Frank Shamrock

Frank Shamrock
Born	(1972-12-08) December 8, 1972 Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	The Legend
Residence	San Jose, California
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 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)
Teacher(s)	Maurice Smith, Ken Shamrock
Years active	1994–2010
Mixed martial arts record
Total	35
Wins	23
By knockout	4
By submission	13
Losses	10
Draws	2
Other information
Notable relatives	Ken Shamrock, adopted brother
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

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 widely credited as being the #1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world during his reign as the UFC Middleweight Champion. Shamrock has also won numerous titles in other mixed martial arts organizations, including the interim King of Pancrase title, the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship, and the Strikeforce Middleweight championship.

He has been 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 as awarded by O-Sensei Philip S. Porter of the United States Martial Arts Association. He is the adopted brother of former UFC champion Ken Shamrock.

Early life

From the age of 12, Frank Juarez was placed in various foster homes, group homes, crisis centers and coincidentally, jail. 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. As his brother Ken did previously, Frank would later change his legal name to Shamrock.

Fighting career

Pancrase

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, impressively scoring a 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.

Post-Pancrase

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 KOed Inoue. Shamrock later stated that this was the toughest fight in his career.

UFC Middleweight Champion

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 was the UFC 14 middleweight champion 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 14 seconds to win the championship.

Shamrock then made his first title defense against undefeated Extreme Fighting champion Igor Zinoviev. 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. Zinoviev's fight with Shamrock forced him to retire permanently from mixed martial arts.

Shamrock then defended his belt against Jeremy Horn, 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.

Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz

File:UFC Frank vs Tito.jpg

Shamrock's fourth consecutive UFC Middleweight title defense against Tito Ortiz solidified himself as one of the greatest fighters of his era.

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).

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. 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.

Shamrock then relinquished his title and retired from the UFC. After retiring, he initially acted as a consultant and commentator but fell out with the owners of the UFC and is seldom mentioned on their broadcasts. He has stated that Dana White telephoned him after his fight against Cesar Gracie to try to get him to return, but said he will not return as long as Dana runs the company .

In an interview, Dana White said:

"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."

Acting

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. Also was uncredited in an episode of Oz. Currently, Shamrock is a subject and a co-producer for the MMA documentary Fight Life.

Return to fighting

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 Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz.

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 said to be 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 American Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

Trainer and IFL coach

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.

Frank Shamrock vs Phil Baroni

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.

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 Phil, 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, and only, person to win a title in all three major North American fight promotions: the UFC, WEC and Strikeforce.

Fighting for Strikeforce MMA

Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le

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.

Frank Shamrock vs Ken Shamrock

Shamrock has 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. Afterwards, he said that he would like to fight Tito Ortiz and then Cung Le and then "do some boxing stuff."

Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz

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

Retirement

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

However it is being rumored that Shamrock may return to MMA as he had been quoted as saying "I believe I still have more fights left in me, and the reason I started going downhill was actually because I haven't been fighting enough."

Personal life

Shamrock and his wife, Amy, reside in San Jose. The couple had a daughter named Nicolette on April 24, 2008. Shamrock also has a son, Frankie from a previous marriage. 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).

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.

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. 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. Shamrock will be both a commentator and fighter on EA Sport's MMA video game set for release in 2010. On November 18, 2010, Shamrock appeared as a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

MMA record

Professional record breakdown

35 matches	23 wins	10 losses
By knockout	3	4
By submission	14	2
By decision	5	3
Draws	2

