Ken Shamrock’s having a hard time letting go.There’s no question that Shamrock is one of the legends of the early days of the sport, and I respect him for all that he’s done to get us to where we are. Without Shamrock, I wouldn’t have my job. And I rea…
There’s no question that Shamrock is one of the legends of the early days of the sport, and I respect him for all that he’s done to get us to where we are. Without Shamrock, I wouldn’t have my job. And I really, really like my job.
But it’s long past time for Shamrock to move on, both from the fight game and from a feud with Dana White that he just can’t win.
“I don’t like to come in and say, ‘I’ve done this and I’ve done that,’ because really, it takes a village to make something happen. It takes a lot of people to make it successful. And to hear Dana White say, ‘I did this and I did that. It was me. And he didn’t do this and didn’t do that.’ Well, how in the world did they get to where they were at if it was just Dana? Because I didn’t see him in the ring. I didn’t see Dana fighting. I didn’t see the numbers go up when they had just Tito there. I didn’t see any of that.
What I saw was me getting in there, building an organization, having a feud with Tito Ortiz to help build those numbers, along with Dana White and the corporation and the company to shoot that feud. And also to have Tito there, who was a great villain — to have someone going against me. And that’s how we did those numbers. Because we all got involved and did it.”
Again, Shamrock is owed plenty of respect for his work in the early days of the sport. And there is a very real chance that without his feud with Tito Ortiz, MMA never would have reached the heights it has today. That’s a fact.
But Shamrock is mistaken when he trivializes White’s role in building the sport. Without White and his brash, take-no-prisoners style, it’s very likely that the UFC never becomes as popular as it did. The rise of the UFC and of mixed martial arts in the mainstream took three parts: exciting fights on television, intriguing characters and a promoter willing to say and do things that other sporting figureheads would never even consider.
Shamrock will never grasp this concept. And that’s why he’s stuck on the outside, fighting bums and buffoons like James Toney when he could have a lifetime role with the company much like Chuck Liddell.
MMA doesn’t have a mandatory age for retirement, but with fighters like Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz continuing to compete, it isn’t a bad idea.At the end of the day, it is a fighter’s choice to continue taking matches, and nothing should stop them from…
MMA doesn’t have a mandatory age for retirement, but with fighters like Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz continuing to compete, it isn’t a bad idea.
At the end of the day, it is a fighter’s choice to continue taking matches, and nothing should stop them from doing so. They are grown men, and it is up to them how they want to lead their lives.
There are mixed martial artists who will stay too long and damage their bodies and minds while they try to climb back to the top, even after they are past their prime.
But what is a fighter’s prime?
Most would say it is the early to mid-30s, but Randy Couture proved that isn’t always the case. Anderson Silva is approaching middle age quickly as well and hasn’t shown any weaknesses or flaws.
A prime is something that varies from fighter to fighter.
Each fighter has a different time when they need to step back and realize that their time is past, but it is difficult for any man to know when that is.
Most fighters, especially on the highest level, never lose their passion for their job. They love training for every fight and want to keep going.
When an martial artist loses his passion, it is easy to slink off into the distance and move on. Their heart isn’t in it anymore and that means that they are going to start losing. There are other ways of making money that don’t involve getting punched in the face.
People like Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock who never lose the love of competition face a different challenge and a harder choice. They have to turn away from the job that they take pride in and find something new to do.
Ortiz has lost his last two fights in the Octagon, but is asking for one last chance to show that he isn’t washed up.
Shamrock has been on an incredible losing streak, yet he continues to fight because that is what he is known for.
It is hard for them to pull away, especially on a losing streak because fans and fellow fighters see them as being at the bottom of the heap.
They need the win.
Need is a dangerous word. When someone needs something, they become immersed in it to the point where friends, family, health and happiness become second. They have to prove to themselves and every one around them that they are the best.
They need to make it back to the top.
Every loss can be blamed on the right circumstances not being presented to them and the next time will be different. They keep chasing that elusive win and after a while, that is all they see.
They train and focus on their next opponent because that fight will turn it around for them. If they can just get the big win, then the next will be easier. That is rarely the way it turns out.
There is no set age for when a fighter should retire, but there is a set mentality. When a fighter starts losing fights and needs to win the next one to prove they aren’t over the hill, that is when they need to move on.
Throughout his long and storied career, Nick Diaz has left behind many gems that have endeared him to the MMA community.Firstly, his exciting style of fighting has made him a legendary fighter in the sense that no matter what, Diaz will be looking to m…
Throughout his long and storied career, Nick Diaz has left behind many gems that have endeared him to the MMA community.
Firstly, his exciting style of fighting has made him a legendary fighter in the sense that no matter what, Diaz will be looking to make every fight a brawl.
Secondly, he is not always the most candid person to put in front of a camera. His tough guy demeanor and “don’t give a [expletive]” attitude have created many moments that have made for some funny sound bytes, though most have been completely unintentional as far as eliciting a comical response.
Here, we will take a look at both Diaz and a batch of fighters who have created similar moments over the years.
