birth name	Dan Trejo
birth date	May 16, 1944
birth place	Los Angeles, California
years active	1984–present
occupation	Actor
spouse	Debbie Shreve }}

Dan "Danny" Trejo (; born May 16, 1944) is a Mexican-American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.

Early life

Trejo was born Dan Trejo in Echo Park, California, a community in Los Angeles. He is the son of Alice Rivera and Dan Trejo, a construction worker. He is of Mexican descent. He is a second cousin of filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, though the two were unaware that they were related until the filming of ''Desperado''. Trejo was raised in the Pacoima neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley. As a youth, he roamed the streets around his home area, committing various petty crimes with his uncle and eventually became addicted to heroin. He was arrested numerous times as an adolescent.

While on the streets Trejo developed talent as a boxer and considered taking it up as a profession. That ambition was dashed by a lengthy prison sentence. While serving time in San Quentin State Prison he became the California state prison champion in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions. During this time Trejo became a member of a twelve-step program which he credits with his success in overcoming drug addiction.

Career

While speaking at a recovery meeting in 1985 Trejo met a young man in the movie business. His newfound friend invited him to the set of ''Runaway Train'' where Trejo was offered a job as an extra. Edward Bunker, himself a former convict and well-respected crime author who was writing the screenplay for the film, recognized Trejo, with whom he had done time at San Quentin. It was widely misreported that Trejo was actually serving time in the prison while filming took place. Bunker remembered Trejo's boxing skills, and offered him $320 per day to train Eric Roberts, one of the movie's stars, for a boxing scene. Director Andrei Konchalovsky liked Trejo's work and decided to offer him a prominent role in the film.

Since then, Trejo has become a prolific actor in both films and television, acting alongside some of Hollywood's most famous actors, including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Nicolas Cage, Charles Bronson, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Val Kilmer, and Antonio Banderas. Trejo has often appeared in five or more movies per year in various genres. Major releases in which he has acted include ''Machete (film)'', ''Blood in Blood Out'', ''Animal Factory'', ''Bubble Boy'', ''Anaconda'', ''Marked for Death'', ''xXx'', ''Desperado'', ''Once Upon a Time in Mexico'', ''Heat'', ''From Dusk till Dawn'', ''Con Air'', ''Six Days Seven Nights'', ''Spy Kids'', '' The Replacement Killers'', ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'', ''Predators'', ''Urban Justice'', ''The Devil's Rejects'', ''Valley of Angels'', ''Delta Farce'', ''Grindhouse'', ''Rob Zombie's Halloween'' and ''Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror''.

Trejo is known for his very distinctive appearance. In addition to his heavily lined face (usually sporting a long mustache), he has displayed the large tattoo on his chest for many roles (the tattoo depicts a woman wearing a sombrero). He often plays thugs or lowlife characters, although he has also played protagonists in films such as Robert Rodriguez's ''Spy Kids'' trilogy, ''Bubble Boy'' and a guest appearance on the USA Network series ''Monk'' with art imitating life as a convict roommate to Tony Shalhoub's undercover detective. He also appeared in an episode of ''Desperate Housewives'' in Season 2, sent by Carlos to help Gabrielle deal with her grief of losing her unborn baby (another good-guy character). He voices the character Enrique, and Octavio's character is based on his appearance on ''King of the Hill''. His role on ''King of the Hill'' was referenced in the HBO series ''Unscripted'' in which he appears in a quick cameo. He also is featured in an episode of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and an episode of ''Do IT LIVE'' alongside actors Anna Bennett and Claudia Pickering, shot in Downtown Los Angeles, by the name of ''Sebring feat. Danny Trejo''. Trejo also made guest appearances in the award-winning series ''Breaking Bad'' in 2009 and 2010.

The award-winning independent film, CHAMPION was released in 2005, documenting Trejo's life. It features Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Steve Buscemi and Robert Rodriguez. Trejo appears as a playable character in ''Def Jam: Fight for NY'', a fighting game to which the actor lent his voice and likeness. He had previously lent his voice to ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' and ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'' for the character Umberto Robina, who also resembles Trejo. Trejo voiced the character of Rico in Rob Zombie's animated film ''The Haunted World of El Superbeasto'' as well as starring alongside Steven Seagal in ''Urban Justice''. He is now portraying the Mexican bartender in the daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. He also voices Raul the Ghoul in Fallout: New Vegas.

