Last November Ken Shamrock mentioned his intention to sue the UFC for not allowing him to complete the second and final fight of his UFC contract.
Now it’s official.
In a lawsuit filed last Tuesday in Nevada, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” claims he made a two-fight deal with the UFC that would allow him a second fight after finishing his trilogy with Tito Ortiz at UFC: The Final Chapter back in October of 2006.
Shamrock had the option of not fighting for a second time if he chose to retire after his final bout with Ortiz (which he did). Then in June of 2007 Shamrock had a change of heart and tried to return to the Octagon for his second fight but the UFC had already moved on, accepting Shamrock’s October retirement as the end of their relationship.
While he may be a UFC hall-of-famer and pioneer of the sport, the 44 year-old Shamrock is 2-8 in his last ten fights, including five straight (T)KO losses since 2004.
Perhaps the UFC chose to accept his retirement at face value. Or perhaps Ken Shamrock is no longer a marketable fighter whose diminished skills puts him one fight away from serious injury.
Either way, it’s clear the UFC has no intention of using him in future events - which Shamrock seems to be okay with - so long as he’s paid.
Does the UFC have a financial obligation to Shamrock? Or did Shamrock surrender that obligation on the day he retired?
That is a matter to be settled in court.
Though I have a pretty good idea what the verdict is in the court of public opinion.
50 Comments »
He has nothing better to do… His MMA career is pretty much destroyed.
I’m by no means a fan of Shamrock, nor do I think that he is capable of fighting ANYBODY in the UFC, but come on…
Why should the UFC be able to bind people into their contracts (Randy Couture); yet just cut people from their contracts if they so choose (Ken Shamrock).
If the contract says you get x amount of fights in the UFC at x amount of dollars per fight… you probably should be obligated to perform those fights (Randy) but you should also be ALLOWED to perform those fights (Shamrock).
You people think that just because he is terrible (I agree) he doesn’t have the right to fulfill an honest contract.
If the UFC is unsattisfied with someones performance, they should either have them fight on the undercard or just pay them the amount that they would have otherwise earned for themselves for the fights.
Give Shamrock his bread and send him home.
First, the NFL does the same thing with its contracts. Players can be cut at any time for any reason, even if they still have four years left on their contract. It has a negative affect on the salary cap, but the team is not responsible for paying the remaining money. Second, Shamrock had the option of a second fight or retiring and chose to retire. That removes any UFC obligation to him. The UFC can then choose to honor his retirement, which it did, or hold him to the remaining fights, like they are with Couture.
Pw: i believe u may be right. Its not like they cut him, he chose to retire, then he decided to come back and fight for other organizations, so why shold he now be allowed to come back to the UFC and fight for the amount of his old contract?
Shamrock basically did to the UFC, what Couture is trying to do….Retire from the UFC, but fight with other organizations. Couture may be able to argue that he is trying to do exactly what Shamrock did. The UFC did not block Shammy from fighting in other organizations so why should they be allowed to block Couture?
Tell Shamrock to beat it! He probably has another fight against Tito waiting for him on some EliteXC CBS card!
The UFC is a great organization with many flaws. I think that Randy Couture will benefit from any comments that the UFC makes on Ken Shamrock. Apparently, they make up the rules as they go and when they see fit. Ultimately, a good company could lose good fighters and fans alike if issues like this keep coming up. Dana, in my opinion, is a genius in how he had a goal and has conquered the market. However, one bad business decision with a beloved fighter or fighters could spoil his dreams. I am sure there are things we are not aware of behind the scenes, but how can they release one and not release the other. Of course we know it’s about the money for all parties in most cases, but it’s really to bad that it has to be this way. I predict that if UFC is in the spot light to many times that when fighters contracts are over they are going to search out ohter promoters even if they get paid less to feel more appreciated. Appreciation goes a long ways and ultimately decides who stays and who doesn’t.
Hang em up Ken! I dont want to see you kill yourself in there…
I think that Shamrock should have had a chance to return to the octagon… But it seems like the UFC has decided to move onto bigger and better things, putting Shamrock to the side.. I think shopping around to other organizations would be a smart idea.. Let’s see..
