Video of the Day - Shamrock v. Hume

Here is Ken Shamrock fighting Matt Hume in Pancrase - Road to the Championship 4 which took place on 7/6/94 under modified submission rules.

Hume would go on to TKO MMA pioneers Eric Paulsen and UFC HOF'er Pat Miletich in his career. Hume is currently an MMA trainer to various fighters including Demetrious Johnson.

Ken was developing the legendary Lion's Den at the time and his popularity was growing with every fight. He would earn submission wins over MMA pioneers Bas Rutten, Masakatsu Funaki, Dan Severn and Maurice Smith in his UFC HOF career.

Video of the Day - Smith v. Shamrock

Here is Maurice Smith fighting Ken Shamrock at Pancrase - King of Pancrase Opening Round which took place on Fridady, December 16, 1994 in Tokyo, Japan.

Shamrock was coming off a submission win over Alex Cook in his preliminary bout earlier that night. The next day, he would submit Masakatsu Funaki then take a decision over Manabu Yamada to claim the King of Pancrase championship.

Tank and Shamrock Win at Wargods

Here are the results of War Gods: Valentine's Eve Massacre. With Ken Shamrock and Tank Abbott both coming out victorious, it would seem a bout between them will come to fruition. TUF 3 runner-up Josh Haynes won his second fight in a row.

Ken Shamrock def Ross Clifton via Sub (Armbar) R1, 1:00- Shamrock and Clifton circled before Clifton threw some punches. Ken backed off then steped into an overhand right that dropped the 350 pound Clifton. Ken then got into side control before transitioning to an armbar. In his post fight interview, Ken called out Tank Abbott for a fight and told him to put down his beer and get in the gym.

Ron Kessler def Darrin Freeman via Dec (Unanimous)
Zoila Frausto def Karina Hallinan via Dec (Split)
Josh Haynes def Rafael Real via Dec (Split)
Issac de Jesus def Ashe Bowman via Dec (Unanimous)
Rick Reeves def Nathan James via Sub (Rear-Naked Choke) R3, 2:07
David "Tank" Abbott def Mike Bourke via KO (Punches) R1, 0:29
Mike Moreno def Gary Padilla via Dec (Unanimous)

Ken Shamrock MMA Legend

MMA Legend Ken Shamrock (27-13-2) was one of the sports first stars and his fights in the 90's were some of the biggest in the world. Ken entered the MMA scene after going to Japan to enter pro wrestling. He began training in submission wrestling and the rest is history. In his fighting debut, Ken beat MMA Legend and mentor Masakatsu Funaki via arm triangle in Pancrase's first show in September of 1993.

In his next two Pancrase fights, Ken beat eventual 50+ fight veterans Kazuo Takahashi and Takaku Fuke via submission. Ken next entered the first ever UFC tournament, beating muscle bound kickboxer Patrick Smith via heel hook in less than two minutes. In his next fight, Ken got a takedown on Royce Gracie but ended up getting choked out.

Ken would go on to win the UFC Superfight belt at UFC 6 against Dan Severn who looked unstoppable. Ken defended the belt against Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 8, when Ken was most likely at his prime. Ken notched victories against UFC HW Champ/KOP champ Bas Rutten 2X (28-4), KOP Champ Masakatsu Funaki 2X, UFC Champ Dan Severn, UFC HW Champ Maurice Smith, Yoshiki Takahashi 2X, Kimo Leopoldo 2X, Patrick Smith, Ryushi Yanagisawa and many other long time mma veterans.

Prior to his foray into the WWE in 1997, Ken boasted a (23-5-2) mixed martial arts record beating some of the game's best. He has gone (4-9) since his return from professional wrestling in 2000. Ken'strategy of slugging it out with his opponents has not worked.

In addition to his prowess as a fighter, Ken is also a great trainer. Ken was one of the first fighters to really push the camp name. At the Lion's Den, Ken has developed some excellent MMA talent that have excelled inside and outside the ring including Mikey Burnett, Vernon White, Jerry Bohlander, Tra Telligman, Pete Williams and Guy Mezger. In Ken's last fight, he defeat 350+ pound Ross Clifton.

Here is a highlight video "The Leader of the Den":

The Leader of The Den - Ken Shamrock
Uploaded by A

Elite XC Video Preview

Here are some interesting video's starring some of the fighters that will be featured in Elite XC: Heat this Saturday.

