Ken Shamrock

10 UFC Stars Who Crossed Over To Pro-Wrestling

In recent years we’ve seen WWE superstars like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk cross over from professional wrestling to test themselves in a true fight in the UFC’s Octagon. However, the door swings both ways, and since the UFC began there have been several examples of fighters being lured over to the world of pro-wrestling […]

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In recent years we’ve seen WWE superstars like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk cross over from professional wrestling to test themselves in a true fight in the UFC’s Octagon.

However, the door swings both ways, and since the UFC began there have been several examples of fighters being lured over to the world of pro-wrestling in search of fame, fortune and in some cases a chance to fulfill a childhood dream.

In this article we’ll chart the successes and failures of 10 UFC stars who have attempted to ‘get over’ with pro-wrestling fans and become the king (or queen) of the ring.

Ken Shamrock made his pro-wrestling debut as far back as 1990 on the regional circuit in North America and then headed overseas to Japan’s UWF and PWFG organizations.

After winning a legitimate fight in the latter organization in late 1992, Shamrock was inspired to fight in mixed martial arts and became a major star in Pancrase and then the UFC, but by the end of 1996 he had become burnt out and was struggling to make ends meet, and so he quit MMA and signed for the World Wrestling Federation.

Billed as ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’, Shamrock debuted for WWF in 1997 and proved himself to be a performer with crossover appeal who would become a star during his three-year stint there.

Along the way he’d compete against many of the company’s biggest names and won the Intercontinental title by defeating X-Pac, claimed the Tag Team Championship alongside ‘Big Boss Man’ and defeated ‘The Rock’ to become ‘King Of The Ring’ in 1998.

Constantly being on the road with the WWF took a toll on Shamrock however, and so for the sake of his family he abruptly left the organization in 2000 and returned to MMA, though the injuries he’d sustained while wrestling meant he was never able to reach the same heights as earlier in his career.

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The Good, The Bad & The Hilarious From Tito Ortiz’s Legendary Career

Although he may not have always been aware of it, Tito Ortiz is one entertaining guy… After last night’s Bellator 170 main event, mixed martial arts loses another legend to father time. Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz retired after defeating Chael Sonnen in California, and he did it in style. Submitting his rival in

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Although he may not have always been aware of it, Tito Ortiz is one entertaining guy…

After last night’s Bellator 170 main event, mixed martial arts loses another legend to father time. Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz retired after defeating Chael Sonnen in California, and he did it in style. Submitting his rival in the first round, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ left his gloves in the cage after saying goodbye to fans. Throughout his 20-year career, Ortiz has experienced the highs, lows and hilarious of the MMA world.

Now he’s done fighting, let’s pay tribute to one of MMA’s old school stars.

Winning The Title

Although it may not have been the most thrilling of fights, Tito Ortiz’s win against Wanderlei Silva was pivotal. After losing to Frank Shamrock in his first title bid, Ortiz faced ‘The Axe Murderer’ in Japan at UFC 25. Winning the unanimous decision, this was the start of Ortiz’s reign as champ.

Ortiz still holds the second most light-heavyweight title defenses in UFC history, behind Jon Jones. On to something a little more hilarious…

Talking Ain’t Easy

While commentating for the now-defunct Affliction, Tito Ortiz provided some classic moments. Unfortunately for the MMA legend, they were at his expense. Although he was a great fighter during his prime, Ortiz has never been much of a talker.

Check out his side-splitting attempts at interviewing:

Rivalry With Ken Shamrock

After back-to-back losses against Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ was no longer champion. ‘Captain America’ claimed the belt at UFC 44, and Ortiz was stone cold KO’d against ‘The Iceman’ the following year. His final defense of the title was a crushing TKO (corner stoppage) against Ken Shamrock. His fellow former champion was left bloodied and battered after the brawl, leading to two more encounters.

Coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter 3, it was clear that Shamrock was actually a worse trash talker than Ortiz. As a result, the latter had a great time. Here’s a classic clip of Shamrock proving that point. In the end of their trilogy, Ortiz defeated Shamrock by TKO in all three encounters.

Hard Times

Between 2006 and 2012, Ortiz fought nine times, winning just once. Brutal losses to Rashad Evans, Chuck Lidell and Lil’ Nog saw Ortiz part ways with the UFC. He’d suffered one of the worst droughts in MMA history, even more shocking considering his former pedigree. Now it was surely time to retire, or at least that’s what we thought.

In many ways, it was actually great to see ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ fight on. Going 3-1 in Bellator, Ortiz took out Alexander Schlemenko, Stephan Bonner and Chael Sonnen (Video here). Thank you for all the fights and classic moment. Before we close this tribute, let’s roast the bad boy one more time, by watching the ultimate cringe moment during his Bellator run.

Thank You Tito!

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UFC 210: Buffalo Plays Host For First Time Since 1995

After over 21 years of absence in the state of New York, the UFC have scheduled their third pay-per-view event in six months (‘210), and their second of this year, since the overturning of the lengthy ban in the state.

During the broadcast of UFC Fight Night 103 on Sunday, it was announced that UFC 210 is set to go ahead on Apr. 8 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. No bouts have been confirmed, however.

