MMA
Should Ken Shamrock Retire From Professional Fighting?
Just recently living MMA legend Ken Shamrock lost another fight in the cage. This time against veteran cage fighter and extremely effective kicker, Pedro Rizzo from Brazil, who himself is not even close to current World Championship status, but who can still cause some serious damage.
46-year old Ken Shamrock, who at the peak of his professional fighting career was also known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, is still in incredible shape, but unfortunately he doesn’t implement the way he was known for or better feared of.
Together with legendary Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock was the first MMA fighter to be inducted into UFC’s Hall of Fame just 5 years ago.
The vast majority of his recent fights, Ken Shamrock has lost during the first round, which just has to be to frustrating to say the least.
With his name recognition he still can get crowds excited to show up in throes to watch him step into the cage.
With his vast experience and extraordinary fighting skills that encompass some of the best submission grappling prowess the world has ever witnessed, I firmly believe that Ken Shamrock could easily become a highly sought champion trainer/instructor, fight commentator/analyst and so much more that would even pay some serious dinero.
So, again I ask you “Should MMA Legend Ken Shamrock retire from professional fighting?’
While you contemplate, enter “The Lion’s Den” and meet one of the best MMA fighters ever, Ken Shamrock:
The Man Who Dethroned MMA Legend, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko
Considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all times, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko was undefeated in 28 straight fights for just about 10 years and that’s truly impressive in my book.
Even though, some critics would say that he hasn’t fought for UFC and thus hasn’t competed against the truly best Heavyweights in the world and that would currently include somebody like Brock Lesnar.
Nevertheless, last Saturday Strikeforce sent Fedor into the cage to fight two-time BJJ World Champion, Fabricio “Go Horse” Werdum, from Porto Alegre, Brazil, who had a record of 13-4-1.
Sherdog ranks heavyweight Fabricio Werdum #9 in the world.
Already 2 1/2 years ago he defeated Fedor’s brother, Aleksander via arm triangle choke in the first round.
Last Saturday, Fabricio made history by dethroning “The Last Emperor” after just around 1 minute into the first round!
Check out how he made Fedor tap:
Fabricio Werdum will now get a title fight against Dutchman Alistair Overeem, who he beat 3 years ago via Kimura, and so he continues to manifest his reputation as a formidable submission fighter.
Do You Think And Act Like WEC-Champion Jose Aldo?
I will be honest with you: I didn’t get to watch yesterday’s World Championship bout between these two great featherweight mixed martial artists, who both fight for WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting):
Urijah “The California Kid” Faber vs. Jose “The Phenom” Aldo
Let’s not forget that the bout took place in Faber’s hometown of Sacramento and I am guessing the overwhelming majority of the 15,000 screaming spectators was probably screaming for Faber.
But that did not deter the reigning world champ from Brazil, Jose Aldo, from dominating the match and inflicting serious pain to former title holder, Urijah Faber, who was in charge of this weight division for some time before losing to Mike Brown.
Jose Aldo has now 17 wins and only 1 loss to his record and Urijah Faber’s record 0f 23-4 is nothing to sneeze about either.
Anyway, I found a statement by Jose Aldo that I really think are true words by a true champion:
“My dream of winning the belt came true. I’ve worked my butt off to get here.
But now every time I have a match, I don’t look at it like I’m defending the belt, I’m going out there like this is a brand new fight and I’m going to win a brand new belt.
It’s like I have a brand new dream and that is to get another belt. So even though I am the champion, when I go to the gym I’m still very humble, always wanting to learn and wanting to get better.”
That’s the kind of attitude I can appreciate.
Kudos, Jose “The Phenom” Aldo!
A Very Unusual Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com
I Really Hope Thiago Alves …. - 26 Year Old Brazilian MMA Fighter And Superb UFC-Welterweight FacingThe Biggest Challenge Of His Life.
Do You Punch Like A 7 Year Old? I wish I could punch like this kid. Find out what I mean.
Inglourious Basterds And Infamous Choke On The Ground Got Me Thinking About A way Out.
