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Zuffa, LLC (pronounced /ˈzuːfə/) is an American sports promotion company specializing in mixed martial arts. It was founded in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada by Station Casinos executives Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta to be the parent entity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) after they purchased it from the Semaphore Entertainment Group. Lorenzo Fertitta is the company’s CEO and Chairman while Dana White runs the day-to-day operations.^[2] Zuffa is co-owned by Fertitta brothers (40.5% each), Dana White (9%) and Sheik Tahnoon of Abu Dhabi (Flash Entertainment) (10%).^[3]

Zuffa is universally credited for turning around the UFC and increasing the status of mixed martial arts in the United States from one with a limited audience and regional competitions to a multi-million dollar enterprise with millions of viewers and internationally popular events.^{[citation needed]}

The word "Zuffa" is an Italian word, meaning "scuffle".^[4]

Relationship with MMA organizations[link]

International Fight League[link]

Throughout the existence of the International Fight League (IFL) between 2006 to 2008, both Zuffa and the IFL had competed in a hostile relationship. Zuffa accused the IFL of and sued them for illegally using proprietary information obtained by hiring executives from the UFC organization. The IFL responded with their own suit claiming that Zuffa was threatening potential partners not to work with the IFL, including Fox Sports Net (a deal with Fox Sports was later signed before resolution of the suit^[5]). The tension between the IFL and the UFC worsened with accusations that the IFL had attempted to buy out several top UFC fighters.

In July 2008, there were reports of the IFL's possible purchase by the UFC.^[6] That same month, Joe Favorito, former IFL senior vice president, cited financial troubles for the closing of the company on July 31, 2008. Anonymous sources stated that Zuffa had bought the IFL.^[7] Other reports cited the UFC's airing of IFL footage on its programming, and the signing of previous IFL fighters, as an indirect confirmation of the purchase.^[8]

WFA[link]

On December 11, 2006, Zuffa acquired the assets of the World Fighting Alliance, and formed WFA Enterprises, LLC. as a subsidiary to handle these assets, including select fighter contracts.^[9] On the same day, it was reported that Zuffa was formalizing plans to buy World Extreme Cagefighting, to be run as a separate promotion from the UFC.

WEC[link]

Following the purchase of the WEC, Zuffa made several changes to the promotion. This included modifying the WEC's cage, transferring to a focus on lighter weight classes, giving it the ability to host events in Las Vegas and having the championships of fighters who were contracted UFC fighters vacated.

From 2007 to the end of 2010, the WEC was run as a separate promotion under the Zuffa banner, airing events 28 to 53 on Versus in the USA and on The Score in Canada.

On October 28, 2010 Dana White announced that the WEC would be absorbed into the UFC in early 2011.^[10]

Pride Fighting Championships[link]

On March 27, 2007, it was announced that Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta were acquiring the assets of Pride Fighting Championships, the UFC's largest rival, from Dream Stage Entertainment. To handle the take over, the Fertitta brothers created a new corporate entity to handle the assets, Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. With common ownership in place, Zuffa and Pride Worldwide would be working closely together.^[11][12] Although goals of reviving Pride were not realized, many of Pride's assets, including contracts with fighters and intellectual property, are now regularly utilized by the UFC.

Strikeforce[link]

Early Relationship (2008–2010)[link]

Starting around 2008 with a rising interest in Strikeforce, UFC president Dana White began a long media battle with their main competitor Strikeforce and their main media partner, Showtime.

Dana White made numerous negative claims and statements towards Strikeforce, including:

• Calling Strikeforce, "Strikefarce".
• Calling Strikeforce the "minor leagues".
• Fans are only interested in the results of Strikeforce events, without actually watching them.
• Strikeforce fails to get their own fighters to fight each other.
• Strikeforce is unorganized.
• Strikeforce’s weight divisions are not very competitive, which leads to mismatches and a lack of interesting fights.
• Strikeforce fails to draw in a relevant number of TV viewers.
• Strikeforce is a small local San Jose based show, and is not on the same national and international level as the UFC.
• Strikeforce is not heavy competition for the UFC.
• Strikeforce fails to make much of any profit.
• Strikeforce has no distribution.
• Strikeforce fails to hold consistent title defenses for their champions.