I think he’s decided he doesn’t want to face off with Kimbo anymore. He must have finally gotten some sense knocked into him after his last fight and wants out of the fighting scene. He wants some quick cash and then I can see him trying to get in the announcing booth with somebody.
Please don’t try and twist this on dana as it seems everything is danas fault listening to mma fans.
Facing off with Kimbo Ahahahahahahaha… That would be pretty funny to see. I think Shamrock has done his time.. It was time for him to retire. If the UFC doesn’t want to take him, he should go looking into other organizations, and if they don’t take him, it should be a clear point for him..
He got beat up in cage rage.
Facing off with Kimbo Ahahahahahahaha… That would be pretty funny to see. I think Shamrock has done his time.. It was time for him to retire. If the UFC doesn’t want to take him, he should go looking into other organizations, and if they don’t take him, it should be a clear point for him..
On a level fighting field who is there for him to fight in the UFC? They dropped Elvis Sinosic so I can’t think if anybody
tito ortiz
How can someone come out of retirement and sue? Is he serious, hopefully the courts throw this one out. This has to be the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time!
Depending on the similarities between the two contracts, this lawsuit could have interesting implications for the Couture ordeal.
Gawd enough with ScamRock..You were done after the first Tito fight..go back to coaching……I mean golfing, like you did with your team in TUF.. Having them golf instead of train.
God I love that pic of Shamrock. I laugh everytime I see it. He looks like he wants to go home badly.
did you see that fight? Shamrock showed alot of heart, although heart doesnt always get you the win…clearly if you are outclassed, then you are just outclassed. I can gaurantee you he did not want to quit, in fact it is the opposite actually..HE DOESNT KNOW WHEN TO QUIT!
true that
UFC has notoriously 1 sided contracts, you fight until they say you don’t, and if you try to end it first you can’t peried
everyone wants to fight for them though. and i think they are notoriusly one-sided to fighters who cant perform anymore. its that way in all sports, fair or unfair
I’m surprised Joe Silva didn’t think of this matchup first. Let Ken Shamrock fight Mark Coleman. Ken “can fight” at Heavyweight. Winner fights Brock Lesnar.
have coleman beat the hell out of him
It’s crazy how he cut down to 185lbs for that fight.. I can’t imagine Tito ever cutting that much weight again.
Shamrock, next LHW Champ???
for sure!
Yeah i mean Tito had his number for sure but I think he could give Rampage a serious run for his money because Shamrock may struggle against wrestlers like Tito but his stand up is second to none.
Who cares?!
Does anyone even want to see him fight anymore??
Hey Ken, guess what, people have figured out how to escape an ankle lock, move on.
I think he is going to lose the suit based on the fact he entered a contract with another organization and thus if he had considered his contract with the UFC to legit, he terminated the work agreement between them by fighting in Cage Rage.
Good luck though Ken, he is a warrior.
This is the only way Ken is ever going to get to see his name and UFC in the bold letters together.
Give up Ken before you get seriously injured. As a Hall of Fame member let fans have memories of you winning back in the day instead of getting your ass whipped.
I’m usually the first one to defend Dana, but on this one no way.
Ken Shamrock has given so much to this organization, and was such an instrumental part of its growth, pay him his last fucking fight money already.
Send your first hall of famer off with class, UFC.
Whoa whoa whoa! Isn’t this Randy Couture’s situation in reverse. UFC terminated Ken contract because he retired. But if Randy Couture retires he is still under UFC contract and has to fight in the UFC if he returns. UFC just want to pick and choose which contracts they honor.
No its not. Randy is the HW Champ who wants to fight in another organisation but as yet has not, due to legal reasons.
Shamrock has been elsewehere, fought, lost and wants another bite at the UFC cherry and the UFC money.
If Randy wasn’t the champ there wouldn’t be a courtcase.
That’s bullshit. The UFC is basically interpreting “retirement” however it would best suit them in any given situation. Shamrock “retires” and they view it as ending his contract. He changes his mind, and they still refuse to honor his contract, since they deem it over and done. Couture “retires” and they immediately act as though he’s under some sort of permanent contract that has no end date and is can only be fulfilled by X number of remaining fights. Sure, it’s because he was the champ, but it’s still bullshit. A contract is a contract, so if Couture is still under contract - either for X fights or X months - then they would have to view the Shamrock contract in the same light.