Move Over, Jackie Chan And Jet Li, Because Here Comes Donnie Yen Who Stars Again As Wing Chun Legend, Ip Man
The Kid From Beaufort Who Became Heavyweight Boxing Olympic Gold Medalist And World Champion And I Had No Idea Until Last Week.
Erin Go Bragh! And Don’t Forget The Shamrocks! Ireland Forever And Boy, Did I Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day In Savannah.
I would apppreciate your feedback to any of my previous posts and even topics that I haven’t touched on yet.
Talk soon.
I Really Hope Thiago Alves ….
… gets well and everything works out for him.
Just in case you don’t know what and who I’m talking about:
Thiago Alves is the 26 year old Brazilian MMA fighter who was supposed to fight tonight in UFC 111 against fellow welterweight fighter, Jon Fitch.
Both fighters are considered among the very best this weight class has to offer.
And just today I heard the shocking announcement that Thiago Alves was taken off the fight card because of a so-called brain irregularity found in a CAT scan.
Tonight’s UFC 111 events take place in New Jersey and from what I learned their State Athletic Commission did not give their O.K. to Dana White’s team to let Thiago fight and show off his superb Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in The Octagon.
Of course, Thiago will undergo further tests next week to determine what the next steps will be. This is a real bummer.
I really hope Thiago Alves gets well and everything works out for him whatever a successful future has in store for him.
In the meantime, check out Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves’ story:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCDkfvEEVBI[/youtube]
Erin Go Bragh! And Don’t Forget The Shamrocks!
Hey guys,
Got back from the second largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade and festivities in the United States.
After New York City, Savannah is a close second when it comes to the best that St. Patty’s has to offer.
On a quick side note, St. Patrick’s Day is an official holiday in Ireland, but not necessarily the official drinking day it is here in the U.S. of A.
But back to Savannah, Georgia: This city of somewhere around 200,000 population has a long tradition celebrating everything Irish.
This year’s parade was its 187th and there are quite a number of citizens of Irish heritage.
On the Eve of St. Patrick’s Day I was able to witness several bands of bag-pipers face off. It was absolutely mesmerizing.
These guys come from as far away as NYC, Boston and even the Emerald Isle, aka Ireland!
We didn’t celebrate into the wee hours, because we had to be at Calhoun Square by 5:30 a.m. and that meant getting up at 4:15 a.m.!
Why so early if the parade doesn’t start until 10 in the morning?
Traditions are strong here, which means securing your curbside spot at 6 a.m. to set up your chairs, gazebos and all your goodies. And that means a lot of food and drinks with friends and family.
The parade was amazing and went for around 4 1/2 hours. What a great experience thanks to our newly found friends and life-long Savannahians.
I guess everybody makes the connection between Irish and their national symbol, the three-leaf clover or shamrock.
The shamrocks I want to remember today are former UFC fighters and brothers, Ken and Frank, who are legendary in their own right.
Let’s start with Ken Shamrock (UFC Hall of Famer), who was the first Superfight Ultimate Champion before the title was renamed to Heavyweight Champion.
During his reign this one-time professional wrestler was considered the world’s best mixed martial artist and even today he is still considered one of the best fighters of all time.
Ken Shamrock is the older adopted brother of former UFC champion, Frank Shamrock.
At one time known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, Ken Shamrock is also the founder of one of the most successful MMA camps, “The Lion’s Den”.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x916quqsRAE[/youtube]
And then there was his younger adopted brother and fellow UFC champion, Frank Shamrock.
Nicknamed “The Legend”, Frank has also been called the best competitor in UFC history.
He held the UFC Middleweight title, before it was renamed Light Heavyweight.
Like his brother, Ken, he is also an expert at submission fighting.
Nowadays, Frank is in great demand as a fight commentator and coach.
Here some great tips from the author of “Mixed Martial Arts For Dummies”:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLs4ifdjLYg[/youtube]
What A Week In Review At The MartialArtsReporter.com!
St. Patrick’s Day was awesome and the rest of the week wasn’t too shabby either.