Dana White had expressed that he had "no beef with Strikeforce", instead indicating a greater dislike for Showtime, and Ken Hershman in particular.

However, White did express in an interview that he had a mutual relationship with Strikeforce founder and CEO, Scott Coker, explaining that Coker is caught up in his battle with Showtime.

2011 Acquisition and Beyond (2011–Present)[link]

On March 1, 2011 Scott Coker was noted for dismissing rumors of a pending sale to Zuffa as "crazy." Coker, went onto explain that Strikeforce was searching for "strategic partners" and that there were at least two (some reports say three) potential investors, but that "the UFC is not one of them."^[13][14] One of the potential investors has been documented to have been ProElite.^[13][15]

However, on March 12, 2011, it was announced in a interview between Dana White and journalist Ariel Helwani that Zuffa had purchased Strikeforce.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} The deal was made between Zuffa and partial Strikeforce owner Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment.^[15][20] The amount of money involved has not been officially disclosed, however it has been reported that the deal was worth $40 million dollars.^[21]

Sources have confirmed that Scott Coker attempted to not sell Strikeforce to Zuffa. However, Coker ultimately failed and agreed to sell Strikeforce's licensing rights, fighter contracts, and video library to Zuffa on March 10 or 11th.^[13][15]

On March 14, 2011, Zuffa held a conference call to officially announce the acquisition of Strikeforce.^[22][23]

On March 28, 2011, Scott Coker was noted for saying that he felt that acquisition would be good for the sport of mixed martial arts. This is in contradiction of his original resistance of selling Strikeforce to Zuffa.^[24]

United Glory[link]

When United Glory was originally formed in 2006, it was known as Ultimate Glory before a lawsuit with Zuffa forced a name change.^[25]

Relationship With Non-MMA Organizations[link]

Flash Entertainment[link]

On January 12, 2010, Zuffa sold a minority interest in the company to Flash Entertainment. The company announced the completion of a deal in which a 10-percent interest in the company to the Abu Dhabi government-owned Flash Entertainment. With the sale, company ownership would be 40.5 percent held by Lorenzo Fertitta, the company’s CEO and Chairman, 40.5 percent held by his older brother, Frank Fertitta III, 10 percent by Flash Entertainment and 9 percent by Dana White.^[2] Flash Entertainment was formed in 2008 by the Abu Dhabi government’s Executive Affairs Authority.

Ubisoft[link]

In December 2010, Zuffa filed a lawsuit against video game publisher Ubisoft, for what they claim is a violation of trademark on the game, Fighters Uncaged, packaging.^[26] On the packaging of the game the trademarked term, "Ultimate Fighting" is shown in all capital letters. Zuffa claimed that the use of the term is identical or confusingly similar to the use of the UFC's trademarks. While Ubisoft failed to provide any comments on the lawsuit,^[27] by August 2011 the two companies announced the dissolution of the lawsuit.^[28]

Justin.tv[link]

In January 2011, Zuffa filed a lawsuit against Justin.tv, for what they claim was a massive illegal viewing of UFC 121 among other events.^[29] As of March 2012, the lawsuit is still on-going and Justin.tv has had some of the charges dismissed partially because the site itself cannot be entirely held responsible for the particular uploads under scrutiny. ^[30]

Lone Survivor Foundation[link]

In May 2011, it was announced that Zuffa would be holding a charity auction featuring more than 100 items to benefit the Lone Survivor Foundation during the last week of May 2011.^[31]

All products were autographed by UFC fighters and included, Baseball caps, T-shirt's, MMA gloves, and DVD's among other things. Products generally ranged in price from $50 to a few thousand dollars.

