That kind of thing can cloud your judgement in this what have you done for me lately world.

But if you really concentrate and think way back to UFC 1, you may remember Patrick Smith’s facial expression when Shamrock was busting up his leg with that heel hook. Perhaps that will change your current slant some. After all, for many spectators, it was the first time they had ever seen such a thing as a heel hook.

And many of us stood in front of our television sets—not sat, stood - when that happened.

In other words, there was a time when few people could hold a candlestick to the World’s Most Dangerous Man. We’re talking about an MMA trailblazer here. So in the spirit of Shamrock’s legendary UFC and MMA career, let’s go back to the beginning.

Ken Shamrock : Family Life

Ken Shamrock was born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick on February 11, 1964 in Macon, Georgia. According to accounts, he was abandoned as a child and lived in cars. However, he was eventually adopted by Bob Shamrock, owner of a facility for troubled boys named The Shamrock Ranch in Susanville, California. Ken eventually changed his name as a tribute to his adopted father.

Frank Shamrock, one of the greatest mixed martial artists in this history of the game in his own right, is Ken’s adopted brother. They have an estranged relationship, where Ken seems to believe that Frank treated their adoptive father poorly. However, Frank indicates that their falling out had more to do with Ken trying to keep his career down in the early years than anything else.

Regardless, Ken Shamrock is currently married to Tonya and has three step children from that relationship. Further, he had three biological children with his first wife, Tina, ( Ryan, Connor, and Shawn ). His son Ryan is a bantamweight mixed martial arts fighter with two bouts under his belt and a 1-1 record.

Ken Shamrock : The Early Fighting Years

Ken Shamrock had been a pro wrestler previous to real fighting, having participated in the South Atlantic Pro Wrestling promotion under the pseudonym Wayne Shamrock ( later he called himself Vince Torelli ). Soon after, he traveled to Japan and wrestled for the Universal Wrestling Federation and Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. When Minori Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki left Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi to start Pancrase, one of the formative mixed martial arts associations, Shamrock followed and used what Funaki had in part taught him regarding catch wrestling to win his initial match against his mentor on September 12, 1993 in Pancrase. This was Shamrock’s first MMA fight. He would go on to win two more bouts in Pancrase before the next big thing.

In other words, that’s when the UFC came calling.

Ken Shamrock at UFC 1

Patrick Smith, a tough kickboxer with a mean streak, looked the part. On his feet, he could play the part. But when Shamrock took him down at UFC 1 on November 12, 1993 and ripped into him with that heel hook – Well, let’s just say the United States was introduced to submission fighting.

Unfortunately for Ken Shamrock, his next fight would be against Royce Gracie, a 170 pound Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner. Simply put, no one was truly ready for what Gracie’s style of jiu jitsu offered at that time. But Shamrock was closest.

Thus, somewhat of a rivalry was born. But that’s for later. For now, Royce Gracie went on to win three of the first four UFC tournaments. Shamrock, on the other hand, went on to split his time between the Pancrase and UFC organizations, but was never able to win a full UFC tournament, even if he performed well at UFC 3, winning two bouts before an injury forced him out before the championship.

Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie

MMA Gear

After winning four fights over a two day period in the King of Pancrase tournament in late 1994, and then taking two more Pancrase fights—including a submission victory over Bas Rutten – Shamrock took on Royce Gracie in a Superfight rematch at UFC 5: Return of the Beast on April 7, 1995. At the time, UFC bouts did not utilize judges and since no one was knocked out or submitted during the encounter, the fight was labeled a draw. That said, Shamrock felt some measure of revenge, as he was clearly winning the fight after hitting home with a good punch before its conclusion.

Still, this rivalry was left somewhat unfulfilled. And they haven’t fought since.

Ken Shamrock and the Lion’s Den

Shamrock, a Shoot Fighter and catch wrestler, was big in mixed martial arts beyond his fighting career. Namely, he started perhaps the first great training camp in mixed martial arts based in Susanville, California ( now based in Reno, Nevada ). The Lion’s Den, as it was called, was a place where Shamrock trained and taught others the art of fighting. Some well known combatants that have learned within the Lion’s Den’s walls include his brother Frank Shamrock (who eventually left, feeling he was being held down), Mikey Burnett, Vernon White, Jerry Bohlander, Tra Telligman, Pete Williams, Roy Nelson, and Guy Mezger.

By the way, The Lion's Den was and is known for its absolutely absurd tryouts designed to get people to quit. These included 1,000 squats, 700 push ups, 700 sit ups, bleacher runs, a 2 mile run, bear crawls, actual fighting, pull ups, and more. Those that made it were actually allowed into Ken's house.

More on Ken Shamrock’s fighting career

After the fight against Royce Gracie, Shamrock went on to accumulate several big victories over fighters like Dan Severn, Yoshiki Takahashi, Kimo Leopoldo, and Brian Johnston in Pancrase and the UFC combined. But here was the problem: The sport of mixed martial arts was under the gun in America, being labeled akin to human cockfighting by then Senator John McCain. Thus, the UFC was losing television contracts and its ability to have events in hot spots like Vegas. In turn, they weren’t able to pay much to their fighters. And this caused Ken Shamrock to decide to go in a different direction.

Namely, he opted to sign with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and stayed with them until 1999. Despite the good money, however, Shamrock must have felt somewhat unfulfilled as he decided to make a comeback in 2000 to MMA. The comeback trail started with a win over Alexander Otsuka and was followed by a loss to Kazuyuki Fujita in PRIDE. Further, Shamrock also fell to former UFC Champion Don Frye in one of the great fights of all time after defeating Sam Adkins in the bout previous to that.

In other words, the layoff clearly hurt Shamrock. However, many thought that he was at or near his former form when the UFC came calling again in 2002.

Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz

After disrespecting fellow Lion’s Den fighter Guy Mezger after defeating him, Tito Ortiz was on Ken Shamrock’s (bleep) list. Thus, the two were signed to tangle at UFC 40: Vendetta on November 22, 2002. This was a huge event. The PPV numbers were great.

Unfortunately, Ken Shamrock, despite showing a high level of toughness, was defeated rather soundly by the Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s ground and pound, eventually succumbing via TKO after round three.

The two were later pitted against one another as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Reality Television Show 3. Since that time, Shamrock has been stopped by Ortiz in the first round two more times.

Thus, the feud is finally dead.

Ken Shamrock today

Shamrock’s fighting career has been on a real downward turn as was noted in the introduction to this piece. Most recently he succumbed via KO to Robert Berry at a Cage Rage event on March 8, 2008 after being released from his UFC contract in June of 2007.

Thus, like many boxers/ fighters, Shamrock may be hanging around a little too long. Though this may hurt his legacy in the eyes of some, all one needs to do is put one of those old videotapes in the recorder.

Because there was a time when Ken Shamrock was one of the best to ever fight in this game. He’s a UFC Hall of Famer and an MMA trailblazer.

What’s next for Ken Shamrock?

Word is that he might actually be fighting his brother, Frank Shamrock. Further, he still appears to be under contract with Cage Rage. Regardless, one thing is for certain.

It seems as if Ken Shamrock isn’t done fighting just yet.

Fighter Biographies

Royce Gracie Biography and Fighting Information

Mark Coleman Biography and Fighting Information

Dan Henderson Biography and Fighting Information

Chuck Liddell Biography and Fighting Information

Lyoto Machida Biography and Fighting Information

References

Wikipedia- Ken Shamrock

a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_Den_%28mixed_martial_arts%29 target="_blank">Wikipedia- Lion's Den