David Blaine v. Kimbo Slice- Kimbo street fighting highlights, then a punch to David Blaine's gut.


Ken Shamrock v. Bas Rutten 2 in Pancrase


Jake Shields v. Ray Cooper for the Shooto Championship


Gina Carano v. Unknown Thai Boxing Opponent

Elite XC Weigh-In's

*Multiple sources are reporting that the main event of Kimbo Slice v. Ken Shamrock has been scratched due to a cut suffered by Shamrock. Many have been rumored to replace the injured Shamrock including Shamrock's brother, Frank, Seth Petruzelli and Aaron Rosa.

In the video below is the weigh-ins for Elite XC. Due to them needing ratings to stay afloat on CBS, try to tune in tonight. I'm excited for the Roy Nelson v. Andrei Arlovski fight. Nelson is the reigning IFL Heavyweight Champ while Andrei Arlovski is the former UFC Heavyweight Champ. Expect this to be a slugfest.

Elite XC WW Champ Jake Shields and Paul Daley have an interesting staredown. The start by laughing and ends in some pushing. Ken Shamrock came in at just 206, giving up nearly 30 pounds to Kimbo. They also have the Gina Carano weight incident.

Gina Carano proved again that she has a tough time making 141 pounds.



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The Shamrock Doesn't Bring Luck

Ken Shamrock lost again on Saturday night, losing in the first round to Robert Berry. Ken came out with absolutely no gameplan. I expected him to take Berry down and attempt a submission. Instead, Ken chose to stand and trade with Berry, a strategy that has cost him before. Maybe he was upset that his son had lost earlier that night, but he sucked. He didn't use Berry kicks for a single leg takedown, he didn't attempt a takedown when Berry charged.



Dan Severn beat Buzz Berry in June of 2006 via rear naked choke, maybe he should go on and fight in Elite XC.

Here are the results.

Robert Berry def. Ken Shamrock via KO R1 3:26
Masakazu Imanari def. Jean Silva via submission (heel hook) R1 2:30
Rob Broughton def. Neil Grove via decision
Mustapha al Turk def. Gary Turner via submission (strikes) R1 3:19
Tom Watson def. Pierre Guillet via TKO (strikes) R1 2:05
Ivan Serati Roman def. Webber via TKO (strikes) R1 0:48
Henrique Santana def. Michael Johnson via unanimous decision
Aisling Daly def. Aysen Berik via TKO (strikes) R1 1:49
Giorgio Andrews def. Ryan Shamrock via TKO (injury) R1 5:00
John Hathaway def. Marvin Arnold Bleau via TKO (strikes) R1 1:32
John Phillips def. Jake Bostwick via TKO (strikes) R1 4:10

Cage Rage 25 - Return of Shamrock

This Saturday night (March 8th) Showtime will be broadcasting Cage Rage 25. The headline fight is Ken Shamrock v. Robert Berry. Masakazu Imanari is generally regarded as a top ten featherweight in the world. Ken's 19 year-old son Ryan will also be making his Cage Rage debut.

Main Card:
Ken Shamrock (26-13) v. Robert Berry (11-7)
Masakazu Imanari (13-5) vs. Jean Silva (15-7)
Gary Turner (4-0-1) vs. Mustapha Al Turk (4-3)
Tom Watson (4-3) vs. Pierre Guillet (10-7)

Under Card:
Ivan Serati vs. Roman Webber
Rob Broughton vs. Neil Grove
Henrique Santana vs. Michael Johnson
Aisling Daly vs. Aysen Berik
Ryan Shamrock (1-0) vs. Giorgio Andrews (2-0)
John Hathaway vs. Marvin Arnold
Jack Bostwick vs. John Phillips

Ken Shamrock Returns March 8th

The following is a bulletin posted by Cage Rage from their Myspace page:

"Cage Rage is pleased to announce that mixed martial arts legend Ken Shamrock will be fighting Robert “ Buzz” Berry, at Cage Rage 25 - Bring it on! From a young age Ken proved to be a tough competitor in all forms of combat sports and at the age of 19 Ken won his first Toughman competition by knocking out his first two opponents with the third pulling out claiming injury. Shamrock spent many years competing in wrestling until one day in 1993 he stumbled across an advert in a popular American martial arts magazine calling for experts in martial arts to compete in a no holds barred bare knuckle tournament . From there the legend of Ken Shamrock was born, Ken went on to compete many times over the years and has a Sherdog record 26-12-2. Ken has headlined many fighting events all over the World and now he will be making his first visit to London’s famous Wembley Arena where he look to excite an expectant crowd."