Regarding his continued growth as a professional actor, Trejo has stated that he still cannot believe how fortunate he has been. "I'm so blessed. I'm still scared that somebody's going to wake me up and say, 'Hey, we're still in prison. Let's go to chow.

Many of Trejo's characters in Robert Rodriguez movies have been named after knives or sharp instruments: Machete in ''Spy Kids'', Razor Eddie in the ''From Dusk till Dawn'' series, Navajas (Spanish for blades) in ''Desperado'', and Cuchillo (Spanish for knife) in ''Predators''. He also plays Machete in a trailer made for Rodriguez's film collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, ''Grindhouse''. In 2010, he starred in a full theatrical version of ''Machete'', based on the character.

He has also made cameo appearances in music videos such as, in rapper Tech N9ne's video for the single, "Like Yeah," from his 2008 release Killer, Rehab's 2007 song "Bartender", Jay Chou's short movie-music video "Double Blade" from his 2003 album Ye Hui Mei, and the Jonas Brothers' "Burnin' Up" from their album A Little Bit Longer and in Sepultura video "Attitude" in 1996.

He also appeared in the PlayStation Move game The Fight: Lights Out as an instructor for the player's character, and as himself in the second map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops; Escalation map pack, on the zombie map: Call of the Dead.

Personal life

Trejo is married to Debbie Shreve. He has three children: Danny Boy (b. 1981), Gilbert (b. 1988), Danielle (b. 1990), who are all from previous relationships.

Trejo has said that he is amazed when he walks the streets where he used to commit crimes and children ask him for autographs. He also pointed out that he often chooses to play bad guys to teach younger audiences that bad guys often die or go to prison, and that one should try to live a decent life.

Trejo often speaks in front of youth groups and at colleges and encourages young people to avoid making the same mistakes he did while growing up.

Partial filmography

''Penitentiary III'' ''Bulletproof (1988 film) ''Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects'' ''Drug Wars: The Camarena Story'' ''The Last Hour'' ''Reasonable Doubts'' ''Sunset Grill (film) ''Criminal Passion'' ''Dead Badge'' ''From Dusk till Dawn'' ''Los Locos'' ''Tracey Takes On...'' ''From Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money'' ''From Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'' ''Spy Kids'' ''13 Moons'' ''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' ''All Souls Day (film) ''Furnace (film) ''Smiley Face (film) ''Valley of Angels'' ''The Grind (2009 U.S. film) ''The Killing Jar (2010 film) ''Young Justice (TV series)