You might be asking yourself, why does it always seem like Nick Diaz is involved in some sort of controversy?Well, it’s because the Stockton native, for one reason or another, consistently manages to throw himself into the fray. Whether it’s recording …
You might be asking yourself, why does it always seem like Nick Diaz is involved in some sort of controversy?
Well, it’s because the Stockton native, for one reason or another, consistently manages to throw himself into the fray. Whether it’s recording street fights outside a local bar or throwing his friend’s TV off a balcony, Diaz is always up to something, both good and bad.
Looking to alleviate some of the attention of Diaz will be these men, who were also engaged in some memorable antics of their own.
UFC 1 is still an entertaining show to watch nearly two decades after the mixed martial arts competition debuted on pay-per-view in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993. Instead of focusing on who was the best fighter, UFC 1 was about determining which style of fig…
UFC 1 is still an entertaining show to watch nearly two decades after the mixed martial arts competition debuted on pay-per-view in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993.
Instead of focusing on who was the best fighter, UFC 1 was about determining which style of fighting was the greatest.
None of the fights made it past the five-minute mark, and that’s a good thing since the finalists would endure three fights in one night. That’s a full year’s schedule for some of today’s fighters.
1. Gerald Gordeau (savate) destroyed Telia Tuli (sumo).
Like a good sumo, Tuli rushed at Gordeau and pushed him to the outside of the Octagon. However, Gordeau pushed him down to a seated position and blasted him with a kick to the face.
Give credit to Tuli; once the cobwebs cleared, he wanted to keep fighting. After a period of confusion that lasted longer than the fight itself, the ref ruled that Gordeau had won by knockout.
2. Kevin Rosier (kickboxing) beat Zane Frazier (karate) by TKO.
These two weren’t even thinking about grappling. Without gloves, they were just blasting each other with bare-knuckle shots.
Late in the five-minute first round, both men ran out of gas, but Rosier gathered himself for a flurry of punches and stomps, and Frazier’s cornerman threw in the towel.
3. Royce Gracie (Brazilian jiu jitsu) beat Art Jimmerson (boxing) by submission.
Jimmerson wore a giant boxing glove on his left hand; he was hoping the fight would not go to the ground. He landed zero punches before Gracie took him down and choked him out.
4. Ken Shamrock (shoot fighting) beats Pat Smith (tae kwon do) by submission.
The Denver fans gave a hometown ovation to Smith. He was announced as having a record of 250-0 (whoa!).
Both men employed the exact same offense: headbutts then ankle locks. Shamrock’s ankle lock was better, and Smith tapped out.
5. In the first semifinal, Gerard Gordeau beat Kevin Rosier by TKO.
Gordeau somehow broke his hand in the first fight, so it was all taped up. Gordeau pounded Rosier against the fence and kept kicking and stomping him when he tried to get up.
Seeing that this scenario would not change, Rosier’s cornerman threw in the towel.
6. In the second semifinal, Royce Gracie beat Ken Shamrock by submission.
The announcers were drooling over the matchup and wishing it were the finals. Shamrock sprawled nicely out of Gracie’s takedown attempt and tried to get a leglock.
However, Gracie floated to the back and put Shamrock out with a rear naked choke.
Before the main event, Rorion Gracie presented an award to his father, Helio Gracie, for paving the way for the UFC with his development of Brazilian (Gracie) jiu-jitsu.
7. In the finals, Royce Gracie beat Gerard Gordeau by submission.
Gracie tried to take the bigger man down, but Gordeau refused and hung onto the fence. Gracie finally got the takedown and floated to the back.
The fans booed like crazy because they didn’t understand what was going on. Gracie secured the rear naked choke for the tapout, the tournament win and the giant $50,000 check.
After the fight, Gracie explained his fighting philosophy, “I don’t want to give him a chance to hit me. I want to win without getting hit.”
Jason Delucia beat Trent Jenkins by rear naked choke in an alternate bout that didn’t air.
Filed under: UFCIt probably tells us something that UFC president Dana White knew he hated ESPN’s Outside the Lines segment on fighter pay well before he saw it. One gets the sense that he hated the topic more than the source or the approach, and the U…
It probably tells us something that UFC president Dana White knew he hated ESPN’s Outside the Lines segment on fighter pay well before he saw it. One gets the sense that he hated the topic more than the source or the approach, and the UFC’s heavy-handed response to the story only confirms that this is a conversation the UFC would probably rather stop before it starts.
ESPN tells us that many UFC fighters are practically despondent about their pay, even if it can’t name any of them or produce any meaningful, verifiable financial figures that make the case. The piece questions Lorenzo Fertitta’s claim that the UFC pays somewhere “in the neighborhood” of half its revenue to fighters, as most major sports leagues do, but it can’t disprove it. And when ESPN’s John Barr says he’s spoken with “more than 20 current, former, and potential UFC fighters,” the savvy viewer is right to stop and ask just what he means by “potential” UFC fighters, and how many of the former fighters are guys like Ken Shamrock, who is the only fighter quoted in the piece, and who is, shall we say, not the most reliable or unbiased of sources on the topic.