In Robert "Buzz" Berry, Ken will face a 6'3" 250 pound fighter who is 2-4 in his last six fights. Berry (11-7) has had every fight but one end in the first round. Shamrock has lost four in a row, and since his return to MMA in 2000 is 3-7.

I predict Ken will win via a rear naked choke in the first round. This would mirror what Dan Severn did to Berry in 2006.

*Ken's son Ryan Shamrock will also be fighting on the Cage Rage card.

Ring of Fire First Round Results

I recently found the results of the Ring of Fire event held in the Philippines posted on Josh Barnett's website. I wrote a previous story about this team event a couple weeks back. The results of the match-up were pretty predictable, but at least the two strongest teams are left. I'll preview the finals match-ups shortly. Here are the results:

Team Shamrock vs. Team Gracie

155lbs
Even Dunham wins by Front Choke over Cleber Luciano
185lbs
Kyacey "Ice Cold" Uscola wins by UD over Jorge "Macaco" Patino
205lbs
Mike Whitehead wins by UD over Daniel Serafian
Heavyweight
Ricco Rodriguez wins by TKO (Low Kicks) over Kevin Filal
Women 130lbs
Tonya Evinger wins by Cross Arm Lock over Kat Alendal

Team Shamrock wins 5-0

Team Barnett vs. Team Gokor

155lbs
Koji Oishi wins by UD over Karen Darabedyan
185lbs
Yuki Kondo wins by UD over August Wallen
205lbs
Renato "Babalu" Sobral wins by Side Choke over Rodney Faverus
Heavyweight
Jeff "The Snowman" Monson wins by UD over Hakim Gouram
Women 130lbs
Ginele Marquez wins by Forfeit

Team Barnett wins 5-0

Female fighter of the night: Tonya Evinger
Male fighter of the night: Yuki Kondo
Fight of the night: Tonya Evinger vs. Kat Alendal

Team Championsip finals in Macau:
Team Barnett vs. Team Shamrock


Photo of Shamrock v. Gracie II found on Photobucket and used incidently to the story

New Team Event - Josh Barnett, Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Gokor Chivichyan Coaches

Anaylsis by the Blaster

Apparently another mixed martial arts promotion from Vegas is starting a new event using a team format, ala IFL, called Ring of Fire. They have three very recognizable names in Shamrock, Gracie and Barnett, but Gokor is probably only recognizable to hardcore fans of judo and sambo, as well as Armenians. I don't think they will be fighting, but a Gracie v. Shamrock fight would be nostalgic.

Since the promotion's first event is in the Philippines, I have doubts that we in the US and Europe will get to see much of the action. I am guessing the best way to catch these fights will be the internet. Ken Shamrock is apparently still a coach for the IFL season, don't worry about him jumping ship.

The teams:

Team Gracie - Cleber Luciano (1-2), Jorge Patino (20-10), Daniel Serafian (?), John Marsh (7-6) and Katrine Alendal (0-1).

Team Barnett - Koji Oishi (15-7), Yuki Kondo (47-20), Renato “Babalu” Sobral (28-7), Jeff Monson (23-7) and Ginele Marquez (5-7).

Team Gokar - Karen Darabedyan (2-0), August Wallen (2-1), Rodney Faverus (24-13, KO of Manhoef, w's over Riggs, Kongo, but 2-5 in last 7), Hakim Gouram(?) and Amanda Buckner (10-4).

Team Lion’s Den - Evan Dunham (4-0, small shows), Kyacey Uscola (13-10, 3 straightlosses), Mike Whitehead (19-5, 10 straight wins), Ricco Rodriguez (26-7) and Tonya Evinger (4-3).

Looking at the teams, from left to right for weight classes, it seems that Team Barnett is the clear favorite. Babalu, Monson, Oishi, and Kondo would make a killer IFL team on their own. Right behind I would put Shamrock's team. Teams Gokor and Gracie look to be a touch behind in terms of talent and experience, even though Buckner is probably the most talented of the women. Babalu v. Whitehead would be a good matchup as would Rodriguez v. Monson.

*Why use Ring of Fire? That is a pretty lame name to choose considering it is also the name of a promotion in Colorado, and a Johnny Cash song. Why not come up with something more unique? **The MMA Blaster is full of ideas**


Stock photo of Josh Barnett used incidentally to story.