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1985 in film	1985	Runaway Train (film)>Runaway Train''	Boxer
rowspan=3	1987	|	See Veer
''The Hidden''	Prisoner
''Death Wish 4: The Crackdown''	Art Sanella
1988 in film	1988	Bulletproof'' ||	Sharkey
rowspan=4	1989	|	Prison Inmate
''Lock Up (film)	Lock Up''	Chink's Gang Member
''Bail Out''	Mean
''Cage (film)	Cage''	Costello's Bodyguard
rowspan=4	1990	|	Gabriel	TV mini-series
''Guns (film)	Guns''	Tong
''Maniac Cop 2''	Prisoner
''Marked for Death''	Hector
rowspan=8	1991	|	Spider
''Mi Vida Loca''	Frank/Casual Dreamer
''Whore (1991 film)	Whore''	Tattoo Artist
''Wedlock (film)	Wedlock''	Tough Prisoner #1
''Femme Fatale''	Toshi
''Carnal Crimes''	Chandra
''Lonely Hearts''	Angry Client
''Baywatch''	Carlos Urueta
rowspan=3	1992	|	Cholo #2	TV; episode ''The Shadow of Death''
''Nails''	Las Virgenes bartender
''Baywatch''	Chulo
rowspan=7	1993	Sunset Grill'' ||	Young Mexican
''Blood in Blood Out''	Geronimo
''Doppelganger (1993 film)	Doppelganger''	Hard Hat
''Mi Vida Loca''	Frank
''12:01 (1993 film)	12:01''
''Last Light (film)	Last Light''	2nd Inmate
''Love, Cheat & Steal''	Cuban
rowspan=2	1994	|	Construction Worker
''Against The Wall''	Luis
rowspan=5	1995	|	El Tango Bartender
''The Stranger''	Hawk
''Desperado (film)	Desperado''	Navajas
''Fallen Angels (TV series)	Fallen Angels''	Boxer
''Heat (1995 film)	Heat''	Trejo
rowspan=4	1996	|	Razor Charlie
''Renegade (TV series)	Renegade''	Freddie
''NYPD Blue''	Gabriel Mota
''Le Jaguar''	Kumare
rowspan=5	1997	|	Manuel Batista
''Anaconda (film)	Anaconda''	Poacher
''Con Air''	Johnny 23
''Trojan War (film)	Trojan War''	Scarface
''Dilemma''	Rudy Salazar
rowspan=9	1998	|	Hispanic Man	TV; two episodes
''Brooklyn South''	Louis
''Walker, Texas Ranger''	Joe Lopez
''Point Blank (1998 film)	Point Blank''	Wallace
''The Replacement Killers''	Collins
''Six Days Seven Nights''	Pierce
''Champions''	Max Brito
''Soundman''	Duce's Father
''NYPD Blue''	Frankie Soto
rowspan=3	1999	|	Razor Eddie
''Inferno (1999 film)	Inferno''	Johnny Six Toes
''Walker, Texas Ranger''	José Rodriguez
rowspan=4	2000	|	Razor Charlie
''Animal Factory''	Vito
''Reindeer Games''	Jumpy
''The X-Files''	Spider-Man/Cesar Ocampo
rowspan=3	2001	|	Isador "Machete" Cortez
''Bubble Boy''	Slim
''Skippy''	Hitman
rowspan=9	2002	|	Hoodlum #2
''The Salton Sea''	Little Bill
''Do It for Uncle Manny''	Pedro
''The District''	Danny
''Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams''	Isador "Machete" Cortez
''xXx''	El Jefe
''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''	Umberto Robina (voice only)
''The Hire: Beat the Devil''	Bob
''Nightstalker''	Officer Frank Luis
rowspan=7	2003	|	Machete
''Once Upon a Time in Mexico''	Cucuy
''Kingpin (TV series)	Kingpin''	Manny
''Alias (TV series)	Alias''	Emilio Vargas
''The Brothers García''	Eduardo 'Ed' Garcia
''Double Blade''	El Patron
''King of the Hill''	Enrique (voice only)
rowspan=6	2004	|	Bartender
''Def Jam: Fight for NY''	Trejo (voice only)
''Lost (2004 film)	Lost''	Edward James Archer
''Grounded for Life''	Raul
''Monk (TV series)	Monk''	Spyder Rudner
''Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie''	Bartender
rowspan=12	2005	All Souls Day'' ||	Vargas Diaz	a.k.a. ''All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos''
''Tennis, Anyone...?''	Hector
''The Curse of El Charro''	El Charro (voice only)
''George Lopez (TV series)	George Lopez''	Bobby
''Chasing Ghosts''	Carlos Santiago
	''High Hopes''	Shady
''Champion.''	Himself
''The Devil's Rejects''	Rondo
''The Crow: Wicked Prayer''	Harold
''Venice Underground''	Papi
''Dreaming on Christmas''	Train Driver
''Desperate Housewives''	Hector Ramos
rowspan=12	2006	Furnace'' ||	Fury
''TV: The Movie''	Crow
''Propensity''	Roy
''Sherrybaby''	Dean Walker
''Living the Dream (film)	Living the Dream''	Chuck
''Danny Roane: First Time Director''	Hector
''Heist (TV series)	Heist''	Ernesto
''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories''	Umberto Robina (voice only)
''Hood of Horror''	Derelict
''Seven Mummies''	Apache
''Slayer (film)	Slayer''
''Haunted Prison''	Priest
rowspan=11	2007	Smiley Face'' ||	Albert
''Grindhouse (film)	Grindhouse''	Machete
''Delta Farce''	Carlos Santana
''The Knights of Prosperity''	Hector
''Halloween (2007 film)	Halloween''	Ismael Cruz
''Battle for Terra''	Elder Barum (voice only)
''The Blue Rose''	Junk
''Urban Justice''	El Chivo
''Stargate: Atlantis''	Omal
''On Bloody Sunday''	The Ref
''Blood Ties (TV series)	Blood Ties''	Pacha Kamaq
rowspan=11	2008	|	Hector
''Through the Valley''	Don Reyes
''Richard III (2008 film)	Richard III''	Major
''The Art of Travel''	Limo Driver
''Jake's Corner''	Clint
''Ranchero''	Capone
''Toxic (2008 film)	Toxic''	Antoine
''Alone in the Dark II''	Perry
''La Linea (film)	La Linea''	Mario
''Necessary Evil''	Barro
''The Young and the Restless''	Bartender
rowspan=8	2009	The Grind'' ||	Nicholi Guzman
''Fanboys (2009 film)	Fanboys''	The Chief
''The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series)	The Spectacular Spider-Man''	Ox (comics)>Ox (voice only)
''The Haunted World of El Superbeasto	Rico (voice only)
''Modus Operandi (film)	Modus Operandi''	Director Holiday
''The Boys of Ghost Town''	Father
''Eyeborgs''	G-Man
''Breaking Bad''	Tortuga
rowspan=24	2010	The Killing Jar'' ||	Jimmy
''Shoot the Hero''	Crazy Joe
''Burn Notice''	Vega
''Breaking Bad''	Tortuga
''Shadows in Paradise (2010 film)	Shadows in Paradise''	Matador
''Boston Girls''	Uncle Reggie
''Pastor Shepherd''	Phil Harrison
''Saint John of Las Vegas''	Bismarck
''The Bill Collector''	Uncle Frankie
''Lean Like a Cholo''	The O.G.
''Fallout: New Vegas''	Raul Alfonso Tejada
''Food Stamps''	Mr. Fernandez
''Sebring feat. Danny Trejo''	Danny Trejo
''Dark Games''	Archie
''Project x27''	Mondo
''Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!''	Suspect
''The Good Guys''	Mexican Drug Dealer
''Predators (film)	Predators''	Cuchillo
''North by El Norte''	Uncle John
''Beatdown''	Marcus
''Machete (film)	Machete''	Machete Cortez
''Justin Time''	Mardok
''The Fight: Lights Out''	As a trainer named Duke
''Modern Family''	Gus
rowspan=9	2011	Young Justice'' ||	Bane (comics)>Bane	Voice
''Death Race 2''	Goldberg
''Call of Duty: Black Ops''	Himself
''Franklin & Bash''	"Ultimo" A professional Wrestler
''Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World''	Isador "Machete" Cortez
''A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas''
''Vengeance (2011 film)	Vengeance''	Jack
''The Muppets (film)	The Muppets''	Himself
''Haunted High School''	Mortiz

