Retrospective 001: Frank Shamrock vs Tito Ortiz

Paolo Delutis

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Hello fight fans,

Since the beginning of 2022 I've decided to take more of my posting here on the Sherdog more seriously ,less about the back and forth and more about the actual sport or sport related content.Thats not to say I wont be busting hype trains or exposing fools but I wanted to take some time on the cusp of another fight card this weekend to shine some light of key fight in MMA's history.Along with these threads I will be making another series breaking down major fights of upcoming fight cards from a coaching perspective as i hope to one day coach and would like to see how accurate my breakdowns are against reality and how well my suggestions or coaching directives would work with said fighters,the first one being UFC 272 Colby v.s Masvidal i will be releasing the break down post weigh in March 5th 2022 keep your eyes open.

For the hardcores this fight should be well known but for the newer fans i pick this fight to start off what i hope will be a re-occuring thread series for me because a lot of new fans seem to think all the best fighters exist now only and the old guys couldn't hang with todays fighters. Although there is some merit to this when your talking about the fighter Frank Shamrock this simply doesn't apply the man had it all a solid stand up game,great wrestling both offensively and defensively ,submissions , ground and pound and a fight IQ to rival GSP and Jon Jones and the kicker being he had all this in the NINETIES.This fight was to be a passing of ages or guard with the steam rolling young fierce Tito Ortiz representing the new age of strong ,huge wrestler base fighters but this "older lion" (get it ex lions den) wasn't quite ready to be quiet.

For your viewing pleasure

(Also lmfao at the commentary back then at some points,we've come along way boys. Goldie trying his best out there the others guys were hard to listen to)

Things to Notice:

This fight was in 1999 look how complete of a fighter Frank Shamrock was , he was clearly the better striker then Tito landing great leg kicks, boxing combos and clinch strikes all while dealing with the takedowns by Tito quite well no wasted energy, kept Tito in guard and even swept him all while never stopping to attack from the bottom.Many new age fighters could learn from Franks approach here on how to fight effectively from the bottom in MMA against larger wrestling based fighters.

Another key thing to notice the size difference , Tito was huge compared to Frank and certainly used it but Frank having the Fight IQ advantage decided not to fight strength with strength a losing battle for sure something Ken Shamrock would try and paid dearly for, instead Frank used technique we clearly see Frank working back to feet in the way we see many modern MMA fighters do today which meant less energy used and in the end made the difference as Tito tired over the rounds.


Conclusion:
There is no doubt MMA has grown and evolved in certain elements of the game since the 1990's , it's however important to take time and remember those fighters from the past who were really timeless in their skill sets Frank Shamrock I think embodies for me what these Retrospective Threads hope to represent as I believe you transport this Frank Shamrock to the modern day MW or LHW division and there is little doubt in my mind he would be top 5 or even champion, not bad for a guy from the 1990's.


Feedback: Please let me know if you liked this kind of posting and any ideas for future series episodes i will tag you in future posts.
 
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Did not read but Frank Shamrock owned Tito the fact that he’s not recognized by the UFC in the same light as Tito has always been sore spot.

Part of the point of doing this , is to shine some light on this fact that this has mostly been buried.

Also try and have a read , when you have time thanks
 
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Nice thread, TS. I love this fight. I read that Frank trusted that his cardio would prevail, and that Tito would gas eventually.

Man, Frank was sick off his back. He had badass submissions and leg locks. He inverted heel hooked Dan Henderson back in the damn nineties.
 
Informative! I’m a terrible poster and stick mostly to gifs and one-liners but, like others, enjoy detailed write ups that offer insight into all things past and present. Thanks, TS!


Thanks alot I will add you to the Tag list for future segments
 
I love the part where frank looks at corner like..."now? Ok he is done" and not far after he stops tito.
 
I love the part where frank looks at corner like..."now? Ok he is done" and not far after he stops tito.

The freshness and the speed he had in the forth round was most impressive , when he flipped that switch it was like round 1 all over again it really showed without a doubt he had outsmarted Tito and the shot placement and choice of attack with that elbow again speaks to his high level...we dont even see guys throwing elbows from there today
 
Part of the point of doing this , is to shine some light on this fact that this has mostly been buried.

Also try and have a read , when you have time thanks

It's strange to think that this fact might not be common knowledge anymore.
Makes me feel quite old.

Frank was my favorite fighter back in the day.
This fight would've probably ended much sooner if we'd have had "modern standups."

Tito did well to constantly get the TD and keep out of harm's way, though; even if it seems that he fought scared (I wonder how much that might've affected his gas tank.)

Edit: Also, it's interesting to note that Shamrock retired (even if he came back for 1 fight 2 1/2 yrs later only to sit for another 3 years) at barely a few days past 28 years old while Glover Teixeira is now over 42.
 
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It's strange to think that this fact might not be common knowledge anymore.
Makes me feel quite old.

Frank was my favorite fighter back in the day.
This fight would've probably ended much sooner if we'd have had "modern standups."

Tito did well to constantly get the TD and keep out of harm's way, though; even if it seems that he fought scared (I wonder how much that might've affected his gas tank.)


Great point, A hasty shot out of necessity always costs more in energy...Frank wasn't playing on the the feet though so Tito didnt have alot of options at the time he did however trade leather with Frank between the takedowns which was impressive
 
Great point, A hasty shot out of necessity always costs more in energy...Frank wasn't playing on the the feet though so Tito didnt have alot of options at the time he did however trade leather with Frank between the takedowns which was impressive

Made him pay anytime they were on the feet.
Also wild how obvious it was that Frank looked more like a modern MW compared to Tito.
 
Tito will be never get the credit he deserves for helping carry the sport in the US during the dark ages with his Lion's Den feud. He had those guys livid and they wanted to kill him. He trolled those guys endlessly, lol.

Great fight. Good thread.
 
That Frank Shamrock left his belt in the ring that night and i don't think we ever saw him again at the same level.

The buildup to that fight was legendary I recommend those who aren't familiar go back and watch the lions den run in the UFC especially Frank and then Tito's run. Frank was also supposed to fight Vitor when Vitor made his drop from heavyweight and had a couple wins at MW.Its a shame that fight never. happened
 
Tito will be never get the credit he deserves for helping carry the sport in the US during the dark ages with his Lion's Den feud. He had those guys livid and they wanted to kill him. He trolled those guys endlessly, lol.

Great fight. Good thread.


It was a pivotal time in the UFC , TUF wouldnt be around for several years the moment in which the UFC really blew up...before this the Lion den vs tito feud would lay the ground work for the first super fight ..Ken vs Tito ...this ushered in a new level for the UFC pre TUF 1...

The fights between Frank and Tito and Ken and Tito always makes me wonder what a Frank vs Ken fight would of really looked like...

That said Ken ruined his body with WWF and that could of been the deciding factor against Frank ...i know in early Lion den days Ken use to beat the snot out of Frank
 
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Tito will be never get the credit he deserves for helping carry the sport in the US during the dark ages with his Lion's Den feud. He had those guys livid and they wanted to kill him. He trolled those guys endlessly, lol.

Great fight. Good thread.

The night Tito beat Guy Mezger he put on a tshirt
that im pretty sure said "Gay Mezger is my bitch" .That set off Ken who supposedly smashed tables threw shit everywhere and the cops ended up being called.
 
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