name	Don Frye
other names	The Predator
birth date	November 23, 1965
birth place	Sierra Vista, Arizona, United States
nationality	American
height
weight lb	219
weight class	Heavyweight
style	Boxing, Judo, Wrestling
stance	Southpaw
fighting out of	Team Frye
rank	''2nd degree black belt in Judo'' ''NCAA Division I Wrestling''
years active	1996 - 1997, 2001 - 2009 (MMA)
box win	1
box kowin	1
box loss	1
box koloss	1
mma win	20
mma kowin	7
mma subwin	11
mma decwin	1
mma dqwin	1
mma loss	8
mma koloss	4
mma subloss	2
mma decloss	2
mma draw	1
mma nc	1
kickbox win	0
kickbox loss	1
kickbox koloss	1
url	http://www.thepredatordonfrye.com/
boxrec	77078
sherdog	124
updated	}}

Don Frye (born November 23, 1965) is a retired American mixed martial artist, actor, and professional wrestler. Frye rose to fame fighting in early Ultimate Fighting Championship events, winning the UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments. He hold notable victories over Ken Shamrock, Gary Goodridge (2x), Tank Abbott, and Gilbert Yvel

Biography

Don Frye began wrestling at Buena High School in Sierra Vista, AZ then in college (for Arizona State) in 1984, where he was trained by fellow future Ultimate Fighting Championship legend, then assistant wrestling coach, Dan Severn. In 1987, he won the freestyle and Greco-Roman events during an Olympic qualifier. A year later, he transferred to Oklahoma State, where he encountered another future UFC star amongst his teammates: Randy Couture.

On August 28, 1989, Frye made his professional boxing debut against Luis Mora in Phoenix, Arizona and won via first round knock out. His second, and last ever, boxing bout came the following year on December 11 in Reseda, California where he was knocked out in the fourth round by David Kilgour.

Career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1995, Frye helped train his old friend Dan Severn for the Ultimate Ultimate 1995, accompanying Severn's entourage to Denver. Severn returned the favour in 1996, when he acted as Frye's manager for UFC 8. Fighting three times in one night, Frye dispatched all of his opponents in just under a minute total, winning the tournament with relative ease. At this event Frye set the record, since broken by Todd Duffee, for fastest KO in the UFC at just 8 seconds. However, due to the controversial nature of the event, Frye was barred from both firefighting, his previous occupation in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and from training in the Buena High School gym he had used since his ASU days. Along with Marco Ruas, Frye is considered one of the original "cross trained" MMA competitors who had a background in multiple disciplines. Along with his collegiate wrestling experience, Frye holds a 2nd degree black belt in Judo and a professional boxing record.

Instantly a fan favorite in the UFC, Frye returned at UFC 9 to take a single bout TKO victory over Brazilian Amaury Bitetti instead of the scheduled Marco Ruas. At UFC 10, Frye returned to tournament format and defeated Mark Hall and Brian Johnston both by TKO. But in the finals for UFC 10, Frye faced his toughest challenge yet - Mark Coleman. Coleman came out on top via TKO after eleven minutes, handing Frye his first loss in seven fights.

Frye would return to his winning ways at U-Japan in November 1996, taking a submission victory over Mark Hall. Just one month later, Frye entered the UFC's Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament, held to find the best of the best from past UFC winners and runners up. Frye took wins over Gary Goodridge, and Mark Hall (for the third time), with both wins coming by submission. In the finals of UU 96, Frye faced feared striker Tank Abbott, who landed early devastating shots, opening a cut on Frye's face, and causing swelling but Abbott lost his balance and fell, allowing Frye to secure a Rear Naked Choke, to take the title of Ultimate Ultimate 96 Champion, his second UFC Tournament Championship. After winning the Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament, Don Frye retired from the UFC.

Professional Wrestling

After leaving the UFC, Frye went into professional wrestling and debuted for New Japan Pro Wrestling in August 1997. By 1998, Frye began to rise in the ranks as he quickly became one of the companies lead heels, on April 4, 1998, Frye won the Antonio Final Opponent tournament on April 4, 1998 to earn the right to wrestle New Japan Pro Wrestling founder and wrestling legend: Antonio Inoki in his retirement match which took place later that night which Frye lost. After a brief feud with Kensuke Sasaki at end the year, Frye joined Masahiro Chono's new stable: Team 2000 in early 1999. After joining, Frye would spend most of 1999 and early 2000 feuding with Scott Norton over the unofficial title of Gaijin Ace, took part in the G1 Tag League in 1999 with Chono, and make two challenges for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship but was unsuccessful in each attempt. After being in Team 2000 for two years, Frye left the group, and joined Keiji Mutoh's new stable: BATT where he made a third attempt at the IWGP Title but came up short again. In September 2001, Frye won the G1 World Climax tournament (a tournament similar to New Japan's G1 Climax only for gaijins), after the tournament win, Frye left New Japan and returned to Mixed Martial Arts. Frye would make a one time appearance at New Japan's Fighting Spirit Memorial Day Tokyo Dome show on May 2, 2002 where he defeated Tadao Yasuda.

Frye returned to professional wrestling in 2003 where he competed for Fighting World of Japan on two occasions. He also appeared for All Japan Pro Wrestling on October 26, 2003 at their 31st Anniversary, challenging Toshiaki Kawada for the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship but lost. In 2004, Frye returned to New Japan for two appearances as a member of Chono's Black New Japan stable, teaming with Chono in a tag match defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Yuji Nagata and then teaming with Scott Norton and Manabu Nakanishi in a winning effort against Shinsuke Nakamura, Yutaka Yoshie, and Blue Wolf. On October 2, 2005, Frye took part in the WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix where he lost to Jamal in the second. On September 8, 2007, Frye lost to Josh Barnett at Inoki Genome Federation. In October 2008, Frye wrestled at the Pro Wrestling Expo shows, teaming with Yoshihiro Takayama in a losing effort to Masahiro Chono and Scott Norton on the first day, then losing a six man tag on the third day.

Pride Fighting Championships

In 2001, because of his Japanese Pro-wrestling career Frye was still a successful celebrity in Japan, Pride Fighting Championships signed The Predator to a multi fight contract. Appearing for the first time in five years, Frye was noticeably bigger, ripped and seemed much stronger. In a controversial bout at Pride 16, Frye faced Dutch kickboxer Gilbert Yvel, who repeatedly gouged Frye's eyes and was eventually disqualified for continuously holding the ropes. Three months later, at a joint New Year's Eve show ''Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 K-1 vs. Inoki'', Frye submitted Cyril Abidi by Rear Naked Choke. Frye returned to Pride in February 2002, facing long-time rival Ken Shamrock at Pride 19. After an exciting hard tough battle, Frye pulled out a decision victory. Even though Shamrock had injured Frye's ankles, later leading to dependency on painkillers, the two hugged after the fight ended, putting an end to their rivalry. Many MMA fans agree that both fighters were never the same again, as both their careers began a steady downturn after the fight.

Just four months after defeating Ken Shamrock, Frye returned to face Japanese professional wrestler Yoshihiro Takayama at Pride 21. In a fight that many consider to be one of Pride's most exciting matches, Frye and Takayama clinched in a "hockey fight" pose, each holding the head and hitting, with Takayama finally going to the body after more than a full minute of unrelenting, undefended shots. This would happen three times in the fight, until the referee stopped the bout after Frye mounted Takayama, who was visibly much worse for the wear.

Riding a new wave of popularity, Frye returned at Pride 23 to face Japanese Olympic Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. Taking his first loss since fighting Mark Coleman in 1996, Frye was submitted by Yoshida via armbar in the first round. While Frye did not tap out, the referee stopped the bout in fear of serious injury. Just one month later, Frye fought at the K-1/Pride New Year's Eve event, ''Pride Shockwave'', taking on K-1 Champion Jérôme Le Banner. The match was not a mixed martial arts event as kickboxing rules were followed. It should be noted that Frye had mentioned in an interview prior to the fight that (besides some knee strikes) he had never thrown a kick in his life. Frye's disadvantage was obvious as he couldn't use his wrestling skills and at 1:30 of the first round Don Frye was knocked out.

Frye took seven months off following the loss to Le Banner, and returned at Pride 26 to try and avenge his loss to Mark Coleman. In a rather long battle, Frye lost a unanimous decision to Coleman after three rounds. Another rematch was on tap for Pride Shockwave 2003, when Frye faced Gary Goodridge for the third time. In a stunning bout that lasted all of 0:39, Goodridge scored a vicious high kick to the head, knocking Frye out completely. He made his Pride return at Pride 34 fighting James Thompson and lost by strikes.

K-1 and Hero's

In 2004 Frye signed with Japan's K-1 mixed martial arts promotion Hero's, which held both kickboxing and mixed martial arts matches. In ''K-1 MMA-Romanex'', Frye faced Japanese firebrand Yoshihiro Nakao, but the bout was called a no contest in the first round due to an accidental headbutt. The pair would face off at K-1's New Year's Eve show ''K-1-Premium 2004 Dynamite'' to settle the score, with Frye ultimately losing a unanimous decision. After another brief retirement, Frye returned in May 2006 to fight Akebono at ''Hero's 5'', winning by guillotine choke in the second round.

Just ten days later, in his first appearance in the US since 1996, Don Frye took on Ruben Villarreal in ''King of the Cage: Predator''. After three rounds of what many considered to be a lackluster fight, the bout was ruled a draw. 3 months later he defeated Yoshihisa Yamamoto at ''Hero's 6'' using the rear-naked choke in the end of the first round. In his latest appearance, Frye faced Min Soo Kim at ''Hero's 7'' and knocked him out with a punch in the second round.

International Fight League

In 2007 Frye assembled and coached the Arizona based Tucson Scorpions in the International Fight League, but on November 9, 2007 Don announced on TAGG radio, that he and the IFL had parted ways. They were one of four new teams established at the beginning of the 2007 season. He also wrote a humorous weekly column called "Dear Don: Advice from The Predator" in which he gives fans advice on love, life, friendship, and more. However, Don is currently on MMA Junkie radio on Fridays on a segment known as "Don Fryedays" which is a follow up to his Dear Don segments from the IFL.

Post IFL

On February 8, 2008, Frye announced on TAGG Radio that he would be fighting Oleg Taktarov on the debut card for YAMMA Pit Fighting on April 11 in the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fight will be the first fight in YAMMA's Masters Division, a division for fighters over the age of 39. However, he had to withdraw due to an injury and was replaced by UFC 1 entree Pat Smith.

Following his tenure with the IFL and a one-off fight with Texas-based promotion ''NoLimit Fighting'', Don Frye competed in his inaugural fight with the DEEP organization, fighting Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa. Minowa won via kneebar at the 3:56 mark of Round 1, dropping Frye's record in Japan to 8-6. Frye later admitted to not taking the fight seriously and was quoted as saying that he thought he could "charm" his way through the fight with "Minowaman" only to find out "He (Minowa) didn't find me very charming."

Frye faced Ritch Moss on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at ''Shark Fights'' in Lubbock, Texas. Frye won by Submission (Rear Naked Choke).

On Sep 12, 2009, Frye was defeated by Dave "Pee Wee" Herman at "Shark Fights 6: Stars & Stripes" PPV at the Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum in Texas.

Retirement

When asked in a February 2010 interview if he was definitely retired Frye replied, "Yeah, yeah. I'm done with it. I just lost my desire. A lot of it was the promoters, and the time commitment. You know, to be a top athlete, it's a pretty selfish endeavor." Frye also said he'd like to spend more time with his children.