If you are a single mom or know someone who is, please take note of this Personal Safety Alert For Single Moms.
We all know that Bruce Lee could punch and kick, but he also knew something about the art of fighting without fighting.
Surprise – surprise! What you didn’t know about pro golfer Phil Mickelson.
Going Green: Happy St. Patrick’s Day And Irish Stick (Shillelagh) Fighting!
This guy blows me and his opponents away: The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Amazing: Ultimate Fighting has become a household name, but what did the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 1, Look Like?
Talk soon, my friends.
The Best Pound-For-Pound Fighter, Also The Best Ever Fighter In The World?
Without further ado, we’re talking about Brazilian Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Silva is UFC’s Middleweight Champion of the world with 10 consecutive wins and many say he has made his weight division so boring through his seemingly invincible fighting style that the calls are getting louder for him to either lose weight to fight against GSP or gain weight to fight against Lyoto “Dragon” Machida.
Silva’s MMA record is pretty amazing: 25 wins vs. 4 losses!
His last loss was over 4 years ago via disqualification by illegal side-up kick against Japanese Yushin Okami.
Silva’s fighting arsenal is more than just impressive in my book. It’s overwhelming and at times overbearing for any opponent.
Besides being a long-time Black Belt in Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, “The Spider” is a highly trained Muay Thai fighter and Western boxer.
He turns 35 in April and has expressed plans to retire fairly soon, whatever soon means. His UFC contract still calls for at least 3 more fights. We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, check out some of Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s career highlights and be impressed:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U030eKQp2Lc[/youtube]
UFC 111 Main Event GSP Vs. Dan Hardy
British contender Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy isn’t falling for the Gatorade’s recommendation that one should never EVER fight Georges St. Pierre.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-VIpCxyZaA[/youtube]
Dan Hardy is getting his title shot at the UFC World Champion Welterweight title on Saturday, March 27, in New Jersey.
The only hurdle he has to take is beating the one and only Franco-Canadian Georges St. Pierre, who is known as “The Perfect Fighter” and who is considered by many the best Welterweight ever.
Revered by many more, GSP is the complete package with extraordinary striking, kicking, takedown and grappling abilities that have put him at the top of the game.
His professional attitude toward preparation and analyzing his opponent is legendary.
I featured him here three months ago, with the title Meet The Amazing UFC-Champion Georges St. Pierre (GSP).
Dan Hardy is a very proficient striker with great timing and GSP will have to be very diligent in his approach to defending his title.
This could be a good one!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15K9T_XWAps[/youtube]
Martial Artist Wesley Snipes Co-Starring In “Brooklyn’s Finest”
Thought you might appreciate to know that we will be able to see fellow martial artist Wesley Snipes in a new movie to be released early March 2010.
The title is “Brooklyn’s Finest” and besides Wesley Snipes, stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke.
And here’s the storyline:
Burned out veteran Eddie Dugan is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut.
Narcotics officer Sal Procida has discovered there’s no line he won’t cross to provide a better life for his long-suffering wife and seven children.
And Clarence “Tango” Butler has been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his prison buddy Caz, one of Brooklyn’s most infamous drug dealers, played by Wesley Snipes.
With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces daily tests of judgment and honor in one of the world’s most difficult jobs. When NYPD’s Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn’s gritty 65th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals.
During seven fateful days, Eddie, Sal and Tango find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny. ~ Baseline StudioSystems
The stunts should be pretty impressive, considering that John Cenatiempo was the stunt coordinator. He has done a lot of great work in movies and TV shows such as Body of Lies, Life on Mars, The Wrestler, I Am Legend – just to name a very few.
But back to Wesley Snipes, whom we could consider a mixed martial artist, because he trains or has trained extensively in Shotokan karate, Capoeira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu and Jiu Jitsu.
It’s been some time that he was able to put his acting and martial arts skills on display. The wait is over!
I am looking forward to seeing Wesley Snipes in Brooklyn’s Finest. This should be a good one.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XaJ98sBUEc[/youtube]














