I would watch it...

Ken Shamrock: A lifetime of work has earned me this chance
Steve Sievert, MMAjunkie.com
7 hours, 11 minutes ago

Buzz up!0 votes PrintKen Shamrock's days as an elite-level fighter are over. The 45-year-old is comfortable admitting to that reality.

But as Shamrock (26-13-2) recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), "The World's Most Dangerous Man" feels he has done enough for the growth of MMA to warrant his continued pursuit of an active career.

"This is my life," Shamrock said. "I helped build a lot of things in this business. So these guys that stand out there and say I shouldn't do this and I shouldn't do that, they're basically telling me I need to get out and be unhappy."

Now entering an astounding 17th year of professional fighting, Shamrock will compete against a near-400-pound Ross Clifton (6-8) at Friday's "Wargods: Valentine's Eve Massacre" in Fresno, Calif. While Clifton's sub-par record has drawn ire from some MMA observers, Shamrock said he believes the fight should serve the exact purpose it was designed for: entertainment.

"People always tend to want to question why people do things or have criticism to say," Shamrock said. "Bottom line, this is entertainment, and it's a fight.

"It's something that's interesting to me. I've never fought anybody that's that big before. I've seen a lot of other guys that have been able to do that and it just seemed interesting to me. It's another challenge for me to go in there and fight somebody that big.

"I've done everything in this business, but I haven't fought anybody that's 400 pounds. I thought, 'Man, what a challenge.'"

Leaving the past behind

Shamrock made his professional debut in Japan in 1993, fighting for Pancrase two months before his appearance at UFC 1. A pioneer in the sport, Shamrock has tainted his reputation in many observers' eyes by compiling a 2-8 record in his past 10 fights, including losses in his past five-straight contests.

His last appearance on the national scene was a disappointing last-second withdrawal from an October 2008 EliteXC bout with Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. Replacement Seth Petruzelli knocked out Slice in the now-infamous main-event, but many questioned the events surrounding Shamrock's withdrawal.

The Lion's Den head is looking forward to putting those demons behind him on Friday night.

"It's going to be nice," Shamrock said. "It's tough when you're looking forward to getting in there and fighting and something stupid happens and you don't get to fight. It's frustrating. So you have to get back in the gym and start training hard and get ready for the next one.

"I'm very fortunate and happy that I'm going to be in the ring so soon after this last disappointment. I am excited, and I'm looking forward to getting in there."

Many thought the controversial withdrawal was the last Shamrock would be seen in active competition, but the legend said he never doubted he would fight again.

"I knew I was going to get back in action," Shamrock said. "It's one of those things where you get injured and you're very frustrated. But I've been in this a long time, and these things happen. It's the ones that can put it behind them and move forward that are going to be around a lot longer."

Wargods, Lions and Tanks

When Shamrock steps into the cage on Friday night for Wargods, it will be for a promotion in which he is now a new partner.

"I've been trying to do promotions for a long time," Shamrock said. "I've done some small ones, and we've always done quite well at it. But it's a lot of work when you start moving up the ranks in promotion.

"It's a lot of work to put these shows on. With our personnel, we just have a handful of people. To do a really good show you've got to have more than that. So we were looking for someone to team up with that would help share the load and the work. That's why we were looking around."

Shamrock said he felt comfortable pairing his own Ken Shamrock Productions with the three-event-old California-based Wargods promotion based on their shared vision for the future.

"We met with Wargods and we talked to them," Shamrock said. "We felt the vision they had was a similar vision to what I had: Start out slow, build your company up, have good fights and have good promotions as best you can with the budget.

"Build it slow. Don't try to jump right up in the big leagues and take on everybody. Work your way up into the ranks. However far the fans will take you is how far you'll go."

Joining Shamrock on Friday's card will be fellow MMA legend David "Tank" Abbott (9-14). The 43-year-old Abbott has dropped eight of his past nine outings, but the legendary brawler is still willing to stand toe-to-toe with anyone willing to be locked in a cage.

Shamrock said it is that type of spirit that may end up being a driving factor in Wargods' success.

