Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
The Lion's Den
Lions den.png
Est. 1994
Founded by Ken Shamrock
Primary trainers Ken Shamrock
Guy Mezger- Lion's Den (Dallas)
Past titleholders Ken Shamrock 1st King of Pancrase (Pancrase 1994); Superfight Champion (UFC)
Guy Mezger 7th King of Pancrase (Pancrase 1998)
Roy Nelson IFL Heavyweight Champion 205 lb (93 kg)+
Frank Shamrock UFC middleweight champion, Strikeforce middleweight champion
Vernon White KOTC middleweight champion
Training Facility Locations United States Reno, Nevada
United States Dallas, Texas
United States Scottsdale, Arizona
Official Website Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den
Lion's Den Dallas

The Lion's Den is a mixed martial arts team and training facility that was based out of Susanville, California but has recently moved its headquarters to Reno, Nevada. The team was founded in the early 1990s by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock, and was the most dominant fight camp in the early UFC. It featured fighters such as Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Vernon "Tiger" White, Jerry Bohlander, Tra Telligman, Pete Williams, and Mikey Burnett. The Lion's Den now has a clothing line run by Ken Shamrock.

The formation of the Lion's Den by Ken Shamrock revolutionized MMA because it set the standard for how modern MMA camps are constructed.

Contents

[edit] Establishment

The team was founded out of necessity, as the then-new sport of mixed martial arts began to take off in the early 1990s. Shamrock, who had fought at UFC 1, had trouble finding adequate sparring partners to prepare for fights. Shamrock attracted the attention of American fighters Vernon White and Guy Mezger early on, and formed the first ever mixed martial arts team. In trying to come up with a name for it, Shamrock recalled a documentary he saw about lions. The documentary showed how a group of lions hunted their prey and worked together. He felt his group of fighters should work the same way and be like a family, so he chose to name his gym the Lion's Den.

[edit] "Top of the Food Chain"

The Lion's Den was massively successful for many years. Fighters such as Guy Mezger, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, and Jerry Bohlander all became UFC Champions. Mikey Burnett came very close to winning the UFC Welterweight Championship, losing a controversial split decision to Pat Miletich at UFC Brazil, a fight that many to this day say that Burnett won. Mikey Burnett, Frank Shamrock, and Jerry Bohlander were also considered to be three of the best pound for pound fighters in the world during their time with the UFC in the late 1990s.[1] Guy Mezger was consistently ranked in the top 10 as a Light Heavyweight during his time with the UFC and PRIDE, and was ranked as high as the #6 Light Heavyweight fighter in the world in 2001, behind such notable names as Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, and Vitor Belfort.[2]

Other fighters, such as Tra Telligman and Pete Williams, earned the respect of the MMA world by defeating giants of the sport in upset fashion. Telligman defeated one of Pride's best fighters, Igor Vovchanchyn, at Pride 13 in a stunning upset. After this victory, Tra was ranked as the #10 Heavyweight fighter in the world in MMA.[3] Williams, likewise, knocked out former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman in devastating highlight reel fashion with a high kick to the head in overtime at UFC 17, and eventually earned a UFC Heavyweight Championship title shot. Pete Williams was also ranked as high as the #6 Heavyweight fighter in the world as of May 2000.[4] The Lion's Den was also very successful in the Pancrase organization. Ken Shamrock and Guy Mezger became King of Pancrase multiple times, and Frank Shamrock won the interim King of Pancrase title.

The Lion's Den also attracted many top fighters from outside to seek help in their training, including UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman, UFC 6 tournament Champion Oleg Taktarov, and UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. After losing at UFC 5, Taktarov went to live and train with the Lion's Den, and subsequently went on to win the UFC 6 tournament. Maurice Smith, a world class kickboxer, offered to help the Lion's Den with their striking in exchange for help with his submission and ground skills. While training with the Lion's Den, Maurice Smith defeated Mark Coleman to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and became the first striker to survive the attack of a world class wrestler. Smith later joined forces with Lion's Den fighter Frank Shamrock to form their own team, called The Alliance. Coleman, after losing two fights in a row to Lion's Den fighters, went to train with the Lion's Den and was coached and cornered by Ken Shamrock at UFC 18.