In response, the UFC crafted a clever little piece of propaganda featuring interviews with fighters Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Matt Serra, all of whom have nothing but positive things to say about how the UFC compensates its fighters. Shocking right? And here I thought that when the UFC showed up at Griffin’s house with a camera he’d have used the opportunity to unload on his employers with one bitter complaint after another. And who could have guessed that Liddell, who was given a cushy, do-nothing corporate gig with the UFC once his fighting days were finished, would be so supportive? Never saw that one coming, I tell you.
The UFC loves to tout its post-fight bonuses, all that off-the-books money that it gives away out of sheer generosity and appreciation, and it does so again in its video rebuttal. It’s true that the UFC literally gives away money that it doesn’t have to. I’ve talked to dozens of fighters who have told me stories of White writing them a check that they didn’t earn, contractually speaking. I’ve also talked to fighters who thought they went out of their way to hype a fight or put on a great show, only to have the UFC pat them on the back and send them on their way without the extra monetary appreciation they were expecting.
The current bonus system keeps fighters in a constant state of financial anticipation. They know the big money is out there somewhere, but unlike in most employer/employee relationships, it isn’t laid out in print anywhere exactly what they need to do to get their hands on it. In that sense, fighters are like a primitive tribe of people worshipping inscrutable gods. They keep putting different offerings on the altar, trying different dances to make it rain. Sometimes it rains, and sometimes it doesn’t. Some guys are thirstier than others. Some guys are better dancers.
One thing the ESPN piece and the UFC response have in common is a lack of detailed financial information. For a conversation entirely about money, there aren’t a lot of numbers being thrown around here. ESPN would probably blame the UFC for that, arguing that because it doesn’t release information about how much it makes and how much it pays out, we can’t really know whether Fertitta’s claims are accurate. That’s true, but as Fertitta points out, the UFC doesn’t have to release any of that information, and it’s definitely not going to invite a closer scrutiny of its books if it doesn’t have to. What company would?
But this argument gets us nowhere. ESPN says fighters want more money, which isn’t at all hard to believe. So do NFL and NBA players. The difference is how they go about getting it.
It’s easy to swat the UFC upside the head about fighter pay and ask why it isn’t sharing a bigger slice of the revenue pie with fighters, but it’s also naive. Why should the UFC be the lone company in this capitalist dogfight of ours to simply decide, out of sheer altruism, to give more and take less? If fighters are really unhappy with the deal they’re getting from the UFC, they need to do what athletes in every other major pro sport have done: form a union.
What would it take to form a fighter union? The same thing it takes in any industry: a willingness to stand together, and the participation of a few key people. If Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, and Anderson Silva banded together with a few of the lower-tier fighters, the UFC would have little choice but to recognize their union. If it didn’t — if it decided instead to cut its top three champions for daring to organize — it would bring such an avalanche of bad publicity down upon itself that it would wish it had signed a blank check instead. A mess like that could easily end in congressional hearings and a sponsor exodus, and no one at the UFC wants either.
Then again, what do GSP, Jones, and Silva need a union for? They’re doing fine as it is. They’re rich and well taken care of by the UFC, so why speak up and potentially cost themselves money? Why should they care what Octagon newbies are getting paid?
In other words, the people who are most capable of creating a union and addressing issues like fighter pay and general transparency are the people who need it least. It’s pointless to address these complaints to the UFC, which isn’t going to simply decide to give away more money just to keep reporters away. Instead, bring it up with GSP. Bring it up with Dan Henderson and Frankie Edgar. Ask them if they’re willing to do what’s necessary to secure a better future for the fighters of tomorrow, even if it means angering the UFC brass today.
That might be a harder sell in the fight business than it is among pro baseball or football players. Those guys are used to working together against a common foe, and maybe that makes it easier to unite them against greedy owners. MMA fighters, on the other hand, are more accustomed to a certain brand of self-reliance. They’re used to a world where there’s only one champ in each division, one man sitting at the head of the table and eating his fill for as long as he can hold on to the chair. They’re all certain that they’ll be that man some day, so none are eager to complain that he’s the only one getting a decent meal. You come into that world and tell them to unite in service of the fighters they either don’t know or don’t care about, and you might not get such a warm reception.
But this is how it’s gone in every pro sport. The NFL players of today might enjoy great salaries, solid pension plans, and health care for their later years when the bill for all they’ve done to their bodies comes due — all things that UFC fighters need and deserve — but they didn’t get it by waiting around for the owners to give it up voluntarily. It never works that way. Not in any business.
If fighters want to do something about their pay and their treatment in the UFC, it’s up to them to join together and make it happen. For that, they need powerful leaders who don’t need them. If those leaders decide it’s not worth it, that they’re doing just fine on their own, then at least we’ll have our answer. But asking the UFC when it’s going to fork over more money to fighters is like asking a CEO when he’s going to give himself a pay cut so factory workers can get a raise. Change won’t come on its own, via some self-imposed sense of fairness. It’s going to take a struggle, and that struggle is going to have to begin with the fighters.
It probably tells us something that UFC president Dana White knew he hated