At the Strikeforce Nashville Event, in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Don said he'd like to fight again, possibly in a rematch with Dave Herman.

Don Frye recently stated in an interview that he will not be doing commentary for Shark Fightings anymore but on a more positive note he will be competing in mixed martial arts again on card to be announced in China.

Acting

Don Frye began acting in movies with ''Godzilla: Final Wars'' (2004), playing the role of Captain Douglas Gordon. In an interview, Frye mentions that unlike his fights where he has complete control, acting in a Godzilla film he had no control but enjoyed the experience nonetheless. The director of the film, Ryuhei Kitamura, mentioned that he wrote the role with Frye in mind since he was a fan of Frye's fighting matches. Kitamura found Frye's tough-guy/good-heart demeanor to be the perfect role for the character of Gordon. Curiously, for a prominent character in a Japanese-language film, all of his dialogue was spoken in English.

2005 turned out to be a busy year for Frye as he made several appearances. In Just Another Romantic Wrestling Comedy, he played Rocco Piedra, the father of a wrestling family who dreams on marrying their child off to a famous wrestler. He also appeared in No Rules and starred in Nagurimono. In 2006, he made an appearance in Miami Vice and even lent his voice for The Ant Bully.

Frye is also set to appear in Apparitions: The Darkness (formerly Paper Dolls) and in the Rob Schneider prison comedy ''Big Stan'', along with fellow MMA fighters Randy Couture and Bob Sapp.

He played Clarence Hurt, a Texas Ranger, in ''Public Enemies'', by director Michael Mann.

Since he competed in Pride FC, he has also appeared in several commercial ads in Japan. The latest one is a television ad for a yakisoba product named "UFO" produced by Nissin Foods (an executive officer was a fierce fan of Frye). His significant popularity in Japan in the 2000s might be attributed to his "good old tough fuddy-daddy" character reminiscent of sheriffs in some '60s American movies.

Frye appeared in an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" entitled "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops," in which he played a professional wrestler that was getting pummeled by Roddy Piper's character, The Maniac. The part did not involve any lines and he is not currently credited on IMDB for it, but his name is in the end credits of the episode.

Frye also appeared in a new AT&T; mini-movie advertisement for the Blackberry Bold 9700 entitled "Stay One Step Ahead" during the 2009 holiday season.

Personal life

Frye is married and the couple has two daughters. He is of Cherokee, Irish, Scottish and Pennsylvania Dutch descent.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC 8 Tournament Winner

*UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 Tournament Winner

*UFC 10 Tournament Runner-Up

UFC Viewer's Choice Award

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Fight of the Year (2002)- vs. Yoshihiro Takayama on June 23

Professional Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling

G1 World Climax Tournament Winner (2001)

Antonio Inoki Final Opponent Tournament Winner (1998)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #175 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1999

PWI ranked him #247 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

Mixed martial arts record

| Loss |align=center| 20–8–1(1) | Dave Herman | TKO (punches) | Shark Fights 6: Stars & Stripes | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:00 | Amarillo, Texas, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 20–7–1(1) | Ritch Moss | Submission (rear naked choke) | Shark Fights 4 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:48 | Lubbock, Texas, U.S. | |- | Loss |align=center| 19–7–1(1) | Ikuhisa Minowa | Submission (kneebar) | Deep: Gladiator | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:56 | Okayama, Okayama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 19–6–1(1) | Bryan Pardoe | KO (punches) | NLF: Heavy Hands | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:47 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |- | Loss |align=center| 18–6–1(1) | James Thompson | TKO (punches) | Pride 34 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 6:23 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 18–5–1(1) | Min Soo Kim | KO (punch) | Hero's 7 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 2:47 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 17–5–1(1) | Yoshihisa Yamamoto | Submission (rear naked choke) | Hero's 6 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:52 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Draw |align=center| 16–5–1(1) | Ruben Villareal | Draw | King of the Cage: Predator | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Globe, Arizona, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 16–5(1) | Akebono Tarō | Submission (guillotine choke) | Hero's 5 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 3:50 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 15–5(1) | Yoshihiro Nakao | Decision (unanimous) | K-1 Premium 2004 Dynamite | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Osaka, Japan | |- | NC |align=center| 15–4(1) | Yoshihiro Nakao | No contest (cut caused by accidental headbutt) | K-1 MMA ROMANEX | |align=center| 1 |align=center| N/A | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 15–4 | Gary Goodridge | KO (head kick) | Pride Shockwave 2003 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:39 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 15–3 | Mark Coleman | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 26 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 15–2 | Hidehiko Yoshida | Technical submission (armbar) | Pride 23 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:32 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 15–1 | Yoshihiro Takayama | TKO (punches) | Pride 21 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 6:10 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | Wrestling Observer Newsletter 2002 Fight of the Year Award. |- | Win |align=center| 14–1 | Ken Shamrock | Decision (split) | Pride 19 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 13–1 | Cyril Abidi | Submission (rear naked choke) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 | |align=center| 2 |align=center| 0:33 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 12–1 | Gilbert Yvel | DQ (eye gouging) | Pride 16 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 7:27 | Osaka, Japan | |- | Win |align=center| 11–1 | Eric Valdez | Submission (choke) | Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 5 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:49 | Amarillo, Texas, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 10–1 | Tank Abbott | Submission (rear naked choke) | Ultimate Ultimate 96 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:22 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | Won Ultimate Ultimate 96 Tournament |- | Win |align=center| 9–1 | Mark Hall | Submission (achilles lock) | Ultimate Ultimate 96 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:20 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 8–1 | Gary Goodridge | Submission (fatigue) | Ultimate Ultimate 96 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 11:19 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 7–1 | Mark Hall | Submission (forearm choke) | U-Japan | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:29 | Japan | |- | Loss |align=center| 6–1 | Mark Coleman | TKO (punches) | UFC 10 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 11:34 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | UFC 10 tournament championship fight |- | Win |align=center| 6–0 | Brian Johnston | Submission (elbow) | UFC 10 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 4:37 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 5–0 | Mark Hall | TKO (punches) | UFC 10 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 10:21 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 4–0 | Amaury Bitetti | TKO (punches) | UFC 9 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 9:22 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 3–0 | Gary Goodridge | Submission (position) | UFC 8 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:14 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | Won UFC 8 tournament |- | Win |align=center| 2–0 | Sam Adkins | TKO (doctor stoppage) | UFC 8 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:48 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | |- | Win |align=center| 1–0 | Thomas Ramirez | KO (punch) | UFC 8 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:08 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico |

Kickboxing record

Record	Date	Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Round, Time	Location	Notes
0–1	28 August 2002	Loss	Jérôme Le Banner	KO	Pride Shockwave	Round 1, 3:30	Tokyo, Japan

Boxing record

Record	Date	Result	Opponent	Method	Round, Time	Location	Notes
1–1	11 December 1990	Loss		KO	Round 4	Reseda, California, United States
1–0	28 August 1989	Win	Luis Mora	KO	Round 1	Phoenix, Arizona, United States

Footnotes

External links

Don Frye-days on TAGG Radio

Don Frye's interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio

Category:Living people Category:1965 births Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Arizona Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:American boxers Category:Boxers from Arizona Category:Heavyweight boxers Category:American kickboxers Category:Kickboxers from Arizona Category:Heavyweight kickboxers Category:American judoka Category:American sport wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American actors Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Pennsylvania Dutch people

de:Don Frye fr:Don Frye ja:ドン・フライ pl:Don Frye pt:Don Frye

name	Mark Coleman
other names	The Hammer
birth date	December 20, 1964
birth place	Fremont, Ohio, United States
nationality	American
height
weight lb	205
weight class	Light Heavyweight ''(2009 – present)'' Heavyweight ''(1996 – 2006)''
reach in	75
style	Freestyle Wrestling
fighting out of	Columbus, Ohio
team	Team Hammer House
rank	''NCAA Division I Wrestling'' ''Olympian Freestyle Wrestling''
years active	1996 – present (MMA)
mma kowin	4
mma subwin	8
mma decwin	4
mma koloss	3
mma subloss	5
mma decloss	2
university	Ohio State University Miami University
sherdog	136
updated	}}

}}

Mark Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. His most notable victories came against Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Igor Vovchanchyn, Don Frye (2x) and Dan Severn.

Coleman is credited with proving the ability of wrestlers to dominate in the developing sport of mixed martial arts, and with being one of the first in American MMA to successfully use the strategy that came to be known as ''ground-and-pound'', earning him the distinction as "The Godfather of Ground & Pound".

Background

Coleman was born in Fremont, Ohio, U.S. in 1964. He began freestyle wrestling as a teenager, and wrestled for Miami University, in Ohio, where he was a two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion. In his senior year, he transferred to Ohio State University and won an NCAA championship. Out of college, he was awarded a spot on the US Wrestling team, placing second (100 kg) at the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, and placing seventh overall in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments in dominating fashion, including a win over UFC 8 champion Don Frye at ''UFC 10'' in 1996, and becoming the first UFC Heavyweight Champion after submitting UFC Superfight Champion Dan Severn via a complex submission lock known as the neck crank at UFC 12.

Coleman made his first UFC Heavyweight Championship title defense at UFC 14, facing kickboxer (and heavy underdog) Maurice Smith. In what turned out to be a long battle, Coleman lost a decision after 21:00 (regulation plus two overtimes). This was considered to be one of the largest upsets in UFC history at that time, largely because of the way Coleman had dominated his opponents in his previous fights.

Coleman took nearly a year off after having to get ACL surgery and returned at UFC 17. Coleman was originally scheduled to face Randy Couture in a title match for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but Couture was injured during training and was forced to pull out of the fight. Coleman instead faced a relatively unknown (at that time) last minute replacement fighter, up and coming Lion's Den product Pete Williams. In what turned out to be another long and strenuous battle, Coleman appeared to be completely exhausted after 10 minutes; he was fatigued to the point of resting his hands on his knees during the fight. In what is still considered to be one of the largest upsets in UFC history, Williams took advantage of Coleman's fatigue and landed a heavy kick to the face, knocking 'The Hammer' out for the first time in his career.

After his shocking loss to Pete Williams, Coleman went to train with former UFC champion Ken Shamrock and his Lion's Den training camp for his upcoming bout with feared Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo at UFC 18. The fight with Rizzo was part of the "Road to the Heavyweight Title", which was a four man tournament between Coleman, Rizzo, Bas Rutten and Tsuyoshi Kosaka that would crown the next UFC Heavyweight Champion. After 15:00 the fight went to the judges, and they gave a split decision win to Rizzo. This bout was a source of controversy to many, including Coleman himself, who felt that he was robbed of the decision win. In a recent interview, Coleman said he still feels the effects of the controversial decision loss to Rizzo.

Pride Fighting Championships

From 1999 through 2006, The Hammer continued his career with Japanese promotion, Pride Fighting Championships while also making appearances with the professional wrestling promotion HUSTLE.

At Pride 5, Coleman fought Nobuhiko Takada, HUSTLE's owner and booker. Though thought to be the much better fighter, Coleman was caught by a heel hook from Takada and submitted. The validity of this fight has been questioned by many fans. In response to questions about the fight's legitimacy, Coleman said, "It was what it was. I needed to support my family. They guaranteed me another fight after that and I needed that security. It was what it was. I'm going to leave it at that."

Coleman won the Pride 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament defeating Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn. The Hammer's training and 2000 tournament victory are depicted in the documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.

After a quick TKO victory over Allan Goes at Pride 13, Coleman faced possibly his toughest challenge ever in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride 16. "Minotauro" was able to catch the Hammer in a triangle/armbar at 6:10 of the first round, breaking Coleman's six fight winning streak.