[edit] Lion's Den Champions

[edit] Tryouts

Historically, The Lion's Den is known for its brutal try-outs because once accepted into the Den, the members would live in Ken's home having their food provided by Shamrock. Shamrock used this tryout to measure the heart of a prospective fighter, and as a means of determining how serious the fighter was about dedicating his life to mixed martial arts. Ken needed to make sure only the best and toughest got through. The try out consisted of the following:

  • 500 squats
  • 200 push ups
  • 200 sit ups
  • Sprints while carrying a man of near equal weight on their back
  • 2-mile (3.2 km) run with a man of equal weight on your back
  • Repeated runs up and down bleacher steps
  • Bear-crawls up steep hills
  • Lugging heavy barrels of water and sand bags up steep hills

The candidates who were still left at this point would then go on to do as many pull-ups as they can without stopping.

From there, the candidates went to the actual Lion's Den facility for several hours of sparring. Shamrock wanted fighters that could get through this ordeal without quitting, even after their body had failed on them. It was at this point, when the candidate was still trying even long after their muscles had failed, that Shamrock knew he had a Lion's Den member on his hands. The Lion's Den tryouts have even been criticised for their level of brutality.[5]

Ken Shamrock has since adjusted the tryout. Currently, The Lion's Den conducts tryouts by showcasing fighters' skills in a series of drills and live competition put on by Ken Shamrock. The new tryout format allows Ken to evaluate toughness and skill, while making cuts to determine who he wants to represent the Den.

[edit] Feuds

The Lion's Den has engaged in a feud with Tito Ortiz. The feud began to build when Ortiz, with his fingers, acted like he was shooting at the Lion’s Den corner and coach Ken Shamrock after his win over Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18, and additionally put on a disrespectful shirt and in the octagon after the fight with Bohlander. The feud exploded after his second fight with Guy Mezger at UFC 19 when Ortiz put on a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch" and gave the middle finger to the Lion's Den corner. Ken Shamrock leaped onto the top of the cage and screamed at Ortiz, angrily waving his finger in Ortiz's face and ordering Ortiz to put a cease to the disrespectful acts. Ortiz's antics enraged the Lion's Den, especially Guy Mezger and leader Ken Shamrock.

Ortiz then fought Frank Shamrock at UFC 22 for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Shamrock defeated Ortiz via submission from strikes, and proceeded to make an obscene gesture at Ortiz's corner after the victory.

At UFC 40, Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in one of the biggest and most hyped MMA fights of all time. Ortiz defeated Shamrock by corner stoppage after the third round ended. After the fight was over, Shamrock raised Ortiz's hand and embraced him, seemingly putting an end to the rivalry. However, Shamrock fought Ortiz with a torn ACL (a severe knee injury), and when Shamrock made light of his injury, Ortiz took it as Shamrock making excuses for the loss and they began feuding again. The rivalry did not end until 2006 at Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 - The Final Chapter, where Ortiz defeated a 42 year old Shamrock by KO due to strikes.

The Lion's Den has also engaged in a feud with Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The Lion's Den claims that their submission fighting style is superior to Gracie Jiu Jitsu, while the Gracie's have maintained that their style is superior. Specifically, Ken Shamrock has been a long time rival of Royce Gracie, and Frank Shamrock has engaged in a feud with the Cesar Gracie camp.

[edit] IFL Fight Team

The Lions Den was one of the camps who participated in the late International Fight League. Coached by MMA legend Ken Shamrock, the Lion's Den took the place of the Nevada Lions when the IFL decided to focus more on a camp-based system than a team-based system. Roy Nelson, a member of the Lion's Den, was the IFL's final Heavyweight Champion before it disbanded.

[edit] Other associated fighters

[edit] References

  1. ^ Max Muscle Interview: The Ultimate Fighting Machine
  2. ^ http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f2/history-odds-rankings-2001-2004-a-975549/
  3. ^ http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f2/history-odds-rankings-2001-2004-a-975549/
  4. ^ Bloody Knuckles MMA Top 10- May 2000
  5. ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/13117/lions-den-to-open-in-connecticut-ken-shamrock-holding-tryouts-nov-2.mma

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Professional mixed martial arts training associations
North America:
South America:
Asia:
Europe:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_Den_(mixed_martial_arts)"