Date	Result	Record	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time	Location	Notes
2009-04-11	Loss	23–10–2	Nick Diaz	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz	TKO (Punches)	2	3:57	San Jose, California, US	Fighting @ catchweight of 179 lb
2008-03-29	Loss	23–9–2	Cung Le	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le	TKO (Broken Arm)	3	5:00	San Jose, California, US	Lost Strikeforce Middleweight Championship
2007-06-22	Win	23–8–2	Phil Baroni	EliteXC / Strikeforce – Shamrock vs. Baroni	Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke)	2	4:00	San Jose, California, US	Became First Strikeforce Middleweight Champion
2007-02-10	Loss	22–8–2	Renzo Gracie	EliteXC Destiny	DQ (Illegal Knees)	2	2:00	Southaven, Mississippi, US
2006-03-10	Win	22–7–2	Cesar Gracie	Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie	KO (Punch)	1	0:21	San Jose, California, US
2003-03-27	Win	21–7–2	Bryan Pardoe	WEC 6: Return of a Legend	Submission (Armbar)	1	1:46	Lemoore, California, US	Became First WEC Light Heavyweight Champion
2000-12-10	Win	20–7–2	Elvis Sinosic	K-1 World Grand Prix 2000	Decision	5	3:00	Tokyo, Japan
1999-09-24	Win	19–7–2	Tito Ortiz	UFC 22 – There Can Be Only One Champion	Submission (Strikes)	4	4:42	Lake Charles, Louisiana, US	Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Forfeited title due to retirement
1999-04-23	Draw	18–7–2	Kiyoshi Tamura	Rings – Rise 2nd	Draw	1	20:00	Japan
1998-10-16	Win	18–7–1	John Lober	UFC: Ultimate Brazil	Submission (Strikes)	1	7:40	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
1998-05-15	Win	17–7–1	Jeremy Horn	UFC 17: Redemption	Submission (Kneebar)	1	16:28	Mobile, Alabama, US	Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
1998-03-13	Win	16–7–1	Igor Zinoviev	UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou	KO (Slam)	1	0:22	New Orleans, Louisiana, US	Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
1997-12-21	Win	15–7–1	Kevin Jackson	UFC: Ultimate Japan 1	Submission (Armbar)	1	0:16	Yokohama, Japan	Became First UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
1997-11-29	Win	14–7–1	Enson Inoue	VTJ 1997 – Vale Tudo Japan 1997	DQ (Egan Inoue Ran Into the Ring)	2	7:17	Tokyo, Japan
1997-10-26	Win	13–7–1	Wes Gassaway	WPC – World Pankration Championships 1	DQ (Rope Escapes)	1	?	Texas, US
1997-09-26	Win	12–7–1	Tsuyoshi Kohsaka	Rings – Extension Fighting 7	Decision	1	30:00	Japan
1997-01-17	Loss	11–7–1	John Lober	SB 3 – SuperBrawl 3	Decision (Split)	1	30:00	Honolulu, Hawaii, US
1996-12-15	Loss	11–6–1	Kiuma Kunioku	Pancrase – Truth 10	Decision	1	20:00	Tokyo, Japan
1996-09-07	Loss	11–5–1	Yuki Kondo	Pancrase – 1996 Anniversary Show	KO (Kick)	1	12:43	Chiba, Japan
1996-07-22	Win	11–4–1	Manabu Yamada	Pancrase – 1996 New-Blood Tournament, Round 1	Submission (Strikes)	1	12:44	Tokyo, Japan
1996-05-16	Loss	10–4–1	Bas Rutten	Pancrase – Truth 5	TKO (Cut)	1	11:11	Tokyo, Japan	Lost Interim King of Pancrase Championship
1996-04-08	Win	10–3–1	Osami Shibuya	Pancrase – Truth 4	Decision (Lost Points)	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
1996-03-02	Win	9–3–1	Ryushi Yanagisawa	Pancrase – Truth 2	Decision (Lost Points)	1	20:00	Kobe, Japan
1996-01-28	Win	8–3–1	Minoru Suzuki	Pancrase – Truth 1	Submission (Kneebar)	1	22:53	Yokohama, Japan	Won Interim King of Pancrase Championship
1995-12-14	Win	7–3–1	Vernon White	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 7	Submission (Achilles Lock)	1	5:23	Sapporo, Japan
1995-11-04	Win	6–3–1	Masakatsu Funaki	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 6	Submission (Toehold)	1	10:31	Yokohama, Japan
1995-09-01	Win	5–3–1	Takafumi Ito	Pancrase – 1995 Anniversary Show	Submission (Strikes)	1	7:23	Tokyo, Japan
1995-07-23	Loss	4–3–1	Bas Rutten	Pancrase – 1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2	Decision (Split)	1	15:00	Tokyo, Japan
1995-06-13	Win	4–2–1	Takaku Fuke	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 5	Submission (Strikes)	1	8:16	Sapporo, Japan
1995-05-13	Draw	3–2–1	Allan Goes	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 4	Decision (Draw)	1	10:00	Chiba, Japan
1995-04-08	Win	3–2	Minoru Suzuki	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 3	Submission (Strikes)	1	3:23	Nagoya, Japan
1995-03-10	Loss	2–2	Masakatsu Funaki	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 2	Submission (ToeHold)	1	5:11	Yokohama, Japan
1995-01-26	Win	2–1	Katsuomi Inagaki	Pancrase – Eyes Of Beast 1	Submission (Position)	1	6:14	Nagoya, Japan
1994-12-16	Loss	1–1	Manabu Yamada	Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round	Submission (Achilles Lock)	1	8:38	Tokyo, Japan
1994-12-16	Win	1–0	Bas Rutten	Pancrase - King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round	Decision (Majority)	1	10:00	Tokyo, Japan	MMA Debut

Championships

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (1 Time, First, Then named Middleweight Championship)

• Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling
  • Interim King of Pancrase (1 Time)

• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • WEC Light Heavyweight Championship (1 Time, First)

• Contenders
  • Contenders Light Heavyweight Championship (1 Time)

• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Middleweight Championship (1 Time, First)

• Black Belt Magazine
  • 1998 Full-Contact Fighter of the Year [1]

• 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

External links

• Official website
• Frank Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose, CA
• Tour of Frank Shamrock Martial Arts Academy
• Frank Shamrock's profile on ProElite.com
• Frank Shamrock's profile on EliteXC
• Professional MMA record ^
• Professional MMA record for Frank Shamrock from Sherdog
• Frank Shamrock International Fight League Page
• San Jose Razorclaws
• Frank Shamrock Demo reel - video
• Frank Shamrock interviewed by local sports anchor Gary Radnich - video
• Frank Shamrock has Sights Set on Lofty Future
• MMAFighting.com - 10 questions with Frank Shamrock
• LA Times - It's showtime for Frank Shamrock by Dave Meltzer
• Frank Shamrock interview with Stuff Magazine
• Five Ounces of Pain: Interview with Frank Shamrock
• Frank Shamrock at IMDb
• Frank's Interview with John Kline of Elevation Radio