It’s really not that crazy buddy - many actual mma fighters had a similar reaction as I do or did after watching this fight. He had a rnc locked in on Kimbo and just went limp ..
Like I said, many people don’t realize the extent of Ken’s injuries.
The guy broke his neck in Highschool, then went on to do pro wrestling, fight in at least 2 Toughman contests, and even had a few shoots in Japan – all prior to UFC 1.
Then, between the UFC and Pancrase, he fought almost 30 times in a little more than 3 years.
Then, he went BACK to pro wrestling in the WWF, and re-injured his neck.
IMO his neck injury has been as significant if not moreso than his knees.
And pro wrestling mileage is among the hardest milage there is.
By the time Ken stepped into the Pride ring to begin his “comeback” vs Otsuka – he was 36 years old, with a bad neck, bad knees, and a bad shoulder – and with about 12 years of pro wrestling and MMA mileage.
Not to mention his extreme lifestyle of partying and substance abuse.
Fast forward 15 more years of MMA, pro wrestling, and injuries – and he couldn’t finish a choke in a fight he probably shouldn’t have been cleared for.
That’s the context.
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Kind of supports my theory I mentioned a couple posts ago.
Lol yeah I had a reaction to it as well when I watched it live - but it was just that, a reaction. A few moments later I remembered Ken should have never taken that fight to begin with. He had no business being in there at 51 years old. It speaks more to the embarrassing way Bellator was being run at the time, than it does anything about Ken.
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Was there anyone on this forum, who knew fighting, who really thought Ken should have been stepping into the cage that evening?
The result of that fight was completely pointless and would have proved nothing about either fighter. Sitting around even debating it is an exercise in futility.
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Broken body indeed and I was one of the biggest against the second half of his career. He kept digging though and it was so ugly.. he looked god awful against a flabby and old Royce in their third fight
Why didn’t Ken stay as the leader and trainer of the lions den? That seems like it would have been a much better way to make money than fighting at an older age
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I agree he shouldn’t have been fighting .. very ugly scenario all around
I miss bellator though lol
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Agreed on both counts
The way Coker ran Bellator during that period was disturbing
With all due respect to Mr. Coker.
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It’s interesting. I knew Ken shouldn’t be in there anymore, but I also knew that it would likely be my last and only opportunity to see him fight live so we got tickets and made the trip to St. Louis for the fight. I’m so glad I did. We had an awesome time and got to meet some fighters at the Bellator fan event the day before the fights. I met Royce Gracie who was awesome. Met Tito Ortiz for the second time who was also very friendly and approachable. Funny enough, I have pictures with Royce & Tito and I’m wearing a Ken Shamrock t-shirt. Big John McCarthy was super cool. I guess you could say I “met” Fedor. He doesn’t speak English and his people only let you get so close to him so I have an awkward picture with him with a weird table between us. Anyway, the whole event from weigh-ins to the fan fest to the fights were awesome. I genuinely thought going in that Ken had a real shot at winning the fight versus Kimbo. For the first time in many years, he had a real training camp where he lived behind the gym and let Manny Hernandez structure his training and push him the right way. I remember he did nothing but strength & conditioning with Dan Freeman for several months to get his body back in shape and then went to San Diego to work with Manny and his guys to prepare for the fight. He had a real camp with real preparation and allowed someone else to be his head coach and dictate what he did. He was as injury free as he could be for his age and mileage. Kimbo had not been working to improve his ground game and had been away from MMA for years boxing professionally at that point, and I really thought that if Ken could secure a takedown that he would find a submission. He did that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the tap and he was gassed when it went back to the feet. In the end, I’m just happy I got to see one of my MMA heroes compete live. Road Warrior Animal walked Ken to the cage! How cool is that!? Despite this outcome followed by the Gracie/Shamrock 3 mess in Bellator, we had an awesome time and I’ll always have the great memories of seeing Ken compete along with the other great fights on the card and fun events of that week.
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Agreed.
He was a good commentator too.
He eventually sold the Lions Den name.
I think the first part of his comeback was pretty respectable.
The Fujita fight was unfortunate, but he was kicking his ass. The Frye fight was epic, and a split decision that should have been a draw IMO. He should have retired after the second Kimo fight. Ken actually had a good camp – which was rare for him by that time – and looked pretty sharp. It was a good win and Kimo was coming off a win over Tank – so there was kind of a hierarchy there of fighters from that early era still kicking around.
At that point the Tito fight would have been more remembered as a badge of honor – and with his age, injuries, and mileage – I think most people would look at it as a career well done.
Everything dragging out painfully after that really hurt his legacy, and for a lot of the newer fans their perception of Ken was shaped by that part of his career.
It was a time where he was really never healthy.
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He used Gracie Jiujitsui to beat Bas.
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Then? Ken.
Now? Royce.
ken gasses
Ken would win. Especially if he damages Royce’s other eye blinding him
That night, he was peeing like a sprinkler kool-aid red!
Yes somehow there’s no visible bruising where the rabbit kicks were connecting..
Funny how that works.
Ever heard of deceptive damage? Its a clinical term and has lingered his whole life affecting every single one of his future fights. You could say Royce won the war. Ken won the…oh wait that was a DRAW.
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