Cultural references

Plastilina Mosh, a Mexican alternative rock band, paid tribute to Trejo with their song "Danny Trejo", featured in their album ''All U Need Is Mosh''. Trejo is also featured in the 2004 hip-hop fighting game Def Jam: Fight for NY as a soldier to Crow's side. Crow is voiced by and his looks are captured by Snoop Dogg. Danny Trejo can also be seen in the intro of Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max'd ("Play for Real", B-Real & DJ Lethal). He also is featured in the downloadable content pack called Escalation Map Pack in the video game ''Call of Duty: Black Ops'' on the map "Call of the Dead" as himself.

ITN Clothing

In addition to his acting career, Trejo is also the founder of ITN Clothing, which offers hip-hop style T-shirts and accessories.

References

External links

Danny Trejo: The illustrated man

Official site for ''Champion'' a documentary about Trejo

Random Roles: Danny Trejo

Category:1944 births Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:American film actors Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors Category:Living people Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

ar:داني تريجو be:Дэні Трэха be-x-old:Дэні Трэха bg:Дани Трехо cs:Danny Trejo da:Danny Trejo de:Danny Trejo es:Danny Trejo eu:Danny Trejo fr:Danny Trejo hr:Danny Trejo it:Danny Trejo hu:Danny Trejo nl:Danny Trejo ja:ダニー・トレホ no:Danny Trejo pl:Danny Trejo pt:Danny Trejo ru:Трехо, Дэнни sr:Дани Трехо fi:Danny Trejo sv:Danny Trejo tr:Danny Trejo

bgcolour	#EEDD82
name	David Choe
birth date	1976
birth place	Los Angeles, California
nationality	American
field	Painter
training	California College of the Arts
works	Hussein (Barack Obama) I Like My Waffles Sprinkled With Deep Throat Tears Death Blossom Jimi Hendrix Mummy
awards	Xeric Grant }}

David Choe (born 1976, Los Angeles, California) is an American painter, muralist, graffiti artist and graphic novelist of Korean descent. He achieved art world success with his "dirty style" figure paintings—raw, frenetic works which combine themes of desire, degradation, and exaltation. Outside of galleries, he is closely identified with the bucktoothed whale he has been spray-painting on the streets since he was in his teens.