"We've talked to several people, and a lot of people are excited about [our business plan]," Shamrock said. "I think that with the way this business is, it seems like the guys that helped build this sport—and have done so much for this sport—because they're a couple steps slower are getting pushed to the side for these new and up-and-coming fighters, which is the way it should be. But that doesn't mean you can't have these guys fight on different cards, these legends that still want to fight, still have a fanbase and still have the ability to fight.

"They're not at the top-level anymore, but they can still go in there and throw down, and that's what they love to do. So we wanted to create an opportunity for those guys to be able to go in and still fight, still put on a good show and have their fans be able to watch them."

The future of "The World's Most Dangerous Man"

Shamrock and Abbott have both expressed a desire to square off in an April Wargods event, something the two never did in the early days of the UFC. Shamrock said he believes the two will make the fight regardless of Friday night's outcomes—and regardless of what critics may say.

"It's a fight that everybody wants to see," Shamrock said. "We're a little bit long in the tooth, but we both do it because we enjoy it. We've done a lot for the business, and we should be able to do it as long as we want.

"As long as we can get in there and put on good fights, and the fans want to watch us, we should be able to do this. People shouldn't be so critical about what we do. We've done a lot for the sport. We've done a lot of fights. I've had a lot of world championship bouts. Now I'm doing it because I'm enjoying it and I'm having fun. Leave me be. 'Tank' Abbott is another one. Let him go. Let us have fun."

Shamrock is also focused on the continued development of his Lion's Den fight team, and he will be providing an opportunity for fighters to train full-time who might not otherwise have been financially able to make the commitment.

"We're getting a fighter house built," Shamrock said. "We've already got it going. We're getting it furnished and all that. We're going to start placing fighters in there very soon.

"We want to come in and start giving guys opportunities that are struggling that don't have the ability to pay rent or get food or all that stuff. They'll be able to come into our house where the rent is low, they chip in with the food, and it helps them with the bills and stuff so they can continue on being fighters if that's what they want to do."

The legendary Lion's Den tryout process—a grueling series of strength and endurance tests—will still be an integral part of qualifying for the team.

"In order to get in the house, [potential fighters] will have to go through a tryout process in order to see how serious they're going to be. If you're going to live in that house, we're not going to let you have a free ride and then have you quit a year down the road when you get where you want to be.

"Within the next four to six weeks we're going to be advertising it. So anyone that's interested in coming out there and wanting to try out to be in the fighters' house, please contact us on our website at Ken Shamrock.com."

In the meantime, Shamrock will turn his attention to Clifton and the Wargods promotion. And no amount of outside interference will keep the "World's Most Dangerous Man" from fulfilling his current dreams.

"We're going to be putting on a lot of shows," Shamrock said. "We've got four lined up already. We've got one down in San Diego, Fresno, one in Reno, and then another one back in Fresno.

"We're looking forward to 2009 and putting on a lot of shows. Keep your eyes open and your ears open. We're going to start bringing some good fights.

"As for the critics, I would tell them when you get older and you don't want to quit your job, why should I have to quit mine? I love what I do. I want to keep fighting. And if I want to keep fighting, why shouldn't I be able to?

"I've done enough for this sport to be able to go a little bit longer than most."

Wargods: Valentine's Eve Massacre
Feb. 13 at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif.


Ross Clifton vs. Ken Shamrock
Wesley "Cabbage" Correira vs. Buddy Roberts
Mike Moreno vs. Gary Padilla
"Tank" Abbott vs. Mike Bourke
B.J. Lacy vs. Kyacey Uscola
Jen Bab**** vs. Jennifer Tate
Ashe Bowman vs. Isaac De Jesus
Tonya Evinger vs. TBA
Nate James vs. Ric Reeves
Josh Haynes vs. Rafael Del Real
Zolia Frausto vs. Karina Hallinan
David Espinoza vs. Bradon Pieper
John Morgan is the lead staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com.


Check out more UFC News at MMAjunkie.com. This story originally appeared on MMAjunkie.com and is syndicated on Yahoo! Sports as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.