The Sad Shamrock Circus Continues

Published on various sites, December 2010



Prime Ken Shamrock officially lost two legitimate fights, against 1 robbery, 2 worked losses and 24 victories, of which 22 were via submission. Add the UFC Superfight title, 5 successive UFC title fights, a Pancrase tournament win & the King of Pancrase title, and that’s an impressive record.
Old Ken Shamrock has gone 4-10 since 2000, and he’s hit the canvas more times than Rembrandt.

Now, when the younger guard like UFC champions Tito Ortiz, Kazushi Sakuraba and Rich Franklin were dealing out the ‘L’s', one could feel admiration for the old warrior losing to younger and fresher titlists with a torn ACL and plethora of injuries. But when it is Mike “The Rhino” Bourke dishing out the defeats – a man with a now 10-16 win/loss record – there is nothing a fight fan could possibly feel other than the desire to either vomit, break a window, or swear profusely at old women.

The sad thing is, Ken dropped Bourke with a lead right hand, and then lost via injury after suffering a tear in the ensuing scramble. This is not surprising; looking at Ken these days, you expect a creak every time he moves. He’s more removed from his prime than Mick Jagger is. But of course, the sad thing is that given the loss can be considered a freak accident, Ken will undoubtedly continue on his retirement tour. And we, his fans, will have to sit through more shambolic car wrecks like the Ross Clifton (RIP), Jonathon Ivey and Mike Bourke fights.

And given that he once held the title of “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, there are few stories more sobering in the MMA world than his continued charade. As a fan of Ken, it saddens me.