Choe's work appears in a wide variety of urban culture and entertainment contexts. For example, he provided the cover art for Jay-Z and Linkin Park's multi-platinum album ''Collision Course'', and created artwork to decorate the sets of ''Juno'' and ''The Glass House''. In 2005, internet entrepreneur Sean Parker, a longtime fan, asked him to paint graphic sexual murals in the interior of Facebook's first Silicon Valley office, and in 2007, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg commissioned him to paint somewhat tamer murals for their next office. Those murals were loosely re-created by Choe's friends Rob Sato and Joe To for the set of the film ''The Social Network''. During the 2008 presidential race, Choe painted a portrait of then-Senator Barack Obama for use in a grassroots street art campaign. The original now hangs in the White House.

Life

David Choe was raised in the racially diverse Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, the child of Korean immigrant parents who were born-again Christians. Like many boys, his chief interests were ''Star Wars'', ''G.I. Joe'', ''Robotech'' and superheroes, which he drew obsessively from an early age. In his early teens, in response to having his bicycle stolen repeatedly, he began to retaliate by stealing bikes and shoplifting whenever the opportunity arose. In 1990, inspired by L.A. graffiti pioneers Mear One and Hex, he started venting his teenage anger by scrawling graffiti on bus benches, billboards and back alleys across the city. With his first can of Krylon flat black, he cited the Bible verse John 11:35, which reads "Jesus wept." Rather than writing his name over and over, he painted faces and figures, cartoony whales, and punchy philosophical messages. Though he lived in Koreatown, he went to high school in the privileged enclave of Beverly Hills, and by the time the 1992 Los Angeles riots broke out when he was 16, he had become acutely aware of the class and racial tensions that divided the city into mutually hostile territories. A proud participant in the violence and mayhem that ensued, he claims that he and his brother were the only Koreans who looted. After the six-day riot had subsided, he discovered that his parents' real estate business in Koreatown had burned to the ground, which made the next few years difficult for his family.

Immediately after graduating from high school, Choe departed on the first of many adventures, and spent the next two years freight-hopping, hitchhiking, hustling and stealing his way around the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. When he returned to Los Angeles at the age of 21, he decided he needed formal training if he wanted to be a "real" artist, and enrolled in the only art school that accepted him, the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland. There he came under the influence of professor Barron Storey's raw, intimate, painterly style. Choe, who calls Storey "the current king of the dirty school," studied under the veteran illustrator for two years and then dropped out. All the while, he was stealing art supplies, books and food to get by, in addition to his ongoing nocturnal graffiti campaign, which eventually landed him in jail in Oakland for a week. Taking that as incentive to settle down a bit, he returned to his family home in Los Angeles, and began illustrating and writing for magazines including ''Hustler'', ''Ray Gun'' and ''Vice''. Around the same time, he began his ongoing relationship with the Asian pop culture store-cum-magazine Giant Robot, which has continued to be mutually beneficial to this day. He also started showing his paintings to art galleries, which exhibited little interest. In defiance, Choe hung his work in an ice cream shop called Double Rainbow which was located on the hipster promenade Melrose Avenue. That impromptu exhibition was so successful that the store held it over for two years, with Choe replenishing pieces as they sold.

Always fascinated by comics, especially the work of Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane, Choe initially dreamed of a career as a comic book creator. In a single night in 1996, he wrote a 35-page tale of violent sexual obsession which, coupled with drawings and paintings that he created over the next couple of years, eventually became the graphic novel ''Slow Jams''. Choe initially made about 200 copies of ''Slow Jams'' on a photocopier and gave them away at Comic-Con in 1998, hoping to interest a publisher. Later that year, he submitted ''Slow Jams'' for the Xeric Grant and was awarded $5,000 to self-publish a second, expanded edition of 1,000 which came out in 1999 with a cover price of $4. Over the next decade, ''Slow Jams'' became a cult phenomenon, and in recent years, increasingly rare copies of the graphic novel have changed hands on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