MMA regulation[link]

The current rules used in the UFC were first established by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board in 2000, in consultation with the UFC and other MMA promotions in the United States.^[32] The first UFC event under the new rules was UFC 28, held before Zuffa's takeover. New Jersey's Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts has since been established throughout the country by other state athletic commissions, including Nevada and California.^[32] The UFC has however kept close ties with state commissions, especially the Nevada State Athletic Commission, of which Lorenzo Fertitta was a former board member.^[33]

Insurance policy[link]

On May 9, 2011 it was announced that Zuffa would be providing year-round customized insurance coverage for any injury suffered by a UFC or Strikeforce athlete.^{[34][35] [36] [37] [38][39] [40]} The policy covers any injuries that occur during competition, training, and non-training related accidents.

The policy was underwritten by Houston-based specialty insurance group HCC Insurance Holdings and went into effect on June 1, 2011.^[40]

The details of the policy include:

• The policy covers all athletes signed by the UFC or Strikeforce.
• The policy covers athletes residing both within and outside of the United States.^[34]
• Zuffa will pay for all premiums for the policy, and athletes will not be required to pay anything.
• The policy allows athletes to use up to $50,000 in annual coverage for any injuries that occur while under contract to Zuffa. This includes services such as, doctor services, laboratory tests, emergency medical evacuation, and physical therapy.
• The policy covers athletes regardless if they are scheduled to compete.
• The policy also includes life and dental insurance at no cost to the athletes.^[34]
• The policy does not cover minor illnesses, but does cover training-related illnesses like staph infections.^[37]

An insurance policy is not a first for mixed martial arts or combat sports as a whole. Former promotions such as the International Fight League, offered insurance to its athletes. However Zuffa's policy is the first to cover a large group of combat sport athletes.^[38]

According UFC president Dana White, the policy was a goal of the company since Zuffa first purchase the UFC in 2001. In addition UFC chairman and CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta stated that the policy took three years to establish while trying to find possible insurers.^[34]

Prior to the introduction of this policy, Zuffa provided up to $100,000 for an athlete on each event to cover injuries sustained during competition. However if an athlete was injured outside of competition they would have to pay for their own medical expenses.^[40]

Notable incidents where UFC athletes were injured outside of competition include,

• Frank Mir, who was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle in 2004, and forced out of competition for over 20 months.
• Brock Lesnar, who was forced out of action for several months while struggling with diverticulitis.

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (July 2011)

Frank Shamrock
Born	Frank Alisio Juarez, III (1972-12-08) December 8, 1972 (age 39) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	The Legend
Residence	San Jose, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Division	Middleweight (2006–2009) Light Heavyweight
Reach	72.0 in (183 cm)
Style	Catch wrestling, Kickboxing, Submission Fighting
Stance	Orthodox
Team	Lion's Den (1994–1998) The Alliance (1998–2010)[1]
Teacher(s)	Ken Shamrock, Maurice Smith, Javier Mendez
Rank	Retired
Years active	1994–2010
Kickboxing record
Total	1
Wins	1
By knockout	1
Losses	0
Mixed martial arts record
Total	35
Wins	23
By knockout	6
By submission	10
By decision	5
By disqualification	2
Losses	10
By knockout	4
By submission	2
By decision	3
By disqualification	1
Draws	2
Other information
Notable relatives	Ken Shamrock, adopted brother
Website	http://www.frankshamrock.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 13, 2011 (2011-03-13)

Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez, III; December 8, 1972) is a retired mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) and retired as the four-time defending undefeated champion. Shamrock was the #1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world during his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion.^[2] Shamrock has won numerous titles in other martial arts organizations, including the interim King of Pancrase title, the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.

He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s by the Wrestling Observer, "Best Full Contact Fighter" by Black Belt magazine (1998), and three time "Fighter of the Year" by Full Contact Fighter Magazine. He is a 7th degree black belt in submission fighting, awarded by O-Sensei Philip S. Porter of the United States Martial Arts Association.^[3] He is the adopted brother of former UFC champion Ken Shamrock. He holds notable wins over Bas Rutten, Tito Ortiz, Jeremy Horn, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Kevin Jackson and Phil Baroni. He is also the only man to defeat Cesar Gracie. He holds the Guinness World Records for Fastest UFC Title Fight Victory by Submission in 16 seconds over Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan in Yokohama Japan. An author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist, he is a color commentator for Showtime Networks and a brand spokesman for Strikeforce.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

From the age of 12, Frank Juarez was placed in various foster homes, group homes, and crisis centers. He also had a few run-ins with law enforcement. Eventually he went to live with Bob Shamrock, who had taken in hundreds of troubled boys (including Frank's older foster-brother Ken). Juarez went to live with Shamrock at his home in Susanville, California, and was officially adopted by Shamrock at the age of 21.