And I’m not a Shamrock fan, I’m just saying, the UFC’s contractual red tape bullshit is annoying, and they can’t just make up their own rules as to what defines “retirement” as it pertains to the duration of a legal contract.
The UFC is rightfully not letting Randy “retire” from the UFC, then “unretire” in a different organization. Randy is behaving like a bratty little kid at recess calling time-out right before the ball rolls into his goal, grabbing the ball and running to the other end of the field and calling time-out over right when he kicks it into the other goal. Rest assured, if Shamrock was one-tenth the draw that Couture is right now the UFC wouldn’t have let Shamrock out his contract either.
The outcome of this case will at the very least influence Randy’s attorney’s actions.
Clayton: I would have to agree. The outcome would probably influence the couture ruling. The only problem is that court cases are extremely messy and i am not so sure that the courts will come up with a ruling on Shamrock’s case before they come up with a ruling on the Couture case!
His bro Frank Shamrock said Shamrock takes steroids and HGH did yall know that? No wonder he’s so buff for a 44 year old man.
Shamrock has no future in the UFC, he should retire once and for all, he might be a good assistant coach, because as a coach he sucks really badly.
Although it would be interesting to see what the court has to said about this, let’s see what the contract says and if the UFC really didn’t follow it.
Shamrock should have delayed making the decision to retire. To change his mind afterward means nothing to those that gave him the chance to make the decision in the first place.
Really, though. I think the most important issue here is not Ken (honestly, who cares) but what clauses pertaining to retirement and return the Shamrock contract has in common with the Couture contract. Ken’s retirement then subsequent desire for completion of remaining fight(s) is the entire issue of contention in this suit, so at least that part of the contract will soon be a matter of public record. Then, Couture and his attorney can see if the clauses are similar or identical in his contract act accordingly. I realize the cases have many differences, but the UFC has o be careful with what they do before they destroy and leverage they have over Couture.
In the words of Brock Lesnar. “Who cares?” lol Like Jesse said, 2-8 in his last 10 fights, he’s become the next Tank Abbot. I sure hope he’s doing this just for the money, because him fighting pretty much anyone in the UFC will end with bas results for him.
These are two totally different cases! They seem similar, but they’re really not. Randy’s contract says that he can retire, but not retire from the UFC and fight for another organization. When Ken retired his contract was voided and nullified. The wording in the contracts is different. Ken doesn’t have what it takes to be competitive so why should the UFC promote a fight that isn’t good for them, or the fighter. Yes Shamrock is a warrior, but no one wants to see a punch drunk Ken getting his skull crushed anymore! Ken I thank you for all that you have done for the sport, but know when to say when. You’re a competitor at heart and we all appreciate that, no one with any respect for the sport wants to see a Hall of Famer end up like Rocky!
No one but Randy and the UFC knows what Randy’s contract actually says. These two cases are different, sure, but the wording in the clauses about retirement could be similiar or even identical.
Doesnt this guy have friends who can tell him that he is washed up and ready to do something else.Why or who do you want to fight in the UFC?
PW, you backed up what the guy said that the UFC interprets it’s contracts. For someone to say Randy’s contract says this, and Shamrock’s contract says this, dude really that did not make you look smart. I mean as though you have read the contracts. Shamrock is not saying he wants to fight, he is simply saying I want my contractual pay. Anyone who says the cases are different, come on, they are both about one word retirement sounds the same to me. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Randy and his attorney wasn’t behind this, since the UFC’s actions on this will have direct implications on his case. Big Jake I have signed contracts with some of the biggest companies in this world, and have never even heard of a contract that states after you retire you can’t work somewhere else. His contract probably states that while under contract to the UFC, he can’t promote, nor fight for another company. The question will be how the judge interprets Shamrocks contract.
shamrock should be banned from mma. he has deteriorated so bad that no sanctioning body should allow him to fight again. of course japan would be the exclusion, they would let ken fight a cardboard cut-out of himself as long as it sold tickets.
I agree b.w., Shamrock should not be allowed to fight again. I really like the guy and respect everything he did for MMA. I just worry about his health, when you start seeing a guy bruise that bad after fights, he really is in jeopardy of a brain injury.