Having caught the attention of the entertainment and advertising industry with ''Slow Jams'' and that makeshift art exhibit, Choe soon found himself in great demand for commercial illustration and graphic design. Within a few years, he was successful enough to be able to turn down many offers of commercial work in order to concentrate on his own paintings and murals. Simultaneously, Choe's best friend Harry Kim began documenting his life, often living with him while videotaping his frenzied art-making, colorful personal life and intimate thoughts. Over the next 10 years, Kim would capture thousands of hours of Choe's everyday existence as an artist, footage which would eventually become the documentary ''Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe''. All the while, Choe continued his obsessive traveling, from making an expedition to the jungles of the Congo to painting graffiti and murals around the globe alongside the world's greatest urban artists for the street culture brand Upper Playground.

In late 2003, Choe arrived in Tokyo and was jailed within 24 hours. An undercover security guard had approached him threateningly, and due to the language barrier, he misunderstood the man's intentions and reacted instinctively, punching him in the face. Choe ended up spending three months behind bars for violent assault, out of contact with his family or friends, and under threat of being imprisoned for two years. During that time, he suffered greatly from loneliness, anxiety and a lack of access to art materials. With small pieces of paper and the one pen his cell was allowed, he made over 600 drawings during that period, including portraits of his Japanese cellmates which he used to distract them from beating him up. In his desperation, he also executed a series of erotic paintings using soy sauce, tea, blood and urine for color. After three months, he was released on the condition that he leave Japan immediately and not return. His prison art has been the subject of constant speculation and interest ever since.

Returning home to San Jose with a new perspective on life, Choe began the task of rebuilding himself from the ground up, focusing hard on his career and channeling his more self-destructive impulses into somewhat less risky pursuits such as gambling and drumming. Burying himself in work, he accepted mural commissions from Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss and from the founders of Facebook, among others. After holding several solo shows in San Jose and San Francisco, he was offered a solo exhibit at the Santa Rosa Museum of Contemporary Art in 2005. He held his first New York solo exhibit, "Gardeners of Eden," in 2007 at Jonathan Levine Gallery in Chelsea, and in 2008, he had his first U.K. solo exhibition, "Murderous Heart," in both the London and Newcastle locations of Lazarides Gallery, simultaneously.

Having become accustomed to living under the constant eye of Harry Kim's camera, it was a natural next step for him to allow a reality-style film crew to accompany him on some of his adventures. For a web series called ''Thumbs Up!'', which has so far run for three seasons, Choe and Harry Kim were filmed hitch-hiking and freight-hopping from Los Angeles to Miami and Tijuana to Alaska, and then hitching across China from Beijing to Shenzen and the gambling mecca of Macau.

It has often been said that Choe's greatest artwork is his life, itself. As his friend Jason Jaworski explained, "For me, there is no artwork Dave or anyone can create that is capable of completely equalling the vast canvas of Dave's life, which he paints daily while simply living. At the core, there seems to be two types of art, one which allows for escape from one's self, and another which allows for introspection and confrontation with one's self. In either case, I think art's great contribution is when it makes one feel less alone. And if that statement has truth to it, which it does for me, then Dave has created one of the greatest pieces of art by simply living the way he does, which is like no one else."

Over the past 15 years, Choe has built a worldwide reputation for his raw, vibrant, frenetic imagery, exhibiting in galleries in Barcelona, Beijing, Tokyo, London, Los Angeles, New York, and many places in between. He says he makes art because he has no other choice. "I don’t know how many times I have to say this—in all honesty and all kidding aside—without art I’d be 110% dead or in jail. I have a murderer’s blood coursing through my veins. I try to be good, but I’m just a bad man who happens to know how to wield a pencil and smear paint in fancy ways."

Work

David Choe's painting process is fast and instinctive, involving building layers of texture wet-on-wet in a wide variety of media, including pencil, ink, crayon, watercolor, acrylic, oil and spraypaint. In 2007, he described his "dirty style" painting aesthetic to ''Fecal Face'' webzine, saying, "The dirty styles rule all other schools and styles. The layering, the personal touch to everything. I'm from the school of dirty styles, but it's more than just style and surface, it's every dirty thing that's inside you. Dirty styles is painting on found objects besides a blank piece of paper or a blank white wall. This started for me when my dad would bring home used Xeroxes from work so I could Crayola all over the backs, then I moved on to painting on bus benches and other shit on the street because I couldn't afford canvases... So even before you start, there's some history, there's some spills, chills and marks, then you keep creating more history on top of that, spilling, spraying, dripping, creaming, collaging, making a mess. All this ugly dirty shit, and hopefully the end product being something that's tolerable and beautiful... something born from that filth. Creating hope from dark beginnings... the fucking dirty styles."