UFC 210 is the second New York card announced for 2017. The first jaunt to N.Y is UFC 208, scheduled for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Feb. 11. Fans on the East Coast are certainly feeling a welcome surge in activity following the overturning of the ban on pro MMA last year.

This event is not the first time that UFC has visited Buffalo, however. Fans may be able to cast their memories back as long as September 1995, where UFC 7 took place at the Memorial Auditorium. The top card of the night featured UFC hall-of-famer Ken Shamrock and UFC 6 champion Oleg Taktarov.

During the broadcast of UFC Fight Night 103 on Sunday, it was announced that UFC 210 is set to go ahead on Apr. 8 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. No bouts have been confirmed, however.

10 UFC Stars Whose Careers Hit Terminal Decline

The old saying that, ‘what goes up must come down’ has been proven time and time again in the Octagon over the years, though some fighters have experienced the second half of that equation far more vividly – and indeed violently – than others. It’s a strange phenomenon to bear witness to, as a fighter

The post 10 UFC Stars Whose Careers Hit Terminal Decline appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The old saying that, ‘what goes up must come down’ has been proven time and time again in the Octagon over the years, though some fighters have experienced the second half of that equation far more vividly – and indeed violently – than others.

It’s a strange phenomenon to bear witness to, as a fighter who could do no wrong suddenly find themselves in a position where they can’t seem to do anything right.

Whether it’s the effects of age, an accumulation of injuries, a weakened chin, or a loss of focus, in this article we’ll look at 10 classic examples of fighters whose career entered into that dreaded downward spiral while competing in the UFC and were never able to recover from it.

Roger Huerta

It’s hard to believe now, but back in 2007 Roger Huerta was being tipped as the next big thing in the UFC.

Huerta enjoyed a rapid ascent up the UFC pecking order, entering the promotion after a long unbeaten run and then racking up six wins in a row inside the Octagon while also landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine at a time when mainstream exposure was hard to come by.

Huerta seemed to have the world at his feet, but he took his eye off the prize when he began dating ‘That 70’s Show’ actress Laura Prepon and started talking about leaving the UFC to pursue an acting career.

His downward descent proved to be as swift as his rise had been, with back-to-back losses coming to Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard before his UFC departure in 2009.

Huerta’s relationship with Prepon and acting career didn’t take off, and his MMA career never recovered, posting a tepid 3-6 record over the past seven years away from the bright lights of the UFC.

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Ken Shamrock: Thieves Wouldn’t Have Robbed Kim Kardashian If I Was Her Bodyguard

https://youtu.be/AZroMZdqD4w

UFC Hall Of Famer and recent Bellator MMA fighter Ken Shamrock claimed that if he had been on the scene, Kim Kardashian wouldn’t have been robbed while in France this past weekend.

“The World’s Most Dangerous Man” spoke with celebrity-gossip website TMZ.com (see above) this week and explained why he had been involved, the two thieves disguised as police officers wouldn’t of had the chance to get close to the celebrity and wife of Kanye West, let alone been able to hold her at gun point while robbing a reported $10 million worth of jewelry.

“I think that there were a lot of mistakes made,” said Shamrock. “When you have that many people that are very popular, and they are traveling — and they only have one guy that they brought with them, to stay with them for 24 hours and then they split up — well, someone is going to have to be left alone. In that situation I think it’s a huge mistake.’

Shamrock continued, “You have to look at the whole picture, too, how much was this an error by security or the celebrities themselves? I don’t think that you can blame anybody, I just think that mistakes were made. I wouldn’t say, ‘yes,’ right away [if Kim Kardashian asked for his help]. I have to make sure I get to know who I am working with and that we have an understanding.”

Speaking of getting to know the people he is working with, Shamrock is no stranger to the bodyguard business, as he has served as security detail for the likes of hip-hop artist and actor 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson).

“They have to be able to work with me — they can’t tell me how to work something when I’m on the job,” Shamrock said of his process. “That’s why I won’t do a whole lot of personal security because I can’t get the job done unless they allow me to do it. But, if I was there, I would not have left the hotel — I would have been in the lobby or somewhere in the hallway. And if the confrontation ever happened, they would have never gotten in the room.”

H/T to MMAMania.com for transcribing the above Ken Shamrock quotes.

https://youtu.be/AZroMZdqD4w

UFC Hall Of Famer and recent Bellator MMA fighter Ken Shamrock claimed that if he had been on the scene, Kim Kardashian wouldn’t have been robbed while in France this past weekend.

H/T to MMAMania.com for transcribing the above Ken Shamrock quotes.

12 MMA Veterans Whose Comebacks Crashed And Burned

The MMA world is currently buzzing with the news that former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wants to make a comeback to the UFC after a three year break from fighting. Given his past success, there’s every chance that if and when he does return, GSP will be able to win back his title and reclaim

The post 12 MMA Veterans Whose Comebacks Crashed And Burned appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The MMA world is currently buzzing with the news that former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wants to make a comeback to the UFC after a three year break from fighting.

Given his past success, there’s every chance that if and when he does return, GSP will be able to win back his title and reclaim his spot at the summit of the pound-for-pound rankings.

However, nothing is certain in this rapidly evolving sport, and as you’ll see in this article, over the years there’s been many occasions where stars have returned to the cage after a lengthy absence, only to have their dreams of recapturing past glories quickly turn into the stuff of nightmares.

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