Coleman would take nearly two years off following the fight with Nogueira, spending time with his wife and children, and focusing on developing his martial arts training facility and stable of fighters at Team Hammer House. Training such fighters as Kevin Randleman, Wes Sims, Brandon Lee Hinkle and Phil Baroni, Team Hammer House quickly gained a reputation of turning out world class fighters.

Mark Coleman returned to MMA competition at Pride 26 to face Don Frye in a rematch of their meeting at UFC 10; this proved to be a much tougher battle. Coming back from a career threatening neck injury, Coleman ultimately won a unanimous decision victory after 20 minutes. Following the fight, Coleman apologised to the fans for the lack of action during the fight, in which he had spent the majority of the time in taking down and maintaining positional dominace of Frye with his superior wrestling ability.

Between training fighters and spending time with his family, the Hammer was now fighting roughly once a year. He returned to competition to take place in the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, as the returning Grand Prix champion in the Open Weight Division. His first round match at Pride Total Elimination 2004 was against Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. In what turned out to be a short bout, Coleman was submitted by armbar at 2:11 of the first round, eliminating him from the tournament.

Coleman returned to the Pride ring in February 2005, this time facing Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović at ''Pride 29: Fists of Fire''. Suffering the second knockout of his career, the Hammer fell to strikes by "Cro Cop" in the first round. In November 2005, Mark Coleman appeared in ''Bushido Europe-Rotterdam Rumble'', Europe's first Bushido event, and choked out Milco Voorn at 0:56 of the first round.

The Hammer returned to action at Pride 31 with a victory over Chute Boxe team member Mauricio "Shogun" Rua after the fight was stopped when Shogun suffered a dislocated elbow during a Coleman takedown. With Team Hammer House member Phil Baroni in his corner, Coleman began the match by taking Shogun to the ground. At 0:49 of the first round, Rua got up and as he took the first step Coleman grabbed his feet. Rua fell awkwardly and broke his arm. Coleman continued to fight, peppering Rua with strikes before the referee stopped the fight but not before the Coleman threw the referee aside and began to shout at Murilo Rua, Mauricio's brother, who entered the ring following the injury. With the referee still holding the Coleman, Chute Boxe members come charging to the ring to protect their teammate. In the flash of an eye, amongst the hordes of managers, trainers, Pride officials, judges, referees and security people all in the ring trying to separate everyone, Wanderlei Silva charged into the ring and went after Coleman. Then in the next instant, Colemans training partner Phil Baroni went after Silva.

Backstage in his post-fight interview, Coleman stated that the whole melee happened in the heat of the moment and that he did not blame the Chute Boxe team for coming in and backing their fighter. He then added that similar to Chute Boxe, Hammer House is also like a family, and thanked Baroni for coming in and watching his back. An outraged Chute Boxe refused to accept Coleman's backstage apology. The Chute Boxe team was assigned a yellow card for instigating this infraction.

On October 21, 2006, Mark Coleman again faced Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Pride's first American show, Pride 32: The Real Deal, and lost via submission (armbar) at 1:17 of round two.

Mark Coleman appeared with teammate, Kevin Randleman, on the US pay-per-view broadcast of the final Pride event, ''Pride 34: Kamikaze'', stating that he intended to keep fighting.

Return to UFC (2008–2010)

At UFC 82, Mark Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, making him the 5th inductee. Coleman announced that he was not retiring and would return to the octagon to fight Brock Lesnar on August 9 in Minneapolis at UFC 87. However, Coleman injured his knee while training, and was forced to pull out of the event. Heath Herring replaced Coleman for the fight.

At UFC 109, Coleman faced fellow UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, after originally being scheduled to meet at UFC 17 in 1998 twelve years prior, in which an injury forced Couture to drop out of the fight. Coleman went on record, multiple times during the build-up for the fight, in which he claimed this was his dream bout. After being outboxed on the feet, Coleman was taken down and defeated shortly after by (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:09 in round 2. The bout marked the first time two UFC Hall of Fame inductees had fought.

Following Coleman's loss to Couture in the main event of UFC 109, his sixth loss in his last 10 fights, he was released by the promotion.

Personal life

Coleman has two daughters.

He appeared in the documentary ''The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Mark Kerr'' alongside fellow fighter and former friend Mark Kerr.

In June 2006, it was announced that Coleman was one of the new coaches in the International Fight League, but unable to assemble a team, he was replaced by Ken Shamrock.

Mixed martial arts record

|- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 16–10 | Randy Couture | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 109 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1:09 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 16–9 | Stephan Bonnar | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 100 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 15–9 | Mauricio Rua | TKO (punches) | UFC 93 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 4:36 | Dublin, Ireland | Won Fight of the Night; Light Heavyweight debut. |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 15–8 | Fedor Emelianenko | Submission (armbar) | Pride 32 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1:15 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 15–7 | Mauricio Rua | TKO (broken arm) | Pride 31 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 0:49 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 14–7 | Milco Voorn | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Bushido Europe: Rotterdam Rumble | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 0:56 | Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 13–7 | Mirko Filipović | KO (punches) | Pride 29 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 3:40 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 13–6 | Fedor Emelianenko | Submission (armbar) | Pride Total Elimination 2004 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:11 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | Pride FC 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 13–5 | Don Frye | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 26 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 12–5 | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Submission (triangle armbar) | Pride 16 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 6:10 | Osaka, Osaka, Japan | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 12–4 | Allan Goes | TKO (knees) | Pride 13 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1:19 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 11–4 | Igor Vovchanchyn | Submission (knees) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 3:09 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix final; won Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 10–4 | Kazuyuki Fujita | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 0:02 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix semifinal |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 9–4 | Akira Shoji | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 15:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix quarterfinal |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 8–4 | Masaaki Satake | Submission (neck crank) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1:14 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix Opening Round |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 7–4 | Ricardo Morais | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 8 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 10:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 6–4 | Nobuhiko Takada | Submission (heel hook) | Pride 5 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1:44 | Nagoya, Aichi, Japan | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 6–3 | Pedro Rizzo | Decision (split) | UFC 18 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 15:00 | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 6–2 | Pete Williams | KO (head kick) | UFC 17 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 12:38 | Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | |- | align="center" Loss | align="center" | 6–1 | Maurice Smith | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 14 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 21:00 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 6–0 | Dan Severn | Submission (choke) | UFC 12 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:57 | Dothan, Alabama, U.S. | Won inaugural UFC Heavyweight Championship unified with UFC Superfight Championship |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 5–0 | Brian Johnston | Submission (strikes) | UFC 11 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:20 | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | Won UFC 11 Tournament |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 4–0 | Julian Sanchez | Submission (choke) | UFC 11 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 0:45 | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 3–0 | Don Frye | TKO (punches) | UFC 10 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 11:34 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | Won UFC 10 Tournament |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 2–0 | Gary Goodridge | Submission (exhaustion) | UFC 10 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 7:00 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |- | align="center" Win | align="center" | 1–0 | Moti Horenstein | Submission (punches) | UFC 10 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:43 | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

1986 NCAA Division I Championships: (190lbs 4th Place)

1988 NCAA Big Ten Championships: (190lbs 1st Place)

1988 NCAA Division I Championships: (190lbs 1st Place)

1990 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (90kg 1st Place)

1991 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (100kg 1st Place)

1991 Pan American Games Freestyle Wrestling: (100kg 1st Place)

1991 U.S.A. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships: (100kg 1st Place)

1991 FILA World Freestyle Wrestling Championships: (100kg 2nd Place)

1992 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (100kg 1st place)

1992 Summer Olympics Freestyle Wrestling: (100kg 7th Place)

Mixed martial arts

PRIDE Fighting Championships

Pride 2000 Grand Prix Openweight Tournament Winner

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC 10 Tournament Champion

UFC 11 Tournament Champion

UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 Time, First)

UFC Hall of Fame

UFC Viewer's Choice Award

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Fight of the Year (1997) vs. Maurice Smith on July 27

References

External links

UFC.com Hall of Fame Profile

Mark Coleman at wrestlinghalloffame.org

IMDB entry for Smashing Machine

Category:1964 births Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Ohio Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:American sport wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Category:People from Sandusky County, Ohio Category:Miami University alumni Category:Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics

de:Mark Coleman fr:Mark Coleman nl:Mark Coleman ja:マーク・コールマン pl:Mark Coleman pt:Mark Coleman ru:Коулмен, Марк sv:Mark Coleman uk:Марк Колмен zh-yue:馬克高文

Name	Yoshihiro Takayama
Names	Yoshihiro TakayamaTakan Hansen
Height
Weight
Birth date	September 19, 1966
Birth place	Sumida, Tokyo
Debut	June 28, 1992
Retired	}}

years active	2001–2002
mma koloss	2
mma subloss	2
sherdog	2209
updated	}}

is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Takayama is well known for his ability to endure massive amounts of punishment, especially after his fight at PRIDE 21 against Don Frye. He is the second of two men to hold all 3 of puroresu's major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the AJPW Triple Crown Championship, and the GHC Heavyweight Championship), the other being Kensuke Sasaki.

Career

Takayama started in UWF International, but due to the focus of the promotion on star Nobuhiko Takada, he wasn't able to go past the mid-card level. In 1995-96, with the interpromotional feuds with New Japan Pro Wrestling and WAR, he formed the "Golden Cups" stable with Yoji Anjo and Kenichi Yamamoto to compete in tag team and six-man matches. In New Japan he and Anjo assumed masks as the "200% Machines" to mock "Super Strong Machine" Junji Hirata. In WAR, they feuded with Gedo, Jado and Hiromichi Fuyuki.

After UWFI's subsequent collapse, he joined Kingdom, but after it also collapsed, he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling as a free agent along with former UWFi comrade Masahito Kakihara. In the beginning, Takayama was put in a feud with Toshiaki Kawada (against whom he had lost once in an interpromotional match before the UWFI's collapse), but as he lost matches often, he was back in the undercard. He joined former UWFI foreigner Gary Albright and native Takao Ōmori in a new version of the "Triangle of Power" stable Albright had formed with Steve Williams before he briefly went back to the United States.

In 1999, upon Shohei Baba's death, Mitsuharu Misawa made him and Kakihara full-time members of All Japan. Pushed as the NO FEARteam with Ōmori, Takayama found instant success, first winning the Asian tag team title from Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki and then the Double Cup from Johnny Ace and Bart Gunn. However, they were eventually defeated by the combination of Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa. In 2000, when Misawa announced plans for his new promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah, Takayama followed him. During the first few months of Noah's existence, Takayama competed in the first ever GHC Heavyweight Championship tournament, but lost to Mitsuharu Misawa in the final match. He found continued success in Noah, winning the new GHC Tag Team Championship with Takao Ōmori, too. It was around 2001 that, spurred by his old UWFI comrades' success in the PRIDE fighting circuit, decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts competition. Although defeated by Kazuyuki Fujita, he impressed "real-fight" pundits enough to warrant more fight offers. In what many PRIDE fans consider to be one of the organizations most exciting matches ever, Takayama faced Don Frye in a slugfest at PRIDE 21, and although he lost the match, Takayama solidified his reputation as one of the toughest Japanese fighters in PRIDE. Also, his battle with Frye appeared at number one on Fox Sports Network's "Best Damn 50 Beatdowns". Takayama also competed in memorable Noah matches during 2002, winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Yoshinari Ogawa on September 7 before losing it to Mitsuharu Misawa later that month.