While Choe's success has largely hinged on his paintings, he has been commissioned to paint murals all over the world, and still paints on the street for his own gratification. As he told ''Juxtapoz'' magazine, “I never stopped graffiti. It influences my fine art, with the quickness and immediacy of it. I use oil paint like it’s acrylic, because I can’t wait for it to dry. I love fucking with mediums and seeing how they react to different mediums, but I always considered graffiti separate from my art. I always looked at it as destructive, anarchist, political, spiritual, and mostly just fun. It was a release from being cooped up, hunched over drawing tiny drawings with rapidographs and mechanical pencils. Fuck everything I’m doing at home, I‘m going out late at night to have an affair with the streets. I’m not worried about mistakes, or trying to make shit look right, or fame, or writing a tag over and over—I’m looking to destroy, pure vandalism, and maybe somewhere in between the process I can achieve enlightenment, fulfillment, and redemption, but probably not. You can’t ever really describe the feeling until you’ve stolen two cans of Krylon flat black and hit the streets with reckless abandon. The freedom of speech, and scale of the words and pictures, is humbling.”

Publications

''David Choe'', Chronicle Books, 2010. ISBN 0811869539. ''Cursiv'', Giant Robot, 2003. ''Bruised Fruit: The Art of David Choe'', Drips Inc., 2002. ''Slow Jams'', self-published, 1999.

Other media

''Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe'', documentary film (2008) ''Thumbs Up!'' documentary web series, VBS.TV, (2007–2011)

References

External links

David Choe's official website

''Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe'' documentary film

Category:Contemporary artists Category:American muralists Category:American graffiti artists Category:American graphic novelists Category:Artists from California Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:People from Los Angeles, California

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

de:Ken Shamrock es:Ken Shamrock fr:Ken Shamrock it:Ken Shamrock nl:Ken Shamrock ja:ケン・シャムロック pt:Ken Shamrock ru:Шемрок, Кен simple:Ken Shamrock fi:Ken Shamrock sv:Ken Shamrock uk:Кен Шемрок

birthname	Laurence T. Fessenden
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
occupation	Producer, actor, director, writer }}

Laurence T. Fessenden (born 1963) is an American producer, writer, director, and actor.

Life and career

He is president of Glass Eye Pix, an independent film production company based in New York City. Fessenden produced the Dark Sky film The Inkeepers which is directed by Ti West and the thriller Hypothermia, besides his work as producer he stars in the psychological thriller I Can See You. He produced and starred in the horror flick Bitter Feast, which is directed by Joe Maggio.

Fessenden also voiced for the adult horror radio drama Tales from Beyond the Pale.

He is currently living in New York City.

Filmography

''Bitter Feast'' (2010)

''The House Of The Devil'' (2009)

''I Can See You'' (2009)

''Fear Itself'' (TV Series, Episode ''Skin and Bones'') (2008)

''I Sell the Dead'' (2008)

''Trigger Man'' (2007)

''The Last Winter'' (2006)

''The Roost'' (2005)

''Headspace'' (2005)

''Searching for the Wendigo'' (2002) (film short)

''Wendigo'' (2001)

''Habit'' (1997)

''No Telling... aka No Telling (Or the Frankenstein Complex)'' (1991)

''Hollow Venus: Diary of a Go-Go Dancer'' (1989)

''Stunt: A Musical Motion Picture'' (1989) (film short)

''Mismatch'' (1987) (film short)

''Chinatown'' (1986) (film short)

''Experienced Movers'' (1985)

''Habit'' (1982) (V)

''A Face in the Crowd'' (1981)

''Lifeline'' (1981) (film short)

''The Field'' (1980) (film short)

''White Trash'' (1980) (film short)

''The Eliminator'' (1979) (film short)

''Jaws'' (1978) (film short)

See also

Antidote Films

Jeff Levy-Hinte

References

External links

Glass Eye Pix

Antidote Films webpage

Category:1963 births Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American screenwriters Category:Living people Category:People from New York City

it:Larry Fessenden