Frank Shamrock
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| Frank Shamrock | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Born | December 8, 1972 |
| Town of birth | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Fighting style | Catch wrestling, kickboxing |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 21 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 13 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III on December 8, 1972 in Santa Monica, California) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Shamrock was the first Middleweight champion in the UFC and retired as the 5-time undefeated champion. Shamrock was also crowned a temporary king of Pancrase, and was awarded the title The Fighter of The Decade for the 1990s.[1] He is the adoptive younger brother of legendary mixed martial arts fighter and former professional wrestler Ken Shamrock.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Childhood
From the age of 12, Frank Juarez was placed in various foster homes, group homes, and crisis centres. He eventually went to live with Bob Shamrock, who had taken in hundreds of troubled boys (including Frank's older adopted 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 Frank Shamrock.
[edit] 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 debut in the Pancrase organization in December 1994.
He debuted as a fighter in Pancrase on December 16, 1994, winning a decision victory over Holland's Bas Rutten. Shamrock went on to defeat Minoru Suzuki on January 28, 1996 to become the Provisional King of Pancrase. Before a sellout crowd in Yokohama he managed to lock a kneebar on Suzuki to secure the win and gain the provisional title that had been created because Rutten was unable to defend the title due to injury. He later lost to the returning Rutten in May 1996. Shamrock found success in Pancrase, but after his brother Ken departed the company, following a falling out, Frank was fired.
[edit] Post Pancrase
On 17 January 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.
Within the "Lion's Den", Frank 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 went on to compete in the RINGS promotion, as well as in Vale Tudo Japan '97 and UFC Japan.
In 1997, Frank had a falling out with Ken and 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 [1].
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 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.
[edit] UFC
Shortly afterwards, Shamrock fought the undefeated Kevin Jackson for the newly created UFC middleweight title. Enson Inoue had been due to fight Jackson, because the event was scheduled for Yokohama, Japan and the UFC were seeking Japanese fighters to take part, however Shamrock was scheduled to fight Inoue inbetween, so it was decided that the winner of that fight would meet Jackson for the title. Shamrock knocked Inoue out with a knee and then forced Jackson submit to an armbar in 22 seconds to take the middleweight title (which the UFC later renamed the light-heavyweight title). He went on to defend the belt successfully against Igor Zinoviev, Shamrock took Zinoviev down with a powerful slam that knocked him unconscious and broke his collarbone, finishing his fighting career.
In October 1998, Shamrock avenged his earlier loss to John Lober by beating him in 7 minutes at UFC Brazil; Lober had made the return match personal by sending insulting and crude e-mails to Shamrock.
In September 1999, Frank Shamrock defended his middleweight title against Tito Ortiz at UFC 22. Shamrock won after elbows, punches, and eventual hammerblows to force Ortiz to tap out.
Shamrock then relinquished his title and retired from the UFC. There have been rumors that Shamrock retired simply to leave the UFC without having been defeated for the title. 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 and get him to return, but said he will not return unless he owns the company. In an interview, Dana White said:[2]
"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."
[edit] Acting
After his retirement, Shamrock landed a guest role on Walker, Texas Ranger and the main role in a Burger King commercial.
[edit] Return to fighting
After a brief retirement, Shamrock returned to mixed martial arts as a career. He signed a deal to fight 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 and protege, 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 trained UFC veteran B.J. Penn at the American Kickboxing Academy and produced Bushido and ShootBox. His first MMA match since 1999 was winning the WEC light-heavyweight championship in under two minutes from Bryan Pardoe 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 a MMA match and was 40 years old, so the fight was a serious mismatch.
On September 14, 2006, it was announced that Frank 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 knee strikes to Gracie's head while both men were on the ground. Referee Herb Dean called a stop to the fight as a bewildered and wide-eyed Gracie gasped for breath and struggled to stand up. After a five minute injury time out, Gracie was unable to continue due to a concussion. Herb Dean then disqualified Shamrock due to a foul (illegal strikes to the back of the head, and knees to the head of a grounded opponent). Dean reasoned that he 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 MMA.
[edit] Trainer and IFL coach
In December 2005, Shamrock opened his first school, Shamrock Martial Arts Academy in San Jose, CA. 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 3-2 against the Ken Shamrock coached Nevada Lions on a January 19, 2007.
[edit] Private life
Shamrock and his wife, Amy, live in San Jose. Shamrock also has a seventeen year old son from a previous marriage.
[edit] Trivia
Frank Shamrock's dominance of the UFC middleweight division stirred up an urban legend that the back of the middleweight championship belt (the one that he wore during his reign) had the initials FJS (Frank Juarez Shamrock) engraved on it.
He has stated toughest opponent physically was Tito Ortiz due to his weight advantage and style of fighting, and his toughest ever fight was against Enson Inoue: "He had about 20 pounds on me, and he about finished me off before I knocked him out."
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that Shamrock tried to arrange an MMA match with Kurt Angle after Angle stated his intention to fight in MMA. Shamrock has confirmed this and that Angle had other plans in mind and chose not to consider the fight.
