Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie's last MMA fight

[Travis Alexander]

I would’ve liked to have seen Gokor in the first UFC.

They wouldn’t have allowed him to compete.

 

[pudgelarson36]

For more than 15 years I’ve seen people bring up the Shamrock vs Franklin gif on this forum as evidence of a fixed fight, only to have it easily debunked in every single thread.

 

[TheMaster]

he took a dive from a apparent nut shot that didn't land against Royce and protested after to sell it. Royce didn't even have his hands wrapped for the fight. Look into it lol

People like to think Ken took dives because its easier than acknowledging how far he declined from being the 'worlds most dangerous man' to a guy who had no chin and couldn't finish textbook submissions under pressure which is the sadder truth .

 

[Lubaolong]

 

[MMAProfessional]

The Ken Shamrock of 1993 deserved a rematch, and got one.

The Ken Shamrock in Bellator? Nah.

A nut shot from a ped user is about the most poetic way for him to go out complaining on.

Ahhhhhh Royce was busted for PED use

 

[Achilles00]

Both are pioneers of the sport but I wouldn’t put it past either one to be involved in a fixed match or to cheat. Royce fought dirty and PEDs and Ken’s slip vs Rich was super suspect.

watch his feet. What the hell was he doing ???

That was a weird sequence, but if you recall Ken actually does get into position for a heel hook and cranks it fairly hard. It's too bad he couldn't finish Rich with it, but I don't know why people cry foul over this. It's an awkward sequence but the fight continued and, at least for a moment, it actually seemed like Ken might pull it off.

 

[Achilles00]

Yall guys are forgetting his failed rear naked choke attempt vs Kimbo, that was also weird af. Also reminds me of Chael slipping off Fedor's back too. Bellator got some shady stuff

Ken, by his own admission, says he was rusty and lacked the killer instinct to finish Kimbo at that point. I believe him. I mean, we're talking about a 50 year old dude, long past his prime, who'd been on the shelf for a few years. It sucks that the new generation(s) of fans only know Ken from the really bad second half of his career, but he was a pioneer and a beast from 1993-1996. Easily the best or among the top 3 fighters from that era.

 

[Patrick Jane]

Gracie should have been disqualified. Shamrock shouldn't have oversold the nut shot.

 

[Achilles00]

Yeah, that was when Ken was still pretty functional and good. He almost got the leg lock as well.
Should've done one more fight after that
and rode into the sunset or become a coach not dragged his career through all those unecessary losses

If you recall, he was a coach for IFL, but then Dana took him to court, and and by then Ken was already broke.

If you read the recent Snowden biography on Ken, a few things become really clear:

- HIs body was falling apart post-WWF and he simply didn't have the money or time to fix it
- He didn't have money because his marriage was a train wreck, and no one helped him manage his finances
- He had a pretty bad drug problem, which just added to the problems listed above

I will always love Shamrock, just because of how much I owe to him. I became a fan of the UFC/MMA because of him, and then I started watching WWF again because of him. For years when I worked out he was a source of inspiration. Much of his personal story is incredible--when you find out how screwed up his childhood was, and how he used that as motivation to become something, it's pretty inspiring. (He gave a great, really open interview to Stone Cold Steve Austin on his podcast a few years back--Part I is about his early days, and Part II is about his MMA/WWF career). It was tough seeing him lose fight after fight in embarrassing fashion, learning about his drug abuse was sort of disillusioning, and some of the stuff he posts on Twitter is just so incredibly dumb (lots of COVID conspiracy theory crap)--that said, he is one of the most important pioneers of the UFC/MMA, and he was a legit badass from 93-96. His fight with Frye in 2002 is also an all-time classic.

 

[Kansu]

Worst part about that fight sequence: it wasn't slowed down.

 

[corrupted]

Both are pioneers of the sport but I wouldn’t put it past either one to be involved in a fixed match or to cheat. Royce fought dirty and PEDs and Ken’s slip vs Rich was super suspect.

watch his feet. What the hell was he doing ???

I said that as soon as I saw that fight. He dived and WAAAAAY got caught out. Almost comedic.

 

[beastman]

Crazy thing is that Ken could have laid his gloves in the center of the ring after the Kimo knee KO, done some pro wrestling and become a coach and appearance guy. He would have retired at 40 years old with a 26-8 record and been held in a very high regard. Those last 11 bouts were pretty rough.

 

[MileHigher]

Deserved to be a more epic battle.
Sad to go down like this for a legend of the sport.



Was a low blow but IMO Ken's fault for just going down and not signalling to the ref he got hit low so a time out could be called.

He was very vocal about it after the bell though.

Would have made no difference. The ref can’t simply take the fighters word for it in those situations. Think about it. Would be a shit show.

 

[PicoPulse]

Ken was gonna beat the piss outta Royce hes lucky he cheated

 

[RawDawgBob]

Met Kenny at a mall in San Diego one time. Its amazing he he fought at 205. He looked like he was 250.

 

[ChangeIsComing]

I am sure Ken had money on Royce....the man is the king of flops...second only to Bob Sapp.

 

[mkt]

Royce>Ken

Nope, the Gracies are just hypocrites. Royce said afterwards it's a fight and there are no rules, but Renzo cried like a baby when he got kneed on the ground vs. Frank Shamrock.

 

[bigconan]

Both are pioneers of the sport but I wouldn’t put it past either one to be involved in a fixed match or to cheat. Royce fought dirty and PEDs and Ken’s slip vs Rich was super suspect.

watch his feet. What the hell was he doing ???

that does look extremely suspicious. is this the wwe or what? haha

 

[mirko>anyone]

Nope, the Gracies are just hypocrites. Royce said afterwards it's a fight and there are no rules, but Renzo cried like a baby when he got kneed on the ground vs. Frank Shamrock.

Uh, Yep

Royce is 2-0-1 against Ken despite being way smaller. I’ve heard all of Ken’s excuses about UFC 1, and he cried foul after their third fight too. Second fight was his best performance and he still couldn’t finish Royce.

Frank and Renzo have nothing to do with it.

 

[Achilles00]

Met Kenny at a mall in San Diego one time. Its amazing he he fought at 205. He looked like he was 250.

See, my impression was the opposite. I'm like 5'9" 155 lbs, and Ken wasn't that much bigger standing next to me. I think he packed a ton of muscle onto a relatively small frame, but I don't think he's naturally a big guy. It's insane to me that he used to weigh around 230.