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Ken Shamrock (born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick on February 11, 1964 in Macon, Georgia) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He is best known for his participation in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and for his professional wrestling career with the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Ken is currently a subject matter expert in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Ken has written two books, Beyond the Lion's Den and Inside the Lion's Den
MMA Career
Shamrock competed in the first Ultimate Fighting Championship show in November 1993 where he progressed to the semi-finals, losing to eventual tournament winner Royce Gracie. Afterwards, Shamrock vowed to avenge his loss to Gracie. However, it would be nearly a year and a half later before he got his chance. At UFC 5 in May 1995, Shamrock and Gracie squared off in the UFC's first ever "Superfight." Unfortunately, the match did not live up to expectations. At UFC 5 the UFC had instituted time limits and Shamrock and Gracie fought for the entire allotted time of 30 minutes along with 5 minutes of overtime before the match was declared a draw. Shamrock then defeated Dan Severn for the newly-created Superfight belt, successfully defending this title against Oleg Taktarov and Kimo Leopoldo. In 1996 he lost the belt via judges decision in a rematch with Severn. As of 2006, Ken is still making occasional appearances in the UFC.
Shamrock also founded the Lion's Den, a group dedicated to the training of mixed martial arts fighters. Many Lion's Den fighters such as Pete Williams, Jerry Bolander, and Tra Telligman have achieved some success in mixed martial arts.
Shamrock's Lion's Den has engaged in a feud with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. Ortiz defeated Lion's Den fighters Jerry Bolander and Guy Mezger, eventually facing Shamrock in one of the highest-selling mixed martial arts Pay Per View events of all time in the United States. At UFC 40, Ortiz defeated Shamrock when Shamrock's corner threw in the towel.
April 9, 2005, was a turning point in Shamrock's career and future in mixed martial arts. In the main event, the first ever UFC appearance on basic cable TV, on the popular reality series The Ultimate Fighter finale, Shamrock faced rising star Rich Franklin in a light heavyweight bout. Although Shamrock had more experience and managed to get Franklin in a painful submission, he was defeated by a TKO in the first round when Franklin took advantage of Shamrock's slip (while executing a kick).
On October 24, 2005 Shamrock lost to fellow mixed martial arts legend Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba in PRIDE: Fully Loaded, by TKO. The decision to stop the fight was controversial to some, including Shamrock, since he was able to get right back up after being knocked down. However, Ken did turn his back to Sakuraba and wasn't intelligently defending himself, so the referee stopped the fight. His own 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. Was it early? Sure it was early. But was he getting his ass kicked? Yeah. It just depends on how you want to look at it. I tried to look at it abstractly and I saw a guy sleeping with his head through the second rope. That’s not good, because if I’m there, please somebody stop this."*
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. At UFC 61 Shamrock and Ortiz had a rematch of their UFC 40 fight.
On July 8, 2006 Shamrock faced Ortiz for the second time at UFC 61- Bitter Rivals and lost in 1:18 of the first round by technical knockout called by referee Herb Dean. Early in the first round 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 got Ortiz into his full guard. This, however, did not stop Ortiz from using one of his hallmark ground and pound tactics of maneuvering his opponent against the fence of the Octagon and then striking from above. After maneuvering Shamrock to the fence, Ortiz landed a barrage of five elbow strikes to Shamrock’s head, prompting Dean to stop the fight.
MMA Record
26 wins (2 KO's, 22 submissions, 2 decisions), 11 losses (4 KO's, 4 submissions, 2 decisions), 2 draw.Professional wrestling 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 Vince Torelli 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 promotions, Fujiwara Gumi and Pancrase. He continued to wrestle until the mid-1990s, when he began focusing on his mixed martial arts career.
After gaining national attention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Shamrock returned to professional wrestling, signing a three year, $3 million USD contract with the World Wrestling Federation on February 24, 1997. On March 23, 1997, Shamrock, identified as Ken Shamrock and billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Man", 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 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. Shamrock went on to challenge Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship at "D-Generation X" 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 final. Following the King of the Ring, Shamrock feuded with Owen Hart, with Hart defeating Shamrock in a "Hart Family Dungeon match" and Shamrock defeating Hart in a "Lion's Den match". 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 World 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 storyline 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 15, but the reigning champion, Road Dogg, was able to retain his title by pinning Goldust while Shamrock and Venis brawled 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. After breaking away from the Corporation, thus turning face once more, Shamrock went on to lose to The Undertaker at Backlash. In May, Shamrock, Big Show, Mankind and Test formed The Union, a stable of wrestlers in opposition to the Corporate Ministry. The Union dissolved 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 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 injured inflicted by Jericho's bodyguard, Mr. Hughes.
Shamrock returned to professional wrestling in March 2002, refereeing a Ring of Honor match between American Dragon and Low Ki. 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. 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 industry once more.
Finishing and signature moves
- Ankle lock toe hold
- Guillotine choke
- Rear naked choke
- Side belly to belly suplex
- Fisherman suplex
- Heel hook
- Hurricanrana
- Jumping calf kick
- Kimura
- Kneebar
- Roundhouse kick
- Straight ankle lock
Championships and accomplishments
- Mixed Martial Arts
- Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
- 1994 King of Pancrasist (first)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- First-ever UFC Superfight Champion
- UFC Hall of Fame Inductee
- Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
- Professional wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 226 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI Most Improved Wrestler Award (1997)
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- 1-time SAPW Heavyweight Champion
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- World Wrestling Federation
- 1-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 1-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (with Big Boss Man)
- 1998 King of the Ring
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 2002 Feud of the Year (versus Tito Ortiz)
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 WWF 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.
Ken has 3 sons: Ryan, Connor, and Shawn and 1 daughter with his first wife. He has 3 step children with his second wife Tonya. Ryan Shamrock, a character played on-screen in the WWF, is not really Shamrock's sister. In fact, they dated for a brief period before breaking up in 2003.
He appeared in the films Champions, Virtuosity, and Scarecrow Gone Wild and he appeared in an episode of That 70's Show.
External links
1964 births | American mixed martial artists | American professional wrestlers | Living people | People from Georgia (U.S. state) | San Diegans
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