com. “I didn’t have much of anything going into that last fight with Kimbo after being gone for so long. When I was in there, it felt foreign to me because of how long I was off in between fights.”
Still, the UFC hall of famer sees the unpleasant experience with
the Bahamian-born boatyard brawler as beneficial as he approaches
his trilogy bout with Gracie.
“Going into this fight with Royce, I think it’s a huge advantage for me because of that training camp and fight with Kimbo,” Shamrock said. “With this training camp, I feel so much more advanced in my training and where I am compared to when I went into the Kimbo fight. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen when Royce and I climb into that [cage], and I’m excited to see all of the benefits of what I’ve done up to this point.”
Shamrock admits he has desired another rematch with Gracie for years. He believes he has made every necessary effort during this training camp and plans to leave nothing to chance once he gets his hands on the Brazilian.
“There is nothing more in my entire life that I want more than this fight and this win,” Shamrock said. “I eat, sleep, dream [and] train Royce Gracie. All I keep envisioning is my hand being raised, and I know I’m not that far out from having it happen. I’ve heard Royce say that it’s not that big of a deal, that this fight doesn’t really mean much to him, but I know it’s as important to him as it is to me; but there is no way in heck that I’m going to let this fight slip away from me.”
Shamrock remembers vividly his first encounter with Gracie at UFC 1. It ended with his tapping to a rear-naked choke just 57 seconds into round one.
“When I first fought him, I had two years’ experience doing this compared to his 25 years of him doing [jiu-jitsu] with his family,” he said. “The second time I fought him, I tried basing my entire approach on beating his style. I had to try and land some good strikes, try to flatten him out, everything to negate his attacks. But today? I don’t have to worry about that. I know grappling very well, and I know that I can take chances because if I get into a dangerous position, I can get out of it. I can handle myself on the ground. I’m not just going to sit in his guard looking to pound on him; I’m going to be cutting lose and opening up my attacks because I know I can.”
If Shamrock does come out on top and especially if he defeats Gracie in dominant fashion, the consensus holds that he should ride off into the sunset. When asked about a future beyond Gracie, he cast aside the notion as nonsense.
“It’s not about riding off into the sunset; it’s about enjoying life,” Shamrock said. “I’ve always maintained that position. It’s about loving your life, and I do. I love doing this for a living, and I get paid to do this. If I beat Royce, that will mean everything to me, but I feel great and I love this sport too much. If I know I can still train and fight at a high level, a win over Royce won’t be the deciding factor on whether I continue to fight.”
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