Takayama declared free agency from Noah so he could pursue mixed martial arts, as well as matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he began challenging the top stars, such as Yuji Nagata, Masahiro Chono, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. In 2003 and 2004 he participated in New Japan's annual G-1 Climax tournament. In mid-2004 he affiliated himself with former Pancrase wrestler Minoru Suzuki, and they won the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but he suffered a stroke later in the year following a brutal match with Kensuke Sasaki. During his time away from the ring, Takayama provided occasional colour commentary for Pro Wrestling Noah, famously saying, "I hope this never ends" during a chop exchange between Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki on the July 18, 2005 "Destiny" show. In June 2006, Pro Wrestling Noah announced that Takayama would return at the July 16 Nippon Budokan show, and would team with Kenta Kobashi to take on Jun Akiyama and Mitsuharu Misawa. The match was later changed due to Kobashi needing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, leading to Takayama teaming with Kensuke Sasaki against Akiyama and Misawa. However, when Kenta Kobashi returned, it would be in the same match, teaming with Yoshihiro Takayama to take on Jun Akiyama and Mitsuharu Misawa.

Takayama then started teaming with old UWFI comrade Takuma Sano in a tournament for the GHC Tag Team Championship vacated by Kenta Kobashi and Tamon Honda due to Kobashi's kidney tumor (Takayama and Sano woud reach the final where they would lose to Mohammed Yone and Takeshi Morishima). On December 27, he showed up at a Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX show, attacked former partner Takao Ōmori, and promised to return at the next show.

Takayama defeated Great Muta on March 14, 2009 at Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 7 to win the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. With this victory, Takayama became the second wrestler (the other being Kensuke Sasaki) to win the three major heavyweight titles in Japan: NOAH's GHC Championship, New Japan's IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and All Japan's Triple Crown Championship. Takayama held the Triple Crown for almost seven months, losing the title to Satoshi Kojima on September 26.

On January 4, 2010, at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Takayama to retain his IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In 2010 Takayama and Sano competed in NOAH's "Global Tag League" tournament and emerged the victors, however they were subsequently unable to dethrone the GHC Tag Team Champions Takeshi Rikio and Mohammed Yone.

From March 28 to May 2, 2010, Takayama competed in (and eventually won) Pro-Wrestling Noah's 1st ever Global League Tournament. He defeated Jun Akiyama in the final match of the tournament, finishing up with a total of 7 points. It was then announced that due to his victory, Takayama had earned a GHC Heavyweight Championship match versus Takashi Sugiura on July 10. On September 18, 2010, Takayama and Takuma Sano defeated Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith to win the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. On January 4, 2011, at New Japan's ''Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome'' Takayama and Sugiura defeated Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match. Takayama and Sano would lose the GHC Tag Team Championship to New Japan's Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson on June 18, 2011, in a match contested also for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''Everest Suplex'' (Delayed bridging high-angle German suplex)

*Running high knee strike

Signature moves

*Big boot

*Cross armbar

*Multiple suplex variations

**Belly to belly

**Double underhook

**Dragon

**Tiger

*Straight punch to the opponent's jaw

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling

*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takao Ōmori

*AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takao Ōmori

New Japan Pro Wrestling

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Minoru Suzuki

*NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #40 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

Pro Wrestling Noah

*GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Takao Ōmori (1) and Takuma Sano (1, current)

*Global Tag League (2010) - with Takuma Sano

*Global League Tournament (2010)

*2 Days Tag Tournament (2011) - with KENTA

Pro Wrestling Zero1

*NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kohei Sato

Tenryu Project

:*Tenryu Project Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Tatsutoshi Goto and Daisuke Sekimoto

Wrestle Association "R"

*WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Yoji Anjo & Kenichi Yamamoto

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Best Brawler (2002)

*Fight of the Year (2002) – vs. Don Frye

Mixed martial arts record

|- |Loss |align=center|0-4 | Bob Sapp |Submission (armbar) |Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:16 |Saitama, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|0-3 | Don Frye |TKO (punches) |Pride 21 | |align=center|1 |align=center|6:10 |Saitama, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|0-2 | Semmy Schilt |KO (punches) |Pride 18 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:09 |Fukuoka, Japan | |- |Loss |align=center|0-1 | Kazuyuki Fujita |Submission (arm triangle choke) |Pride 14 | |align=center|2 |align=center|3:10 |Yokohama, Japan | |-

Acting

Takayama has acted in small parts in several films, beginning with Muscle Heat in 2002, and continuing with Cromartie High - The Movie and Nagurimono in 2005. He also appeared in 2004's The Calamari Wrestler, playing himself in a cameo role.

References

Official Website

Profile at accelerator3359.com

Profile at Green Destiny

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Japanese professional wrestlers Category:Japanese mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Sportspeople from Tokyo

ja:高山善廣 pl:Yoshihiro Takayama pt:Yoshihiro Takayama

Name	Dana White
Birth date	July 28, 1969
Birth place	Manchester, CT, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in
residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Known for	Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship
Occupation	President
Spouse	Anne
Children	3
net worth	US$150 million (2010)
Nationality	American }}

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Biography

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.

White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had met a multiple year deal.

Controversy

Loretta Hunt

On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs. White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology. Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."

Charity

In December 2010 White donated $50,000 for a life-saving surgery for the 7-month-old daughter of a popular Thai MMA trainer at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Thailand. In a similar act of charity in 2010, White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met. In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 dollars to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him". Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.

Feud with M-1 Global

After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009, White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.

On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter. The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP. White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein. This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults

There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met. White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere". In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.

Accomplishments

Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards

Promoter of the Year (2005–2010)

World MMA Awards

*Leading Man of the Year 2010

Armed Forces Foundation

Patriot Award

References

Won Sports Media Marketing’s Game Changer Award.

External links

UFC homepage

June/July Men's Fitness cover story

Official Twitter

Category:Living people Category:1969 births Category:Mixed martial arts people Category:People from Manchester, Connecticut Category:American atheists

de:Dana White fr:Dana White ja:ダナ・ホワイト no:Dana White pt:Dana White ru:Уайт, Дэйна

name	Ken Shamrock
other names	The World's Most Dangerous Man
birth date	February 11, 1964
birth place	Macon, Georgia, U.S.
residence	Reno, Nevada, U.S.
nationality	American
height
weight	(current) (peak)
weight class	Heavyweight Light heavyweight
reach
style	Shootfighting
stance	Orthodox
fighting out of	Reno, Nevada, US
team	Lion's Den
teacher	Masakatsu Funaki
years active	1993–present MMA
mma win	28
mma subwin	23
mma kowin	2
mma decwin	3
mma loss	15
mma koloss	9
mma subloss	4
mma decloss	2
mma draw	2
relatives	Frank Shamrock, ''adopted brother'' Ryan Shamrock, ''son''
sherdog	4}}

Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick; February 11, 1964) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler. Shamrock emerged as one of the biggest stars in the history of mixed martial arts, headlining over 15 main events and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships during the course of his career and set numerous pay per view records with his drawing power. Shamrock is widely considered to be a legendary figure and icon in the sport of mixed martial arts. Shamrock was named The World's Most Dangerous Man by ABC News in a special entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Things" in the early part of his UFC career, a moniker which has become synonymous as his nickname.

Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. After fighting to a draw with Gracie in the inaugural Superfight, he became the first UFC Superfight Champion after defeating Dan Severn at UFC 6; the title was eventually renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. He was also the first MMA Heavyweight Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 mixed martial artist in the world. Shamrock was also ranked by Inside MMA as one of the top 10 greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time. He holds notable victories over Bas Rutten (twice), Dan Severn, Masakatsu Funaki (twice), Maurice Smith and Kimo (twice).

Shamrock is the founder of the Lion's Den mixed martial arts training camp. The Lion's Den became one of the most successful camps in mixed martial arts history and was famous dominating the early scene of mixed martial arts. He is also the older adopted brother of former UFC champion Frank Shamrock.

In addition to his mixed martial arts career, Shamrock enjoyed considerable success in professional wrestling, achieving championship success during his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Among other accolades, he is a one-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion, one-time WWF Tag Team Champion, and the 1998 WWF King of the Ring. World Wrestling Entertainment—formerly the World Wrestling Federation—has credited Shamrock for popularizing the ankle lock (later used by fellow professional wrestling world champions Kurt Angle and Jack Swagger), which was named by the organization as the second best submission hold in its history.

MMA career

Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling (1993–1996)

The origins of Shamrock's mixed martial arts career began in the Japanese pro wrestling organization Fujiwara Gumi. On October 4, 1992, at the Tokyo Dome, a legitimate match between "Wayne" (Shamrock's show title in Japan) Shamrock and kickboxing champion Don Nayaka Nielsen took place. Shamrock took Nielsen down and submitted him with an arm lock in 45 seconds. The success of this match made young pro wrestlers Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki question what they had been told since entering into predetermined wrestling: that nobody would ever pay to see real matches.

Shamrock, Funaki and Suzuki then founded a group of pro wrestlers and decided to pursue marketable legitimate matches. They formed a promotion called Pancrase, named by ’60s wrestling star Karl Gotch after the sport of Pankration in the ancient Olympics, which combined all different forms of fighting into one sport. defeated world kickboxing champion and future UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith and Alex Cook in the Opening Round of the 16 man King of Pancrase Tournament and Masakatsu Funaki and Manabu Yamada in the Second Round to become the first King of Pancrase before crowds of 11,000 fans both nights at Tokyo’s Sumo Hall in December 1994.

In addition to his MMA bouts in Pancrase, Shamrock also competed in a kickboxing match in 1994 with kickboxing legend Frank "The Animal" Lobman, who holds a pro record of 110-6 with a 90% KO ratio. Shamrock broke Lobman's nose with a right cross early in the bout but was ultimately defeated by TKO due to leg kicks.

Shamrock eventually had a falling out with Pancrase management in early 1996 and left the company to compete in the UFC full time. Shamrock left Pancrase with a record of 17-3. Gracie then secured a rear naked choke and advanced to the finals. The bout was a source of controversy at the end because the referee did not see the tap and ordered the two fighters to continue fighting after Gracie had let go of the hold. Shamrock paused for a few seconds but declined, admitting to the ref that he tapped out and that it would not be fair for him to continue fighting. After the fight, Shamrock admitted that he underestimated Gracie: “I didn’t know who Royce Gracie was...when I saw him in his gi, I thought he was some karate guy (with no ground skills).” The loss to Gracie haunted Shamrock and was the beginning of a large rivalry between the two fighters.

Shamrock, haunted by his loss to Gracie, aggressively sought a rematch. He was originally scheduled to compete at UFC 2 but broke his hand after blocking a high kick while sparring with a teammate. He still wanted to compete, but when doctors told him that he might never fight again if he injured his hand any further, he reluctantly withdrew from the show.

On September 9, 1994, Shamrock returned to the octagon at UFC 3 in an event that was marketed by the UFC as the ultimate rematch between two-time champion Royce Gracie and #1 contender Ken Shamrock. Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki and Frank Shamrock served as Ken's cornermen for the event. Shamrock's first fight was against top ranked judo practitioner Christophe Leininger. Leininger was the #2 ranked judo player in the United States with U.S. Olympic team experience and was also versed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. and with the melon sized welt closing Gracie's eye after the fight it appeared as though Gracie had lost. However, the swollen eye was a result of a standing punch due to a sudden change of the rules in which both of the fighters were restarted on their feet.

Although many people viewed this fight as a dull match with little action, Shamrock did earn a lot of respect for this performance; back in those days, the Gracie guard was a mythical death trap and Shamrock became the first person to ever neutralize Royce Gracie's jiu jitsu attack. In addition, Shamrock also became the first person to visibly hurt Gracie in a fight. Some fans felt that Shamrock was the unofficial winner of the Superfight. Play by play commentator Bruce Beck said at the end of the fight, "Gracie is a mess. Shamrock looks marvellous!" Shamrock was also treated with a lot of adulation from the fans after the fight was over as if he was the winner, cheering him as he left the octagon with his arms raised.

