“THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS MAN” SOUNDS OFF ON ROYCE GRACIE, TITO ORTIZ, THE EARLY UFC AND FUTURE CANDIDATES FOR GREATNESS IN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS.

	"The World’s Most Dangerous Man" approaches the octagon at UFC 40 to face Tito Ortiz.
	Susumu Nagao
	Ken Shamrock (top) takes on the gi-clad Royce Gracie at UFC 5 in April 1995.
	Ken Shamrock (right) moves in against opponent Tito Ortiz at UFC 40.

He stood out from the rest of them. Attired in no-nonsense trunks and sporting a Herculean physique, Ken Shamrock was America’s first mixed-martial arts star—a unique entry in a talent pool deluged by wanna-be tough guys in secondhand clothing covering up sloppy physiques. He knew submissions. He looked good on camera, had charisma and was mercifully mulletfree. All in all, appeal and circumstance made him the ideal candidate to carry the fledgling sport to America during its most vulnerable period. He had a generous dose of the comic book hero in him, and MMA fans took sides in the first great stateside rivalry in the sport as Shamrock and Royce Gracie met in UFC 1 and UFC 5. A decade later, Ken Shamrock dishes the dirt on the first UFC, his rivalry with the Gracies, why today’s fighters will fall short against tomorrow’s athletes and his plans for the future.

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FightSport: What were your feelings at the first UFC?

Ken Shamrock: The first fight when I fought Pat Smith—it was crazy. In that situation you don’t even think the fight’s gonna happen in the United States. Nothing like that had ever happened before. People were just going to beat the crap out of each other because there were no rules. Between the legal hang-ups and stuff, it seemed like this wasn’t going to happen. I was with my dad, we were walking through the smoke and Pat Smith was there with about 20 bullies, all wearing red. They were screaming and yelling, “We’re gonna kill you!” And my dad, who’s the most mild-mannered guy, he jumps right in there with them. It was wild.

FS: Then the fight happened—and ended very quickly. People booed. Why?

Shamrock: It was the very first tournament like that in the United States. I heel-hooked the guy, broke his ankle. They said, “What was that?” The only thing people knew in the United States was someone getting punched in the face or kicked. They were booing. But I remember a couple of fights [later] they started cheering submissions—once they understood what it was.

FS: You gave America its first look at submissions.

Shamrock: Yeah. Gerard Gordeau knocking out Teila Tuli was the first thing anybody saw, and that was as real as you could get. Kicking a guy in the face was what people expected to see.

FS: You’d fought in Japan, whereas most of the other competitors were inexperienced and unproven. Did you think to yourself, These guys are in for a surprise tonight?

Shamrock: I thought to myself, This is a joke. I’d been a professional fighter for three years. There were no ground fighters there. There was a karate guy, there was one guy that could do submissions. I took the tournament lightly.

FS: Had you seen Royce Gracie beforehand? What did you think of him?

Shamrock: I’d watched some tapes of Royce, and I didn’t think much of him. I thought he was weak. The submissions I saw were armbars, stuff like that, and I thought he was not strong enough. I didn’t take into account the effect of the gi.

FS: He shot in immediately for the takedown.

Shamrock: I tossed him over and was ready to crank a heel on him. I was all tied up in the gi. I was ready to do it, but I couldn’t stretch out and get it.

FS: How did you handle losing to Royce?

Shamrock: I’m a competitor. I hate to lose. That was my first fight in the United States. People got to see me on TV. I was gonna be famous here. One thing I tell people is that when you’re a competitor, when you get beat, you use that fuel and fire to come back. For the next six months I trained … and when I got back into the ring, I put a beating on him. I made up my mind that I would channel everything into beating him up in a rematch. If they’d let us fight under modern rules, I would’ve pummeled him.

FS: The rematch lasted more than 30 minutes and you landed a good right hand after a restart in the overtime period. Do you ever wonder how the fight would’ve been under modern rules?

Shamrock: Yeah. You see a lot of jujutsu guys today, they have to polish up their stand-up skills. You can’t just [lie] there and grab. You have to know how to fight. It’s a lot different today because there are restarts and rounds and time limits.