Pancrase[link]

In 1994, Ken began to train Frank in submission fighting. Frank accompanied his brother to bouts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and grew to love the sport. He became a member of Ken's training school, the Lion's Den, and made his mixed martial arts debut in the Pancrase organization in Japan.

Shamrock debuted as a fighter in Pancrase on December 16, 1994 in one of the biggest events in mixed martial arts history to date, the King of Pancrase Tournament. He was a large underdog against top Pancrase fighter Bas Rutten but went on to defeat Rutten in a close decision victory. Shamrock faced off against expert grappler and eventual tournament finalist Manabu Yamada later that night, but was defeated via submission at 8:38 of round 1.

In 1995, Shamrock fought 9 times, all within the Pancrase organization. He went 6–2–1 over that span, splitting fights with MMA legend and master catch wrestler Masakatsu Funaki, fighting to a draw with BJJ black belt Allan Goes (yet snapping Goes leg with a leglock in the process) and losing a close split decision in a rematch with Bas Rutten.

After an injury prevented King of Pancrase Bas Rutten from defending his title, an interim championship was created. Shamrock faced Olympic alternate wrestler and master submission grappler Minoru Suzuki on January 28, 1996 for the vacant belt in a match that drew widespread anticipation. In an epic bout, Shamrock submitted Suzuki with a kneebar at the 22:53 mark of the fight to win the King of Pancrase interim title in front of a sellout crowd in Yokohama.

Shamrock scored decision wins over Ryushu Yanagisawa and Osami Shibuya before facing off against Bas Rutten for the third time for the undisputed King of Pancrase title. Rutten won the bout via TKO due to a cut stoppage.

Shamrock then avenged his loss to Manabu Yamada in his next bout, scoring an impressive submission win over the talented grappler. Shamrock found success in Pancrase, but after his adopted brother Ken left the organization following a dispute with management, Shamrock was fired in retaliation.

Mixed martial arts[link]

On January 17, 1997, he lost to John Lober in Hawaii's Superbrawl by split decision, having dominated the fight until his lack of cardio became a factor. After his loss to Lober, Shamrock shifted the focus of his career exclusively to mixed martial arts. Shamrock then fought top ranked Japanese fighter Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in RINGS and defeated Kohsaka by decision.

Within the Lion's Den, Shamrock trained up-and-coming stars such as Jerry Bohlander, Pete Williams, and Guy Mezger. He also developed a close relationship with Maurice Smith, who trained him in kickboxing with Javier Mendez.

Shamrock then fought Enson Inoue in a bout in Vale Tudo Japan '97 that would determine who would fight Kevin Jackson for the newly created UFC Middleweight Championship. After an exciting back and forth battle, Shamrock knocked Inoue out with a knee, although the match was officially ruled as a disqualification win due to Enson's brother, Egan, running into the ring after Shamrock had knocked out Inoue. Shamrock later stated that this was the toughest fight in his career.^[4]

UFC Middleweight Champion[link]

After the win over Inoue, Shamrock joined the UFC and fought Kevin Jackson for the newly created UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship). Jackson had won the belt in a tournament at UFC 14 and was undefeated in MMA at the time, and was also the Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling for the 1992 Summer Olympics. Despite being a heavy underdog, Shamrock armbarred Jackson in just 16 seconds to win the championship.

Shamrock then made his first title defense against undefeated Extreme Fighting champion Igor Zinoviev at UFC 16. Zinoviev was a feared Russian kickboxer and sambo specialist who held wins over Mario Sperry and Enson Inoue. Shamrock shot a double leg takedown and slammed Zinoviev down so hard that it knocked him unconscious. Zinoviev suffered a broken collarbone and a fractured C-5 vertebra from the slam and had to be carried out on a stretcher.^[5] Zinoviev's fight with Shamrock forced him to retire permanently from mixed martial arts. Shamrock then defended his belt against Jeremy Horn at UFC 17, submitting him with a kneebar. In October 1998, Shamrock avenged his earlier loss to John Lober by beating him decisively in 7 minutes at UFC Brazil.