Despite this, Shamrock was not satisfied with his performance against Gracie, saying "it's certainly not a win. You gain nothing (with a draw)". Shamrock expressed desire to fight Gracie again for a third time in 1996, saying that if it went to a draw again, he would have Gracie declared the winner and Shamrock would forfeit his UFC Superfight Championship belt to Gracie. Gracie left the UFC after his fight with Shamrock and did not return until 11 years later at UFC 60. Shamrock would headline the subsequent 'superfight' bouts in Gracie's absence and became the main draw in the UFC.

UFC Champion

Despite some fans holding the opinion that Shamrock unofficially won the UFC 5 Superfight with Gracie, the UFC was still without an official reigning Superfight champion. Shamrock was then matched up with UFC 5 tournament champion Dan Severn at UFC 6 on July 14, 1995 to determine the reigning champion of the UFC. The 'superfight', a match presented as a fight between the "best of the best", was still the match that would determine the UFC champion and the tournament winners would be considered the #1 contender for the newly created UFC Superfight Championship, the first single world MMA championship outside of Japan. The Superfight title would later be renamed the UFC Heavyweight Championship when weight categories were introduced to the UFC. The Superfight title was created for the UFC 5 Superfight between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, but since the match ended in a draw, the title remained vacant.

Before the match started, a storm was brewing between Severn and Shamrock, which led to the second major UFC rivalry: Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn. The feud began at the pre-fight press conference. After most of the attention from the media was given to Shamrock, Severn got up and walked out of the door without explanation.

The Detroit Dance

After defending his UFC title at UFC 8, Shamrock was scheduled to face number one contender and rival Dan Severn at UFC 9 in a rematch of their fight at UFC 6, which Shamrock won by guillotine choke in 2:14. Severn was coming off winning the Ultimate Ultimate 1995 tournament and by all accounts Severn and Shamrock did not like each other. Their rematch at UFC 9 was highly anticipated and was marketed as the "Clash of the Titans 2" and took place in the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in Severn's home state.

Shamrock had a lot on the line at UFC 9; ''Sports Illustrated'' was there to do a story on him and if he beat Severn again, Shamrock was going to be on the magazine's cover. In addition, he would also be featured in a story on the mainstream network CNN. Combined with the rule that he could not punch, he did not think he could win a fight because all of his weapons were taken away from him. If Shamrock withdrew, the main event would have been cancelled and the UFC could have suffered substantial monetary damage. After UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz and other UFC officials pleaded with Shamrock to go on with the show, Shamrock, despite the injuries and new rules, reluctantly gave in to the pressure for the sake of the UFC. This fight would mark the last time Masakatsu Funaki would serve as Ken Shamrock's trainer and cornerman.

After taking time off away from the octagon, including being a guest on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Shamrock entered the UFC's Ultimate Ultimate 96 in December 1996. Frank Shamrock served as Ken's head cornerman for the event. Before the event, Shamrock promised to be aggressive in this fight to make up for the dance with Severn. Shamrock honored his word, beating Brian Johnston in the quarterfinals. Shamrock, however, broke the same hand during this fight that kept him out of UFC 2 and had to withdraw from the tournament.

Leaving MMA for the WWF

After UFC 9, United States Senator John McCain was successful in pulling UFC pay-per-view broadcasts from numerous cable systems, including TCI cable, which greatly hurt pay-per-view revenue. Combined with money drying out and being burnt out from fighting, Shamrock left MMA for professional wrestling, signing with the World Wrestling Federation. Shamrock left MMA while he was seemingly at the top of his game; he was in his prime and he was at this time considered by many to be one of the best fighters in the world. Shamrock was never close to the same fighter after the transition to pro wrestling, largely due to the amount of injuries he received while in the WWF, including a serious neck injury he suffered in late 1999 during a feud with Chris Jericho and Curtis Hughes.

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Despite not competing in the UFC as a fighter while with the WWF, Shamrock continued to coach his Lion's Den fighters in the UFC and even coached Mark Coleman at UFC 18. Shamrock left MMA with a professional record of 23 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws.

Return to MMA- Pride Fighting Championships (2000–2002)

In 2000, Shamrock made a comeback to the mixed martial arts scene following a 4 year hiatus from the WWF. He signed with Pride Fighting Championships and defeated Alexander Otsuka by TKO due to punches at the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals in the superfight, his first fight back from the WWF. Shamrock was very impressive in this fight as he was able to knock out Otsuka, something that powerful striker and PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn could not do to Otsuka in their fight a few months earlier. This was the first ever Pride event to be broadcasted live in America and Pride strategically used Shamrock's drawing power in America by making his Superfight with Otsuka the co-headliner of the event.

Shamrock then fought consensus top 10 heavyweight "Ironhead" Kazuyuki Fujita at Pride 10, who was coming off a huge upset victory over Mark Kerr. Fujita was highly accomplished wrestler in Japan; he missed making the Japanese Olympic wrestling team by one point and was also a national champion in Greco Roman wrestling. Fujita was also famous for his ability to take inhumane amounts of damage to his head without being knocked out (hence his nickname "Ironhead") and for his ability to withstand a guillotine choke due to his strong neck. During the time before the fight, Shamrock was going through a divorce and had to take care of his young kids during the day, which severely cut into his training time for the fight. Despite this, Shamrock dominated Fujita throughout the entire fight, putting on a sprawl and brawl and nearly knocking Fujita out. However, he eventually had his corner throw in the towel because he felt like he was having a heart attack, ending an exciting fight in anticlimactic fashion. He was evaluated after the fight and it was determined that he was suffering from heart palpitations. Shamrock talked about what happened to him in an interview: "I'm not sure, even to this day, I'm not sure. Everything went white and I couldn't see. My heart felt like it was pounding through my chest. I'm not quite sure what happened. I couldn't control my vision, my balance, I don't know what was wrong with me. I was going through a lot just then, I was going through a divorce and my 4 kids were dropped off on me in a two bedroom apartment, so I didn't get to train properly for the fight. There was a lot going on in my life at the time and I think that there was a whole bunch of stress built up on me and it came out when I didn't want it to."

In December 2000, PRIDE tried to set up a dream fight between Ken Shamrock and then current PRIDE Grand Prix Champion, former UFC Heavyweight Champion and consensus #1 ranked heavyweight Mark Coleman. The fight was offered to Shamrock and he accepted it. The dream match up with Shamrock greatly excited Coleman, but after training for a few days, Coleman decided that he was not physically ready to fight someone of Shamrock's caliber. Coleman talked about his feelings on the fight in an interview: "For about a four day stand I contemplated taking the fight because it's something that's very hard to turn down. It's a dream match up and a question I've been asked over and over again, whether I would fight Ken Shamrock. So I wanted to take the fight very badly, I turned up my training for about 4 days, then on Friday night I came to the conclusion that I'm just not physically ready to fight Ken Shamrock...Certainly if you're going to fight someone with Ken Shamrock's skills then you want to be as close to 100 percent as you can."

Shamrock was then scheduled to fight feared PRIDE superstar Igor Vovchanchyn at Pride 13, but suffered a neck injury during training two weeks before the fight. Tra Telligman, a Lion's Den fighter, replaced Shamrock on two weeks notice and defeated Vovchanchyn in an upset victory.

Shamrock engaged in a feud with Don Frye during his career in the Pride Fighting Championships. The feud ended in a match during Pride 19 – Bad Blood, where Shamrock fought Frye in the main event in a match that potentially had PRIDE Heavyweight Championship title implications (PRIDE FC considered giving the winner of this fight a title shot against current Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira). In what many fans regard as one of the greatest MMA fights of all time, Shamrock lost an incredibly close split decision, despite successfully applying several leglocks on Frye, who refused to tap, ruining his knees and ankles and resulting in Frye becoming addicted to pain killers from the damage he suffered.

The background of the feud was Don Frye's trash talking. In 1999, Alicia Webb (also known as Ryan Shamrock) dated Ken Shamrock until early 2003. Don Frye made comments to the effect that Shamrock cheated on and divorced his wife to date a young girl (Alicia Webb was 19 and Ken Shamrock was 35 when they started dating). Frye also joked that Ken's (at the time) estranged father Bob and brother Frank would be in Frye's corner for the fight. Ken Shamrock was enraged by Frye's trash talk, causing a feud between Ken Shamrock and Don Frye. Since then, Frye has stated that he only resorted to personal trash talk to make Ken want to fight him. Frye said: "I saw Ken Shamrock whoop him (Dan Severn) at UFC 6 and I thought, "That's a guy I gotta fight. Anybody who can whoop Dan Severn like that has gotta be a man and I want to test my size against his size. I had the chance to talk trash and they gave me the fight; I crossed the line. I wasn't professional about it, but Ken was and after the fight, we shook hands and went our separate ways." Frye also commented on how Shamrock injured his ankles: "I talked a bunch of trash, so I had to back it up. I couldn't walk away after talking all that garbage. You're damn right it hurt. He messed up both my ankles real bad. That caused me to start taking the pain pills and I got a little dependent on the pain meds for a couple of years." Frye also said: "If I'd known it was going to hurt this bad, I'd have kept my mouth shut!"

ESPN's Josh Gross attended the event from ringside and described his experience: "It was an all out war...I've taken the time to thank fighters for their efforts maybe three times. This was the first. The next day, as each man struggled to get on a bus in Tokyo that would take us back to Narita airport, I was stunned -- and admittedly upset -- by how beat up they were. Regular folk would be in an ICU. These guys were hardly normal."

The two fighters have been on good terms since that match.

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Many feel that the war with Frye was the last great bout of Shamrock's career and his final showing as a top level MMA competitor. Both Frye and Shamrock would go on to greatly decline after this point.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (Second spell – 2002–2006)

Feud with Tito Ortiz and fighting to reclaim UFC championship gold for the second time

Shamrock's Lion's Den camp has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. The feud began to build on January 8, 1999, at UFC 18. After upsetting top UFC fighter and Lion's Den member Jerry Bohlander, Ortiz, with his fingers, acted like he was shooting at the Lion's Den corner and coach Ken Shamrock and additionally put on a disrespectful shirt in the octagon after the fight with Bohlander which read "I just f**ked your ass".

On March 5, 1999, at UFC 19, the feud with Ortiz exploded in one of the biggest and most famous altercations in mixed martial arts history. After Ortiz won a referee stoppage in his rematch with Guy Mezger, Ortiz immediately flipped off the Lion's Den corner and then put on a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch". The actions by Ortiz shocked and stunned the MMA world because at the time, the Lion's Den was highly respected, arguably the most elite fight team in MMA and was composed of numerous top fighters. At the top was the leader, Ken Shamrock, who at the time still held a reputation as being one of the scariest and most skilled fighters associated with the UFC.

After Shamrock saw the shirt, he yelled into the octagon "Hey Tito, don't let me see you wearing that shirt!". Shamrock then famously leaped onto the top of the cage, screaming at Ortiz and angrily waving his finger in Ortiz's face. Referee John McCarthy picked Ortiz up and carried him across the octagon to prevent the situation from escalating further, as a livid Shamrock was on the verge of jumping into the octagon.