FS: How much did your game improve as the other fighters in the UFC evolved along with it?

Shamrock: I definitely this guy and was getting fights for him. We trained together for UFC 6, and after that he took the fight against me. I wasn’t very comfortable with it.

FS: Why?

Shamrock: I knew I’d have to break something on the guy. The day after the fight I saw him. Have you ever seen The Elephant Man? That’s what he looked like. His head was swollen up like a big volleyball. His eye was closed shut. The thing was, I was getting fights for him and I knew I couldn’t use him if he was injured. I was getting fights for Oleg in Japan; I was training fighters and getting them fights. I make money doing that. I knew if I hurt him, I [couldn’t] use him.

FS: You beat on him for 30 minutes and they called it a draw. It sounds like he might’ve been better off if you’d put an ankle lock on him and tapped him quickly.

Shamrock: Well, not with Oleg! Because the guy wouldn’t tap and then I’d have to break his ankle. What good would he be to me then?

FS: Let’s talk about the rivalry with Royce. How much of it was from what happened inside and outside the octagon?

Shamrock: It started when I fought in [UFC 1]. They’d set the tournament up for Royce to win. They gave me all the hard guys like Pat Smith. They had me fight five minutes later after my fight with Smith, when Royce had had a 30-minute rest. Gerard Gordeau was another great fighter, and they set it up for Gerard to break his hand by fighting the sumo wrestler (Teila Tuli). They knew what they were doing. I remember [Gracie] sitting back and gloating. I said [to myself ], I’m gonna beat him down, I’m gonna get him. I’m gonna use all this fuel and anger against him. I beat him down for like 36 minutes [at UFC 5]. And then he never fought after that for like seven years.

FS: Why not?

Shamrock: I believe it’s because American fighters were improving so much. [The Gracies] want you to lose 50 pounds, then pay them a million dollars to fight.

FS: They asked you to lose 50 pounds?

Shamrock: Yeah. They said I’d have to get down to 170. I was like, guys, come on, let’s get real. Then they asked for a million dollars. They use the business side of it for getting around fighting certain
individuals.

FS: Purses have gone up a lot. What did you make for the first UFC?

Shamrock: When I fought in that first UFC I made $2,500. And when I did it, I didn’t care. It was all about the ego and the macho [attitude of ] “now I get to beat people up and not go to jail for it.”

FS: You’ve had some disappointments, too, like in Ultimate Ultimate ’96, where you withdrew due to injury.

Shamrock: It was disappointing, because mentally I was beat down. I broke my hand against Brian Johnston, and I had several different things that’d been bothering me. But at the same time I was relieved. I was burnt out. I beat Dan Severn. I beat Kimo [Leopoldo]. I had cracked ribs, a partially torn ACL. It adds up. They’re depending on me to sell tickets. When that opportunity came to me, when I broke my hand, I still ended up beating Johnston. It was satisfying to get the win at that point, but it was a nice way for me to slide out.

FS: You’ve been fighting MMA as long as anybody in the game. How much do the injuries take a toll?

Shamrock: I don’t think most people realize this. A lot of people talk about whether or not I’m durable. I fought eight times a year for three years prior to getting in the UFC, and it was rough. I fought a lot of different guys. I’ve sustained a lot of bangs. My body has gone a long distance. Most people say, “I’ve had 100 fights,” but they don’t have them recorded. I’ve fought in big-domed shows in Sapporo, Osaka … I’ve fought and have [had] them recorded. That’s a lot of fights.

FS: So how many fights have you had?

Shamrock: Do the math! Eight times a year for three years, plus the UFCs and all the other shows I’ve done. I’ve been fighting for a long time.

FS: Virtually every fighter in today’s UFC would beat most of the guys from the first UFC show. How will today’s top fighters stack up against guys 10 years from now?

Shamrock: It’s always evolving. I gotta recognize … Tito Ortiz is a tough guy, but he is not that well-rounded. He does one thing really well. When you look at the future, that’s not gonna be enough. There will be guys like Frank Mir, who I believe physically and technically is one of the best out there. He has to be stronger mentally. But physically and technically, he’s there.
FS