In September 1999, Shamrock defended the UFC Middleweight Championship against future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 22. Ortiz had exploded as a star after his confrontation with Shamrock's brother Ken and his Lion's Den camp at UFC 19. The bout was hyped as a grudge, as Shamrock was a former Lion's Den member who, according to the marketing, was out for revenge against Ortiz. However, this was not necessarily the case because Shamrock had left the Lion's Den on bad terms a year and a half earlier. Despite dominating his opponents in his previous title defenses, Shamrock was considered to be an underdog in this fight; Ortiz had come off convincing wins over Shamrock's former teammates Jerry Bohlander and Guy Mezger and popular opinion was that Ortiz was too big and strong for him to deal with (Ortiz cut weight to fight and by the time he stepped into the cage he would have 25 lb (11 kg; 1.8 st) on Shamrock).^[6]

However, in what is widely considered to be one of the greatest fights in UFC history, Shamrock won after brutal elbows, punches, and hammer blows forced Ortiz to tap out at the end of round 4. Shamrock has stated that Ortiz was his toughest opponent physically due to his weight advantage and style of fighting.^[4] With this win, Shamrock solidified himself as perhaps the greatest UFC champion in history to that date, going 5–0 in title fights and finishing each fight decisively. After the win, UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz and announcer Jeff Blatnick both praised Shamrock as the greatest competitor in the history of the UFC.^[6]

Shamrock then relinquished his title and retired from the UFC. After retiring, he briefly acted as a consultant and commentator for the company. In an interview, UFC president Dana White said:^[7]

"I've talked to Frank Shamrock many times. Frank Shamrock will lead you to believe that we've never talked and we completely have hated each other forever and everything else. He's a weird guy. He's a very, very weird guy. I can't explain it. Frank is a weird guy."

Return[link]

After a brief retirement, Shamrock returned to mixed martial arts as a career. He signed a deal to fight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu standout Elvis Sinosic at K-1, the premiere kickboxing event in the world. Shamrock beat Sinosic via unanimous decision after five three-minute rounds. Later, when Sinosic faced Tito Ortiz for the UFC light-heavyweight title (formerly the middleweight title) at UFC 32, Shamrock served as guest commentator. On August 11, 2001, he took on his former student, Shannon Ritch in a kickboxing match for K-1. Just 56 seconds into the first round, Shamrock broke Ritch's arm with a roundhouse kick and thereby won the match.

Shamrock helped to train UFC veteran B.J. Penn for his early bouts with the UFC at the American Kickboxing Academy and produced his own events Bushido and ShootBox. His first MMA match since 1999 was winning the WEC light-heavyweight championship in under two minutes from Bryan Pardoe by submission in March 2003.

On March 10, 2006, at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie, the first MMA event sanctioned by the state of California, he knocked out Cesar Gracie in 21 seconds. Gracie had never fought an MMA match and was 40 years old, so the fight was considered a serious mismatch. However, Gracie is an elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor with years of training under his belt as well being the mentor of students such as the Diaz brothers, Nate and Nick.

On September 14, 2006, it was announced that Shamrock had signed a multi-million dollar contract with startup MMA organization "The World Fighter" and was scheduled to fight in January 2007. However, Shamrock told Sherdog that the World Fighter contract no longer applied because it was entirely contingent on the organization getting a television contract with Showtime; the cable network instead agreed to air fights for the EliteXC promotion.