Shamrock, who was still in the WWF at the time, was furious after the event. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva said: "SEG knew this was bad. Ken was ''really'' freaking out. Tables were getting flipped, who knows what was going to happen. So they have to usher Tito back to a room and get him away from the Lion's Den. It was craziness, everybody was just looking at each other and saying, 'Did I see that right? Did that shirt really say what I thought that it said?' Everybody's freaking out about it...there was such a buzz about it, everybody was running around everywhere."

Ortiz's manager, Sal Garcia, added: "one of the other fighters comes in at that point and says, 'hey, Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den, they want to come over and kick Tito and Sal's ass'." The tension backstage was so great that some feared a brawl between the Lion's Den and Tito Ortiz, Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman and others from the Hammer House (who were in Ortiz's locker room after the event). The situation was escalated to the point that police and security had to be called in to monitor the situation. Jeff Sherwood, creator of Sherdog.com, wrote after the event: "Someone needs to remind Ken Shamrock that it wasn't Monday Night RAW out there. Not saying he wouldn't tear Tito up though."

Sherwood was not alone in his opinion that Shamrock would have been too much for Ortiz to deal with at the time. Shamrock had a reputation of thoroughly and brutally dominating everybody in training at the Lion's Den, including top UFC fighters Guy Mezger and Jerry Bohlander, and Shamrock, at north of , was considerably larger than Ortiz and would be a full weight class above him. Ortiz also said shortly after UFC 19: Many fans were upset that this fight probably would never happen due to the weight difference. However, over time, Shamrock began to lose size and by the time he fought Don Frye three years later in 2002, Shamrock was down to around 220 lbs, making it possible to cut weight to 205.

On November 22, 2002, at UFC 40, nearly four years after the confrontation at UFC 19, Shamrock returned to the UFC for the first time since December 1996 to fight Ortiz in a title match for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in one of the biggest, most anticipated and most important fights in UFC history. By this time, Shamrock's skills had diminished significantly due to injuries and aging but he was still considered to be a very dangerous and strong opponent. Although it was understood that Shamrock was past his prime, many people gave Shamrock a good chance to win based on his size (Ortiz had not fought someone as big as Shamrock to that point in his career), punching power and submission skills. Shamrock's apparent size advantage did not factor into the fight, however; Shamrock experienced difficultly cutting weight for the first time and cut too much weight, weighing in at 201 lbs, 4 lbs under the 205 lb. limit. Ortiz shed light upon his feelings before the fight in his book This is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion; "Ken Shamrock is a real good fighter. I was not intimidated by him, but I guess you can say I was a little bit afraid."

Color commentator Joe Rogan called the fight a "dream match" and "the most incredible night in mixed martial arts history" at the start of the show and admitted that he had no idea who was going to win the fight. The hype and buzz surrounding the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the event was unlike anything mixed martial arts had ever seen before. The event was also monumental for the future of the UFC and the sport as a whole in America for a variety of reasons. UFC 40 sold out the MGM Grand Arena and sold 150,000 pay per view buys, a rate over three times larger than the previous Zuffa events. It also garnered mainstream attention from massive media outlets such as ESPN and USA Today, something that was unfathomable for mixed martial arts at that point in time. Many have suggested that the success of UFC 40 and the anticipation for Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz saved the UFC from bankruptcy; the buyrates of the previous Zuffa shows averaged a mere 45,000 buys per event and the company was suffering deep monetary losses. The commercial success of UFC 40 provided a glimmer of hope for the UFC and kept alive the dream that mixed martial arts could become big.

Although many in the mixed martial arts media either deemed the fight too close to call or gave a slight edge to the younger Ortiz, the fight was not nearly as close as originally expected. Shamrock nearly scored a knockout early in round 1, buckling Ortiz's knees with a punch and dropping him to one knee. However, Ortiz recovered shortly after and went on to dominate the fight with takedowns and ground and pound. The manner in which Ortiz dominated the fight was surprising to some because the fighters at the Lion's Den claimed that nobody took Shamrock down in training yet Ortiz easily scored takedowns numerous times throughout the fight. Shamrock provided excitement for the crowd at the end of rounds 2 and 3, dramatically scrambling to his feet after being dominated from his back, but was unable to mount any significant offense after getting up. Right before Round 4 started, Shamrock's cornerman threw in the towel and Ortiz successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight championship.

After the fight was over, Shamrock revealed that he fought Ortiz with a serious knee injury (a torn ACL). Bruce Buffer has said on various occasions that this fight was one of the greatest fights he has ever seen and that the energy from the crowd that night was one of the greatest feelings he has ever experienced.

Shortly after the Ortiz fight, Shamrock seriously contemplated retirement from MMA, citing the fact that he had never lost two fights in a row in his career before and also citing a build up of injuries. Shamrock ultimately decided to not retire.

UFC Hall of Fame

On November 21, 2003, at UFC 45, Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock became the first inductees to the UFC Hall of Fame. The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the UFC. UFC President Dana White said; Shamrock spoke to the fans with a heartfelt speech: "Until now, I felt I had a satisfying career in the UFC. But, being one of the first to be inducted in the Hall of Fame brings it all together. I will never forget you and now I will not be forgotten. God bless." A poll was also conducted on the UFC's website among UFC fans to determine the most popular UFC fighters and Shamrock was voted the second most popular fighter in the UFC by the fans.

In 2003, Shamrock had surgery done to repair a torn ACL in his knee. Shamrock originally injured it during training in preparation for the Don Frye fight in February 2002 and completely tore it prior to his fight with Tito Ortiz in November 2002. Shamrock has said that since his knee injury, he has had difficulty shooting and taking people down, which resulted in Shamrock changing his primary style from a wrestler/grappler and moving more towards a standup fighter.

On June 19, 2004, at UFC 48, a 40-year-old Shamrock returned to fight the Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 48 in a rematch of the UFC 8 Superfight Championship match, which Shamrock won via submission due to a kneebar. Shamrock was coming off a long layoff to recover from ACL surgery. Kimo's previous fight consisted of an impressive win over Shamrock's longtime rival, Tank Abbott. Shamrock won the bout in the first round by KO via knee to the head. Shamrock's knee strike to Kimo's chin was so hard that he opened up a cut on his knee after landing the shot. Shamrock's mega drawing power was evident when the pay per view numbers came out for the event; UFC 48 amazingly drew more pay per view buys than the ultra hyped super fight between mixed martial arts stars Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz one event earlier at UFC 47.

Shamrock injured his shoulder during his fight against Kimo at UFC 48. He originally thought it was just "wear and tear", but a MRI revealed a rotator cuff tear. Shamrock had surgery to repair the tear in his shoulder.

April 9, 2005, was a turning point in Shamrock's career and future in mixed martial arts. Shamrock faced rising star and future UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin in the main event in a light heavyweight bout on the popular reality series ''The Ultimate Fighter'' finale. The event was a monumental moment in UFC history because it was the first ever UFC appearance on basic cable TV. Shamrock slapped on a heel hook early in the fight that put Franklin on crutches for a week, but Franklin escaped and defeated Shamrock by a TKO in the first round after taking advantage of a Shamrock slip while executing a high kick. At 41 years old, this was the first time Shamrock had ever been knocked out in a mixed martial arts fight in his career. Franklin's win over an icon like Shamrock propelled him into UFC stardom and established him as one of the organization's biggest stars.

On October 24, 2005, Shamrock lost to fellow mixed martial arts legend Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba in Pride: Fully Loaded, by TKO. The stoppage was very controversial because Shamrock immediately got up and protested to the referee, showing no signs of damage. There was also a feeling that PRIDE may have had a quick trigger on Shamrock because they were heavily biased in favor of the Japanese legend Sakuraba. However, his brother Frank Shamrock commented on the stoppage in an interview with the site Sherdog.com: "...if you're sleeping with your head through the second rope, you're in a bad way. He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 3

On November 19, 2005 at UFC 56, Dana White, the UFC president, announced that Shamrock would be one of the coaches (along with Tito Ortiz) for the upcoming third season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The season unexpectedly turned out to be very problematic between Shamrock and his fighters. This was unexpected because Shamrock had a reputation for being an outstanding coach; he built one of the most successful MMA fight teams of all time, the legendary Lion's Den and molded his Lion's Den fighters into UFC Champions. Shamrock was portrayed very badly on the show, feuding with his fighters and often appearing uninterested. Shamrock admitted to doing a poor job with his fighters: "I failed them miserably, completely. So I have to figure out a way to get this...back in the driver's seat", Shamrock said during the show. The problems between Shamrock and his fighters on the show caused many newer fans to question Shamrock's coaching style. Shamrock responded to his critics in an interview: "I trained three fighters that were the first three (UFC) Middleweight Champions: Jerry Bohlander, Guy Mezger and Frank Shamrock. And I’ve trained dozens of guys to be champs in other organizations. In Pancrase, I had eight fighters in the top ten at one point. I was the champion and (Masakatsu) Funaki was the number one contender. The rest were all Lion's Den fighters. My reputation doesn’t have to be spoken for or defended. The UFC and Spike TV did what they thought they needed to do for ratings, but in the end, my fans, my family and my God know exactly who I am." Shamrock also commented about his portrayal on "TUF": "People always come up to me now and say, ‘They portrayed you in such a bad light on that show.’ That’s always how they phrase it. They portrayed you that way. I guess that means people really know what I’m like. They wouldn’t say that if they thought that was really me. It makes me feel better to know that people feel that way." Roy Nelson also defended Shamrock as a coach. Roy said, "He's not how they depict him on The Ultimate Fighter. He's a good guy and he's been in the business for a long time. He knows what works and what doesn't."

In a separate interview with UGO.com, Shamrock shed light upon the reason for the turmoil between himself and his fighters on "TUF": "Anytime you're put into a situation where the fighter or the trainer have to work with each other whether they mesh or not, it always becomes a problem. Then, when there are one or two guys you don't really mesh with, then it trickles down to the rest of the team. Unfortunately for me, not that the fighters were bad or anything, I just got a bunch of guys on the team that I didn't see eye to eye with. Me being a coach and running my own team for a long time, being able to call all the shots, it didn't work very well for me to have guys telling me what they wanted to do...It's a tough thing for a coach, especially for me. For so long I've been in control things and bring these guys up and nurture them and mold them into great fighters. I was very successful at that early on. But when I was thrown into that situation, I knew the score. I knew there could be problems and there were. I had a hard time with that. Other guys, like Tito (Ortiz) and Randy (Couture) really had some success with it. But for me it was difficult."

On July 8, 2006, at UFC 61, the highly anticipated rematch between Shamrock and a heavily favored Tito Ortiz took place. The pay per view numbers set North American MMA records with 775,000 buys on pay-per-view and a $3.4 million gate. Nevada State rules, however, allow a fighter in a non-title match to go over the limit by one pound, so Shamrock's weight was not against the rules. Ironically, Ortiz proceeded to weigh in at 206.5 lbs. and had to drop the half-pound before weighing in again.