Shamrock runs a franchise of schools, a merchandising company, Frank Shamrock, Inc. (a personal asset management company) , MMA Entertainment (an entertainment company) and a law enforcement training business.
Shamrock was featured as Damien in the 2005 movie No Rules.
[edit] MMA record
| 21-8-1 as of February 10, 2007. | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
| Loss | Renzo Gracie | DQ (Knees to the head of a downed opponent) | EliteXC - Destiny | 2/10/2007 | 2 | 2:00 | |
| Win | Cesar Gracie | KO (punch) | Strike Force-Shamrock vs. Gracie | 3/10/2006 | 1 | 0:21 | |
| Win | Bryan Pardoe | Submission (Armbar) | WEC 6-Return of a Legend | 3/27/2003 | 1 | 1:46 | |
| Win | Elvis Sinosic | Decision | K-1-Grand Prix 2000 Final | 12/10/2000 | 5 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Tito Ortiz | Submission (Strikes) | UFC 22-There Can Be Only One Champion | 9/24/1999 | 4 | 4:42 | |
| Win | John Lober | Submission (Strikes) | UFC Brazil-Ultimate Brazil | 10/16/1998 | 1 | 7:40 | |
| Win | Jeremy Horn | Submission (Kneebar) | UFC 17-Redemption | 5/15/1998 | 1 | 16:28 | |
| Win | Igor Zinoviev | KO (Slam) | UFC 16-Battle in the Bayou | 3/13/1998 | 1 | 0:22 | |
| Win | Kevin Jackson | Submission (Armbar) | UFC Japan-Ultimate Japan 1 | 12/21/1997 | 1 | 0:16 | |
| Win | Enson Inoue | DQ (Egan Inoue Ran Into the Ring) | VTJ 1997-Vale Tudo Japan 1997 | 11/29/1997 | 2 | 7:17 | |
| Win | Wes Gassaway | DQ (Rope Escapes) | WPC-World Pankration Championships 1 | 10/26/1997 | 1 | N/A | |
| Loss | John Lober | Decision (Split) | SB 3-SuperBrawl 3 | 1/17/1997 | 1 | 30:00 | |
| Loss | Kiuma Kunioku | Decision (Unanimous) | Pancrase-Truth 10 | 12/15/1996 | 1 | 20:00 | |
| Loss | Yuki Kondo | KO (Kick) | Pancrase-1996 Anniversary Show | 9/7/1996 | 1 | 12:43 | |
| Win | Manabu Yamada | Submission | Pancrase-1996 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 1 | 7/22/1996 | 1 | 12:44 | |
| Loss | Bas Rutten | TKO (Cut) | Pancrase-Truth 5 | 5/16/1996 | 1 | 11:11 | |
| Win | Osami Shibuya | Decision (Lost Points) | Pancrase-Truth 4 | 4/8/1996 | 1 | 15:00 | |
| Win | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Decision (Lost Points) | Pancrase-Truth 2 | 3/2/1996 | 1 | 20:00 | |
| Win | Minoru Suzuki | Submission (Kneebar) | Pancrase-Truth 1 | 1/28/1996 | 1 | 22:53 | |
| Win | Vernon White | Submission (Achilles Hold) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 7 | 12/14/1995 | 1 | 5:23 | |
| Win | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission (Toehold) | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 6 | 11/4/1995 | 1 | 10:31 | |
| Win | Takafumi Ito | Submission | Pancrase-1995 Anniversary Show | 9/1/1995 | 1 | 7:23 | |
| Loss | Bas Rutten | Decision (Split) | Pancrase-1995 Neo-Blood Tournament, Round 2 | 7/23/1995 | 1 | 15:00 | |
| Win | Takaku Fuke | Submission | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 5 | 6/13/1995 | 1 | 8:16 | |
| Draw | Allan Goes | Draw | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 4 | 5/13/1995 | 1 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Minoru Suzuki | Submission | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 3 | 4/8/1995 | 1 | 3:23 | |
| Loss | Masakatsu Funaki | Submission | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 2 | 3/10/1995 | 1 | 5:11 | |
| Win | Katsuomi Inagaki | Submission | Pancrase-Eyes Of Beast 1 | 1/26/1995 | 1 | 6:14 | |
| Loss | Manabu Yamada | Submission | Pancrase-King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 | 12/16/1994 | 1 | 8:38 | |
| Win | Bas Rutten | Decision (Majority) | Pancrase-King of Pancrase Tournament, Round 1 | 12/16/1994 | 1 | 10:00 | |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ International Fight League: Coaches
- ^ While Frank held the title it was known as the middleweight title, but was later renamed the light heavyweight title.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Shamrock Martial Arts Academy
- Professional MMA record ^
- Frank ShamrockInternational Fight League Page
- San Jose Razorclaws
- 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 the Internet Movie Database
| Previous champion None |
1st UFC Light Heavyweight[2] Champion December 21, 1997 - unknown |
Next champion Tito Ortiz |