On February 10, 2007, Shamrock lost his fight by disqualification to Renzo Gracie during the EliteXC event which was televised on Showtime. Shamrock delivered two knees to Gracie's head while both men were on the ground. After a five minute injury time out, Gracie was unable to continue. Referee Herb Dean disqualified Shamrock due to a foul (illegal strikes to the back of the head, and knees to the head of a grounded opponent). Dean had already warned Shamrock once earlier in the fight about striking to the back of the head—an illegal move under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

In December 2005, Shamrock opened his first school, Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose, California. Shamrock trains his students in kickboxing and submission wrestling. He also manages Team Shamrock, his own fight team. In June 2006, Shamrock was chosen as a coach for the San Jose Razorclaws of the International Fight League. Debuting against Carlos Newton's Toronto Dragons on September 23, 2006 at the Mark in Moline, Illinois, The Dragons won 3–2. The Razorclaws subsequently lost 2–3 against the Ken Shamrock coached Nevada Lions on January 19, 2007.

Strikeforce[link]

Shamrock and Phil Baroni had engaged in a war of words with YouTube videos following Shamrock's fight with Renzo Gracie. The two faced off at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni, a co-promotion between EliteXC and Strikeforce on June 22, 2007, on pay-per-view.^[8]

Shamrock went on to out-strike Baroni in the first part of this fight in the stand-up. Shamrock was deducted a point for using strikes to the back of the head while he had Baroni's back. In the second round, Shamrock took some strikes from Baroni, but he was able to regain control and drop Baroni, transition to his back and end the fight with a rear naked choke. Baroni refused to tap out and was choked unconscious. As soon as he regained his senses, he walked over to Shamrock, congratulated him and left the cage. By winning the match, Shamrock became the Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, thereby making him the first person to win a title in all three major North American fight promotions: the UFC, WEC and Strikeforce.

Shamrock and Cung Le after their bout

On January 11, 2008, it was announced that Shamrock would face Cung Le in a match on March 29, 2008 for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship during the joint Strike force-Elite XC event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Le arguably controlled the fight, at times out-striking the more MMA-experienced Shamrock. At one point in the later stages of round 3 Shamrock appeared to have Le hurt but was unable to finish him with a barrage of punches against the cage. Le recovered and responded in the closing seconds of the round with more kicks and a spinning back fist. Shamrock was unable to answer the bell to begin round 4 due to a broken arm caused by one of Le's kicks and the fight was ruled a TKO as a result of corner stoppage. Shamrock indicated post-fight that these kicks had broken his right arm.

Shamrock publicly stated that he would like to face Ken Shamrock in the first quarter of 2009, until stating in an interview "there's no point in fighting Ken, he's finished, why beat on an old man?" causing the likelihood of this fight to now be very slim.^[9] Afterwards, he said that he would like to fight Tito Ortiz and then Cung Le and then "do some boxing stuff."^[10]

On April 11, 2009, Shamrock was defeated by Nick Diaz by technical knock out.

Retirement[link]

Shamrock announced his retirement from fighting on June 26, 2010 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Shamrock and his wife, Amy, reside in San Jose. The couple had a daughter named Nicolette on April 24, 2008.^[12] Shamrock also has a son, Frankie from a previous marriage.^[13] Shamrock runs a franchise of schools, a merchandising company, Frank Shamrock, Inc. (a personal asset management company), MMA Entertainment, and Mixed Martial Arts For Law Enforcement (a law enforcement training business).^[14]

Shamrock also wrote the Wiley book "Mixed Martial Arts for Dummies". In 1998, Shamrock had a falling out with his brother Ken and his father Bob; they would not communicate again until Bob became terminally ill years later. In separate interviews aired Jan. 18, 2007 by Sherdog.com's Beatdown radio show, both Frank and Ken said they remain estranged—Frank claimed Ken has spurned all attempts at reconciliation; Ken accused Frank of treating their adoptive father badly.^[15]

In an interview with Sam Caplan of sportsline.com, Shamrock revealed he felt concerned with Ken's training methods, and when he confronted Ken, he was told "You don't have what it takes, you're not going to be a world champion and I want you to run my gyms for the rest of your life." This spurred him on to leave which led to the estrangement of both Ken and Bob (who took Ken's side in the disagreement). He also stated that he would be happy to fight against Ken, should the opportunity arise.^[16] Ken feels the same way, stating on Sherdog radio network that Shamrock vs. Shamrock is a distinct possibility, stating that he taught Frank everything he knows and that it is wrong to proclaim yourself "The Legend", a moniker Frank has been using since his return at WEC 6.