Shamrock lost the rematch with Ortiz in 1:18 of the first round by a technical knockout in a fight that ended in chaotic controversy. Shamrock came out firing, landing a combination of punches to back Ortiz into the cage, but Ortiz successfully secured a double leg takedown on Shamrock, lifting him up and slamming him to the mat. Although Shamrock was now on his back in a disadvantageous position, he did have Ortiz in his full guard. Ortiz, while in Shamrock's full guard, was able to land several elbows to Shamrock's head which went undefended. Referee Herb Dean deemed that Shamrock was no longer able to intelligently defend himself and stopped the fight. Watching the slow-mo, Shamrock did go limp from one elbow but revived for the next. Quoting MMA Weekly's Ivan Trembow, "That breaks down to an amazing 5.7 million viewers for the Ortiz vs. Shamrock fight. This shatters the UFC's previous record for the number of people watching a UFC fight at any given time." The overall ratings record would not be matched until ''UFC 75'' on September 8, 2007. Immediately after the fight, Ortiz initially celebrated his victory with a mocking "grave digger" routine and an offensive t-shirt that said, "Punishing Him Into Retirement" after giving him the finger. However, Shamrock approached Ortiz and, after the two talked for several seconds, Shamrock said they could put all of their animosity aside as it was always "just business", shaking hands and burying the hatchet. Ortiz then declared that facing Shamrock had made him a better fighter and thanked Ken for "passing the torch". Ortiz added in his post-fight interview that he has always looked up to Shamrock. Shamrock gave a gracious speech after the fight but left it ambiguous whether he would retire from the sport. In an interview with Sherdog.com, he stated he was not leaning one way or another whether he will not fight again, but he did not want to lead the fans on. Ken also expressed his feelings after the match:

Ultimately, Shamrock's feud with Ortiz was critically important for the UFC's future and present day success. Shamrock and Ortiz's trilogy, along with the emergence of stars like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, resulted in the sport's explosion into the mainstream.

Release from UFC

Shamrock was rumored to fight Englishman Michael Bisping at UFC 75 but was ultimately released from his UFC contract shortly after in June 2007.

Shamrock expressed anger about his release, saying that he was released from the UFC solely because his decision to coach in the International Fight League. Shamrock said, "I talked to Dana White when I was fighting with Tito Ortiz on the Ultimate Fighter show and let him know there was an opportunity to get some of the Lion's Den fighters some fights on the team concept in the IFL. Dana kind’ve flipped out on that, saying he was gonna squash them and kill them, and that they’re nothing but scumbags and he was gonna crush ‘em. And it just kind of took me off guard, and he was very upset at them. And I guess he took them to court and lost a lawsuit to them, so he was pretty upset about that, because he thought that they had taken some things from him or whatever, but they were found innocent of all that. So, I told him, “You know, it’s not like I’m fighting and it’s not against my contract to coach my fighters on a show.” And he said, “Well, if you do that, even if it’s not in your contract, you will never work for us again.” Which I thought was kind of a threat - it had no bearing on my contract and that he was just trying to push me around. And at that point, I went ahead, and - because I didn’t want to cause a problem at that point in time - I went ahead and said, “Alright, I’ll just wait until I’m done with the fight with Ortiz.” So, I finished the fight with Ortiz and then I went ahead and coached in the IFL. At that point, Dana White decided that he was going to go ahead and breach my contract and cut me loose."

Shamrock then engaged in a feud with White in the media and ultimately sued the UFC for breach of contract, citing that he had one fight left on his deal that the UFC had to honor. Shamrock added, "I’ll tell you what I’m looking for right now. I’m looking for UFC to step up to the line, sit down, and start talking - and stop acting like children. Because what they’re doing … this is a multi-billion dollar business, and they’re acting like they’re in high school or kindergarten, and they just broke up with their girlfriend. I was a big part of their business in helping them make money. And they completely turned their back on me. And of course I’m angry. But you know what? I’m also a man, and I can sit down at the table and discuss things. But these guys have no intentions of doing that. The fact is, Dana White would rather go on the air and trash me and try and make me look bad and try and hurt my credibility, rather than step up like a man and sit down and let’s work this thing out...they’re hurting the people who built this sport. They didn’t do it themselves, this is what we call a “team”. They did their part, we did our part, and everybody should be holding up to their end of the bargain.

Shamrock ultimately lost his suit against the UFC and was ordered by the court to pay Zuffa's attorney fees, totaling $175,000.

Post-UFC Career (2007–present)

In early 2007, Ken Shamrock became the coach of the Nevada Lions for the IFL. Roy Nelson, one of Shamrock's fighters, was the reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion when the league was bought out and disbanded.

On March 8 at the Cage Rage 25, Shamrock fought Robert Berry, but lost in the first round by Technical knockout due to punches. It was announced on August 25 that Shamrock's next opponent would be Kimbo Slice at Elite XC Saturday Night Fight Special on October 4, 2008. However, Shamrock would never get the chance as he was injured shortly before the two men were to start the bout. On the day of the fight, Shamrock was warming up and received a head butt which opened a cut. He needed 6 stitches and was not able to compete against Slice. The doctor who examined Ken said he would not be able to compete for at least 45 days because of the injury.

Ken Shamrock Productions co-promoted an event with War Gods on February 13, 2009, in which Ken fought in the main event against 6'6, 380 lb. Ross Clifton. Shamrock knocked Clifton down with a right hand and finished him via arm bar from side control in the first round. The fight was streamed live on Sherdog.com and had over 200,000 live views. Shamrock was then scheduled to fight fellow WWE alum Bobby Lashley, but tested positive for steroids after the Clifton fight and received a one year suspension. Shamrock's manager and attorney Rod Donohoo said the fighter has adamantly denied the allegations.

Shamrock faced fellow UFC legend Pedro Rizzo on July 18, 2010 at an event called Impact Fighting Championships in Sydney, Australia. Shamrock lost by TKO due to leg kicks. His next fight was against Johnathan Ivey for the USA MMA promotion on October 16, 2010. Shamrock earned a unanimous decision against Ivey, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 for the 46-year-old. His most recent bout was against Mike Bourke on November 25, 2010 in Durban, South Africa for the King of the Cage promotion. Shamrock knocked Bourke down with a punch but was injured shortly after during a scramble and subsequently lost the bout via TKO (injury) in the first round, as he was unable to continue due to a leg injury.

Shamrock was scheduled to face Antony Rea at WEF 46 on April 22, 2011. Ken withdrew from the fight with Rea due to a staph infection.

Shamrock was rumored to be scheduled to face Mike Bourke, in a rematch, on 24 July 2011 for King of the Cage, but Ken has denied all knowledge of the rematch.

Shamrock has stated that he wants to fight 4 or 5 times in 2011 and is trying to put fights together with Royce Gracie, Tank Abbott, Marco Ruas, Dan Severn and his brother Frank Shamrock. Shamrock currently has no fights scheduled and is recovering from MRSA, a serious bacterial infection he contracted while taking care of his son at the hospital.

Shamrock vs. Toney

Shamrock is now scheduled to face IBA Heavyweight Champion Boxer James Toney in a special rules bout, in which there will be 8 three minute rounds instead of the traditional 3 five minute rounds. There will also be a '30 second stand-up rule' which means if the fight goes to the ground, after 30 seconds the referee will stand up the fighters. The time will be held if a submission hold is in place, and it will continue if the hold is broken or released. Despite these new rules gives James Toney more of an advantage, it was Shamrock who suggested it, saying it will make the fight more fun to watch.

The proposed special rules mixed martial arts match between UFC veteran Ken Shamrock and boxing world champion James Toney is being targeted for November. Ivaylo Gotzev, one of the fight’s promoters, advised MMAWeekly.com of the month targeted for the unique bout. In addition, Gotzev and his partners are nearing finalization of the venue, which could be in one of two American states or out of the country. “(We’re looking at) two different states and, actually, going outside of the country,” Gotzev said. “We’re zeroing in right now, but it’s going to be November.”

Criticism and Calls for Retirement

Shamrock has been criticized by some in the mixed martial arts media and fanbase for fighting too far past his prime. Jeremy Botter of Heavy.com wrote: "Ken Shamrock used to be the baddest man on the planet. In the early days of mixed martial arts, it was tough to find anybody who inspired more fear than Shamrock. His muscled and ripped frame...his intensity was unequaled in the sport at the time, and his bag of submissions made him a very real threat to any opponent he faced during those early years. But those early years were a long time ago, and Shamrock is no longer even a shell of the man he once was."

After the Impact FC 2 show, sympathy for Shamrock's decline became even more pronounced. Longtime mixed martial arts reporter Dave Meltzer wrote: "Impact Fighting Championship's pay-per-view show from Sydney was a sad reminder of what the future may hold for many of today’s top stars. Ken Shamrock, Carlos Newton, Murilo Bustamante, Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett were all at various points either UFC champions or groomed to be top stars. But there they were, on the other side of the world, fighting before quiet, small crowds in an atmosphere that hardly felt like they were part of a booming sport."

UFC President Dana White said in 2008; "Ken Shamrock was in a beef with us over his contract. We thought he retired, he was claiming he didn't and still had one fight. And my attitude was, I'd rather pay Ken Shamrock to not fight. I'd rather pay him to not fight and just say, "stay home, Ken". Ken is ''way'' past his prime, it gets to the point where it's dangerous for that guy to still be fighting."

Former WWE announcer Jim Ross said before Shamrock's scheduled fight with Bobby Lashley in early 2009; "There was a time that I could see the veteran, 45 year old Shamrock, a former WWE superstar, schooling the MMA rookie Lashley but that ship has long since sailed. I have great respect for Ken but he's outstayed his welcome in the octagon, cage, whatever and needs to teach and coach and stop fighting...Kenny is fighting for one more pay day while Lashley is fighting to help establish what he hopes will be a long term, lucrative, MMA career."

Professional wrestling career

Name	Ken Shamrock
Names	Vince TorelliKen ShamrockShamrockWayne Shamrock
Billed height
Billed weight
Billed	Sacramento, California
Trainer	Nelson RoyalBob SawyerBuzz Sawyer
Debut	1990 }}

Early career

In 1988, Shamrock trained as a professional wrestler under Bob Sawyer, Buzz Sawyer and Nelson Royal. He debuted in 1990 in the Charlotte, North Carolina-based South Atlantic Pro Wrestling promotion under the ring name Wayne Shamrock. He later changed his ring name to just Shamrock and turned heel, adopting the nickname "Mr. Wrestling". In 1990, Shamrock travelled to Japan, where he competed in the Universal Wrestling Federation and its successor promotion, Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi.

His first taste of mixed martial arts came following the exodus of his mentors Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki from Fujiwara's promotion to found one of the formative Japanese mixed martial arts associations, Pancrase. Later, he returned to America to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Shamrock would split time between the two organizations until 1996, whereupon he returned to professional wrestling, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation (1997–1999)

Shamrock made his WWF debut on the February 24, 1997 episode of ''Monday Night Raw''. On March 23, 1997, Shamrock, identified as Ken Shamrock and billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Man"—a name given to him by ABC News, refereed a submission match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13.

Shamrock returned to the ring following WrestleMania, squashing Vernon White (one of his Lion's Den students) in his debut WWF match. He went on to feud with Vader, Bret Hart and The Hart Foundation throughout 1997, culminating in a bout between Shamrock and The British Bulldog at SummerSlam 1997 which Shamrock lost after refusing to relinquish a chokehold, following Shamrock going on a rampage after being slapped across the face by The British Bulldog with a handful of dog-food. Shamrock was considered a candidate to win the WWF Championship from the departing Bret Hart, before the Montreal Screwjob occurred. Shamrock went on to challenge Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at In Your House in December, defeating Michaels by disqualification after Triple H and Chyna interfered in the match.

Throughout early 1998, Shamrock feuded with WWF Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia. He lost to Maivia via disqualification at the 1998 Royal Rumble and a victory over Maivia at WrestleMania XIV was reversed after Shamrock continued to apply his ankle lock after Maivia had submitted. In June 1998, Shamrock won the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Jeff Jarrett in the semi-finals and Maivia in the finals. Following the King of the Ring, Shamrock feuded with Owen Hart, with Hart defeating Shamrock in a "Hart Family Dungeon match" at Fully Loaded and Shamrock defeating Hart in a "Lion's Den match" at SummerSlam. In September, he formed a short-lived stable with Mankind and The Rock.

