How the Commission Failed Ken Shamrock
Last night I witnessed one of the saddest things I have ever seen in MMA history. A 51 year old MMA legend, Ken Shamrock, was put in the cage and set up for destruction.
Ken Shamrock was once known as the "World's Most Dangerous Man", and was revered as the baddest UFC fighter there was. He was dominant, he was a submission specialist, and he routinely beat men larger than him. Shamrock was undoubtedly one of the most popular UFC fighters ever, and transferred the fame into a good career in the squared circle, working for the WWF. Shamrock was a legit star who helped put UFC on the map. Well, that was during the 90's. Since then, Shamrock has really been a train wreck. His last meaningful fight came against Tito Ortiz in in 2006. that's right nearly 10 years ago. And even then, he was washed up. So last night, Bellator MMA set up pure publicity fight between Shamrock and the infamous street fighter turn MMA joke, Kimbo Slice. It was purely put together to pop a rating and help the promotion draw in new viewers. When the announcement was made, many including myself were not excited, we were sad. Shamrock is 51 years old and has no business being in the cage. It was a complete joke that he even was cleared to get in the octagon. But we will talk more on that later. As for the fight.... well, it was sad on many levels. The fight basically went like this. Shamrock got one of the easiest leg trips I ever seen in my life and took Kimbo down early. But Kimbo right back up. Shamrock got another take down and got a back mount with ease.
But this is where it got sad. Ken Shamrock, formally a world class fighter and submission specialist got a back mount, on Kimbo Slice, a lowly street fighter who wouldn't know a arm bar from a monkey bar. He slaps on a rear naked choke and it was tight. But Kimbo somehow withstands Ken's attempt and breaks out. He escaped a rear naked choke from Ken Shamrock. Smh. Kimbo then unloads with punches and hits one good one that knocks Shamrock down. Mercifully, seeing where this was about to go, Big John McCarthy saved Shamrock's life and called the fight off before Kimbo destroyed whatever brain cells Shamrock has left. This fight should have never been sanctioned. Truth is, the fight was in St. Louis Missouri and not Nevada, because the Commission would have never cleared Shamrock to fight in Vegas.
Slice and Shamrock were both drug tested by the Missouri commission before the fight, and also had additional testing to check the condition of their hearts, had full physicals and blood tests ahead of time because Shamrock is 51 and Slice is 41. So one may say they were cleared and ready. But what about the brain? Shamrock has had concussion issues for years and at the age of 51, no man should be fighting inside of the octagon. His reflexes were shot, his recovery ability was non existent. Pretty sad indeed. The Missouri Commission should have saved Shamrock fro himself. The fight should have never been sanctioned. Bellator is out to make money and gain popularity anyway they can, so I didn't expect any better from them, they are desperate. But the Commission owes it to the fighters to protect them from themselves. Last night, they failed. |