On January 14, 2010, Frank and Ken Shamrock's adoptive father Bob Shamrock, died due to health complications from diabetes.^[17] Shamrock is a commentator and fighter on the EA Sports MMA video game which was released in 2010.^[18] On November 18, 2010, Shamrock appeared as a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.^[19]

Shamrock is featured in the feature-length documentary on the sport of mixed martial arts titled Fight Life, released in 2011. The film is directed by independent filmmaker James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films.^[20] After his retirement, Shamrock landed a guest role on Walker, Texas Ranger and the main role in a Burger King commercial. He was also featured as Damien in the 2005 movie No Rules.^[21] Also was uncredited in an episode of Oz.

In October 2012, Shamrock will be releasing his autobiography "Uncaged: My Life as a Champion MMA Fighter."

Championships and accomplishments[link]

[edit] Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, First, Then named Middleweight Championship)
  • Four successful title defenses
• Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
  • Interim King of Pancrase (One time)
• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, First)
• Contenders
  • Contenders Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (One time, First)
• Black Belt Magazine
  • 1998 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year ^[22]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 1998 Most Outstanding Fighter
  • 1999 Most Outstanding Fighter
  • 1999 Fight of the Year - vs. Tito Ortiz on September 24, 1999
• Other
  • Former WKC Submission Champion

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Kickboxing record[link]

Frank Shamrock kickboxing record
1 wins (1 (T)KO's) Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record 2001-08-11 Win Shannon Ritch K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, United States TKO (Injury) 1 0:53 1-0 Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Frank Shamrock Martial Arts Academy
• Professional MMA record for Frank Shamrock from Sherdog
• Frank Shamrock on Twitter
• Frank Shamrock on Facebook
• Frank Shamrock at the Internet Movie Database
• Five Ounces of Pain: Interview with Frank Shamrock
• Frank's Interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio

Conor Heun (born February 11, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He is currently signed with Strikeforce.

Mixed martial arts career[link]

Conor has fought for Strikeforce, EliteXC and the International Fight League, as a member of the Los Angeles Anacondas,^[2] during his career. Conor has also been featured on the MTV program Bully Beatdown.^[3]

Heun made his Television debut on a ShoXC card against Marlon Mathias. Mathais broke Heun's jaw a minute and a half into the first round with a well timed knee. Heun, showing the heart and warrior spirit he has come to be known for, kept fighting, winning the close fight via majority decision..

His next fight would be a second round TKO stoppage of James Edson Berto on the Elite XC "Heat" card made famous when Kimbo Slice was TKO'd in just 14 seconds by Seth "the silverback" Petruzelli.

Heun made his Strikeforce debut against former UFC fighter Jorge Gurgel on a ShoMMA card in June 2009. He lost the fight via decision and the fight was said to be one the best Strikeforce fights of 2009.

After a year off due to injury, he returned to the promotion on the Strikeforce: Los Angeles card. He faced boxer and former EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons on relatively short notice but lost the fight via split decision.

Conor recently fought Magno Almeida on the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum undercard. Heun displayed amazing submission defense and excellent ground and pound earning him the unanimous decision victory. Almeida caught Conor in a desperate armbar attempt at the buzzer which dislocated Conor's elbow.

Heun faced Ryan Couture at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on March 3, 2012.^[4] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.

Personal life[link]

Heun studied English Literature, Journalism, and Organizational Communications Learning and Design at Ithaca College.