Shamrock turned heel in October 1998 and won the vacant Intercontinental Championship on October 12, defeating X-Pac in the finals of an eight man tournament. In November, Shamrock consolidated his heel status by joining Mr. McMahon's Corporation. On December 14, Shamrock and fellow Corporation member Big Boss Man defeated the New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Championship, making Shamrock a dual champion. The duo held the titles until January 25, 1999, when they lost to Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart.

In January 1999, Shamrock began feuding with Billy Gunn, Goldust and Val Venis, all of whom had made overtures to his sister, Ryan. He lost the Intercontinental Championship to Venis on February 14 when Gunn, the guest referee, delivered a fast count. Shamrock took part in a four way bout for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XV. The reigning champion Road Dogg, was able to retain his title by pinning Goldust after Shamrock and Venis were counted out while brawling outside the ring.

In mid-1999, the Corporation began feuding with The Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness, with The Undertaker's minions repeatedly ambushing Shamrock and kidnapping Ryan, sacrificing her on the Undertaker's symbol. After breaking away from the Corporation, thus turning face once more, Shamrock went on to feud with The Undertaker at Backlash and lost. In May, Shamrock, The Big Show, Mankind and Test formed The Union, a stable of wrestlers in opposition to the Corporate Ministry. The Union dissolved soon after defeating the Corporate Ministry at Over the Edge in May.

Shamrock briefly feuded with Jeff Jarrett before beginning a rivalry with martial artist Steve Blackman that saw he and Blackman fight one another in a series of unorthodox matches. The feud ended at SummerSlam 1999, where Shamrock defeated Blackman in a "Lion's Den weapons match". He went on to feud with the newly debuted Chris Jericho until departing the WWF in late 1999 in order to resume his mixed martial arts career. His departure was attributed to an injury inflicted by Jericho's bodyguard, Mr. Hughes.

Ring of Honor (2002)

Shamrock returned to professional wrestling in March 2002 after being billed as The World's Most Dangerous Man, refereeing a Ring of Honor match between Bryan Danielson and Low-Ki.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002, 2004)

In May 2002, he signed a one year contract with the newly formed Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion. On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, Shamrock won the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a Gauntlet for the Gold match, and is recognized as TNA's first ever World Champion. After feuding with Malice for several weeks, Shamrock left TNA shortly after losing the title to Ron Killings on August 7. He briefly returned to TNA in June 2004 as an ally of Jeff Jarrett before leaving the company and the sport once more.

Juggalo Championship Wrestling (2009)

Shamrock made an appearance in the independent Wrestling company Juggalo Championship Wrestling, owned by Psychopathic Records, during their flagship annual event, Bloodymania 3.

Personal life

He legally changed his name to Ken Shamrock in tribute to Bob Shamrock, owner of the Shamrock Ranch, a facility for troubled boys in Susanville, California, who was instrumental in turning Shamrock's life around as a teenager. Along with his brother Frank Shamrock, he is adopted. According to Shamrock, he lived in cars and was abandoned as a child. This was also integrated into the personal history of his WWE persona. He is the head trainer of the Lion's Den, a school of shoot-fighting, or what is more commonly referred to as submission fighting. He attended junior college at Shasta College in Redding, California and has been considered a possible choice for induction into the Shasta County Sports Hall Of Fame.

Ken and Frank have an estranged relationship; Ken has claimed that Frank mistreated their foster father Bob, while Frank claims that the real reason for the fallout with Ken is due to his feeling that Ken was trying to keep Frank's career down. Frank asserts that he and Ken have never been close and that his attempts to mend their relationship were rejected by Ken.

Shamrock has been married twice. His first marriage, to Tina Ramirez, ended in divorce in early 2002. Together they have 4 children: Ryan (born November 24, 1988), Connor Kenneth (born September 26, 1991), Sean and one daughter, Fallon. In 2005, Ken remarried a woman named Tonya whom he had known since childhood. He is now stepfather to her 3 children. In total, Ken has seven children and two grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Malen.

Shamrock's eldest son Ryan Shamrock made his MMA debut on August 25, 2007 at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, California defeating Josh Besneatte.

Shamrock's third son, Sean Shamrock made his MMA debut against Lucas Goulet on July 31, 2010 at KOTC - Underground 59. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Sean Shamrock was diagnosed with kidney cancer in March 2011 and is continuing his fight career after having the affected kidney removed.

He appeared in the films ''Champions'', ''Virtuosity'', ''Scarecrow Gone Wild'', the wrestling documentary and the high school wrestling movie which are both coincidently titled ''Beyond the Mat''. He also appeared in ''That '70s Show'' episode "That Wrestling Show" as Wrestler #1.

On January 14, 2010, Frank and Ken Shamrock's adoptive father, Bob Shamrock, died due to health complications from diabetes.

Theme music

In the UFC, Shamrock frequently used the song "What You Got" by Reveille as he made his entrance towards the Octagon. For his last 2 fights in the UFC Shamrock used the song "Slayed" by British DJ Rob Overseer. His professional wrestling theme song which originated in the WWF was titled "Dangerous", composed by longtime WWF theme music creator Jim Johnston and first appeared on ''WWF The Music, Vol. 2'' a remixed version appeared on ''WWF The Music, Vol. 3''.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*Ankle lock toe hold, sometimes while also locking in the Achilles tendon

*Guillotine choke

*Rear naked choke

Signature moves

*Headscissors takedown

*Heel hook

*Jumping calf kick

*Cradle suplex

*Key lock

*Kneebar

*Side belly to belly suplex

*Roundhouse kick

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC Superfight Championship (1 time, first)

*UFC Hall of Fame

UFC Viewer's Choice Award

*UFC 1 Tournament Semifinalist

*UFC 3 Tournament Finalist

Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling

*King of Pancrase (1994)

*King of Pancrase Tournament winner

PRIDE Fighting Championships

*Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Superfight Winner

World Mixed Martial Arts Association

*WMMAA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Black Belt Magazine

2000 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*2002 Feud of the Year vs. Tito Ortiz

*2006 Feud of the Year vs. Tito Ortiz

Professional wrestling

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

*Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1997)

*PWI ranked him #226 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

South Atlantic Pro Wrestling

*SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

*NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation

*WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

*WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Boss Man

*King of the Ring (1998)

Mixed martial arts record

|- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 28–15–2 | Mike Bourke | TKO (injury) | King of the Cage: Platinum | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:00 | Durban, South Africa | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 28–14–2 | Johnathan Ivey | Decision (unanimous) | USA MMA: Return of the Champions | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Lafayette, U.S | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 27–14–2 | Pedro Rizzo | TKO (leg kicks and punches) | Impact FC 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:33 | Sydney, Australia | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 27–13–2 | Ross Clifton | Submission (armbar) | WarGods: Valentine's Eve Massacre | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:00 | Fresno, U.S. | Shamrock tested positive for steroids after fight. |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 26–13–2 | Robert Berry | KO (punches) | Cage Rage 25 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:26 | London, England | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 26–12–2 | Tito Ortiz | TKO (punches) | Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 – The Final Chapter | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:23 | Hollywood, Florida, U.S. | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 26–11–2 | Tito Ortiz | TKO (elbows) | UFC 61 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:18 | Las Vegas, U.S. | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 26–10–2 | Kazushi Sakuraba | TKO (punch) | Pride 30 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:27 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 26–9–2 | Rich Franklin | TKO (punches) | The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:42 | Las Vegas, U.S. | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 26–8–2 | Kimo Leopoldo | KO (knee) | UFC 48 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:26 | Las Vegas, U.S. | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 25–8–2 | Tito Ortiz | TKO (corner stoppage) | UFC 40 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Las Vegas, U.S. | For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 25–7–2 | Don Frye | Decision (split) | Pride 19 | | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:00 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 25–6–2 | Sam Adkins | Submission (kimura) | WMMAA 1: Megafights | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:26 | Atlantic City, U.S. | Won WMMAA Heavyweight title |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 24–6–2 | Kazuyuki Fujita | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride 10 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6:46 | Saitama, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 24–5–2 | Alexander Otsuka | KO (punches) | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 9:43 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals Superfight |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 23–5–2 | Brian Johnston | Submission (choke) | Ultimate Ultimate 1996 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:48 | Birmingham, U.S. | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 22–5–2 | Dan Severn | Decision (split) | UFC 9 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 30:00 | Detroit, U.S. | Lost UFC Superfight Championship |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 22–4–2 | Kimo Leopoldo | Submission (kneebar) | UFC 8 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:24 | Bayamon, Puerto Rico | Defended UFC Superfight Championship |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 21–4–2 | Yoshiki Takahashi | Decision (lost points) | Pancrase: Truth 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 20:00 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 20–4–2 | Katsuomi Inagaki | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 7 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:19 | Sapporo, Japan | |- | Draw | style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–2 | Oleg Taktarov | Draw | UFC 7 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 33:00 | Buffalo, U.S. | Retains UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges. |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 19–4–1 | Larry Papadopoulos | Submission (achilles lock) | Pancrase 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:18 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 18–4–1 | Dan Severn | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 6 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:14 | Casper, U.S. | Won UFC Superfight Championship |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 17–4–1 | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (kneebar) | Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 4 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:14 | Urayasu, Japan | Lost King of Pancrase title. |- | Draw | style="text-align:center;"| 17–3–1 | Royce Gracie | Draw | UFC 5 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 36:00 | Charlotte, U.S. | For UFC Superfight Championship. Match was declared a draw because there were no judges. |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 17–3 | Bas Rutten | Submission (kneebar) | Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:01 | Yokohama, Japan | Defends King of Pancrase title |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 16–3 | Leon Dijk | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:45 | Nagoya, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 15–3 | Manabu Yamada | Decision (unanimous) | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 30:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Won King of Pancrase Tournament: Became first Pancrase Champion |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 14–3 | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Second Round | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:50 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 13–3 | Maurice Smith | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:23 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 12–3 | Alex Cook | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:31 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 11–3 | Takaku Fuke | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 5 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 3:13 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 10–3 | Felix Mitchell | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 3 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:34 | Charlotte, U.S. | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 9–3 | Christophe Leininger | Submission (punches) | UFC 3 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4:49 | Charlotte, U.S. | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 8–3 | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (choke) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 4 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2:30 | Osaka, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 8–2 | Bas Rutten | Submission (rear naked choke) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 3 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 16:42 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 7–2 | Matt Hume | Submission (armlock) | Pancrase: Road To The Championship 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5:50 | Amagasaki, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 6–2 | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase: Pancrash! 3 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 7:30 | Osaka, Japan | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 5–2 | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (heelhook/kneebar) | Pancrase: Pancrash! 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 7:37 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 5–1 | Andre Van Den Oetelaar | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 4 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:04 | Hakata, Japan | |- | Loss | style="text-align:center;"| 4–1 | Royce Gracie | Submission (rear naked choke) | UFC 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 0:57 | Denver, U.S. | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 4–0 | Patrick Smith | Submission (heel hook) | UFC 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1:49 | Denver, U.S. | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 3–0 | Takaku Fuke | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 0:44 | Kobe, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 2–0 | Yoshiki Takahashi | Submission (heel hook) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 2 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 12:23 | Nagoya, Japan | |- | Win | style="text-align:center;"| 1–0 | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (arm triangle choke) | Pancrase - Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 1 | | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6:15 | Urayasu, Japan |

References

External links

The official website of Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock IFL Page

Category:American mixed martial artists Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Fictional kings Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Category:People from San Diego, California Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:American Christians Category:People from Macon, Georgia Category:American sportspeople in doping cases Category:Doping cases in mixed martial arts

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