Mixed martial arts record[link]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	9–5	CoutureRyan Couture	TKO (strikes)	Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey	02012-03-03March 3, 2012	3	2:52	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win	9–4	AlmeidaMagno Almeida	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum	02011-06-18June 18, 2011	3	5:00	Dallas, Texas, United States
Loss	8–4	NoonsKarl James Noons	Decision (split)	Strikeforce: Los Angeles	02010-06-16June 16, 2010	3	5:00	Los Angeles, California, United States
Loss	8–3	GurgelJorge Gurgel	Decision (unanimous)	Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg	02009-06-19June 19, 2009	3	5:00	Kent, Washington, United States
Win	8–2	BertoJames Edson Berto	TKO (punches and elbows)	EliteXC: Heat	02008-10-04October 4, 2008	2	2:18	Sunrise, Florida, United States
Win	7–2	MatiasMarlon Mathias	Decision (majority)	ShoXC	02008-03-21March 21, 2008	3	5:00	Santa Ynez, California, United States
Win	6–2	Noah Shinable	Submission (armbar)	OctoberFist 2007: Fight Night on Fright Night	02007-10-31October 31, 2007	1	1:17	Orange County, California, United States
Loss	5–2	DavisLC Davis	Decision (split)	International Fight League	02007-08-02August 2, 2007	3	4:00	East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
Win	5–1	WitTristan Wit	Submission (armbar)	IFL: Everett	02007-06-01June 1, 2007	1	3:59	Everett, Washington, United States
Win	4–1	SalinasGilbert Salinas	Submission (brabo choke)	Total Fighting Alliance 6	02007-04-28April 28, 2007	1	1:37	Santa Monica, California, United States
Win	3–1	CoronelClint Coronel	Decision (split)	IFL: Los Angeles	02007-03-17March 17, 2007	3	4:00	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	2–1	PastranaJonathan Pastrana	Submission (guillotine choke)	TFA 5: Conflict on the Coast	02007-02-24February 24, 2007	2	1:23	Santa Monica, California, United States
Loss	1–1	CooperBrett Cooper	Decision (split)	TFA 4: Fight Night on Fright Night	02006-11-03November 3, 2006	3	5:00	Carson, California, United States
Win	1–0	HenchMartin Hench	Submission (rear naked choke)	PF 1: The Beginning	02006-05-12May 12, 2006	2	0:46	Hollywood, California, United States

^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional MMA record for Conor Heun from Sherdog

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Dana White
Born	(1969-07-28) July 28, 1969 (age 42) Manchester, CT, U.S.
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Nationality	American
Occupation	President
Known for	Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship
Style	Boxercise [1]
Net worth	US$150 million (2010)[2]
Height	5 ft 11 in
Spouse	Anne
Children	3

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

Biography[link]

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.^[3]

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms^[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.^[5] White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.^[3]

White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had made a multiple year deal.^[6]

Controversy[link]

Loretta Hunt[link]

On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.^[7][8][9] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.^[10] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."^{[citation needed]}

Miguel Torres[link]

In December of 2011, White cut fighter Miguel Torres from the UFC after Torres tweeted "If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises." In an interview with Sports Illustrated confirming Torres' firing over the controversial remarks, White claimed "Now there's no explanation for that. There's absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that's funny or that's a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me." The firing of Torres immediately sparked controversy after it was revealed that White did not similarly punish two fighters of greater marquee value – Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, both of whom have fought in the main event of multiple Pay-Per-View cards and the latter slated to fight in the main event of a fight card scheduled to air on the FOX network on January 28, 2012 – for making similarly offensive remarks:^[11] Griffin commenting that "Rape is the new missionary"^[12] and Evans evoking the recent child abuse scandal involving Penn State University while promoting a fight.^[13] Torres has since re-signed with the UFC after having a talk with Dana.

Charity[link]

In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.^[14] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".^[15] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas.^[16]

Feud with M-1 Global[link]

After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,^[17] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.^[18][19]

On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.^[20] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.^[21] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.^[22] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults.^[23]

There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.^[24] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".^[25] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.^[26]

Personal life[link]

White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.^[27] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is "fascinated" by religion.^[28]

Accomplishments[link]

• Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)^[29]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
  • Promoter of the Year (2005–2011/present)^[30][31]
• World MMA Awards
  • Leading Man of the Year 2011
  • Leading Man of the Year 2010
• Armed Forces Foundation
  • Patriot Award^[32]

References[link]

External links[link]

• UFC homepage
• June/July Men's Fitness cover story
• Dana White at the Internet Movie Database
• Dana White on Twitter
• Dana White Signs Fox