Adopted and quasi-estranged brothers Frank and Ken Shamrock have apparently signed a contract to meet inside the cage once and for all sometime in 2009, according to a recent ESPN.com article.
The brothers have had somewhat of a behind the scenes feud going on for years. And a fight between the two has been talked about for a while and now … so take this latest announcement with a grain of salt.
Frank is a master promoter, which means that he could be using all the high profile attention Ken received for not fighting Kimbo Slice at Elite XC: “Heat” on October 4. In the past, he’s referred to fighting his brother as, “the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history.”
Here is his most recent take on the match up:
“We’ve both signed a contract to fight each other. Ken is down with it. We talked about it two years ago, and we’ve agreed materially to fight. The fight has a cool hook, brothers beating each other up. Everyone wants to see that.”
Frank has not competed since losing his Strikeforce middleweight title to Cung Le earlier this year. He could not answer the bell for the fourth round in a thrilling affair because his forearm was shattered during the fight.
He is also on the CBS “Saturday Night Fights” television announcer crew. And when Ken pulled out of the Slice fight because of a cut sustained hours for the bout, Frank — who has not been training for a fight and competes at 185 pounds — volunteered to fight the much larger Slice on two hours notice.
However, CBS executives reportedly nixed the idea and opted to go with Seth Petruzelli instead. The rest, as “they” say is history.
So since that horse left the barn, Frank switched public relations gears and now apparently is already beating his drum for a showdown with his 44-year old brother. For his part, Ken is equally game.
Here’s a snip from him:
“Will the fight happen? Absolutely. He’s got a buttkicking coming to him. Everything I’ve learned, everything I have bottled up in me, is going to come out on him. I’ve still got love for Frank, but I’m angry at him. He feels he’s better than me, but I always spanked him in the gym. Now he wants to show me. I figured he’d wait until I was 50 years old, but I guess he’s waiting until I turn 45.”
Ken is a mixed martial arts pioneer who has not won a professional fight in more than four years. In fact, he has lost eight of his last 10 fights dating back to 2001 and he’s on a five-fight losing skid.
A UFC Hall of Fame inductee, Ken dropped his first and most recent bout under the ProElite banner, losing to Robert “Buzz” Berry via first knockout at Cage Rage 25: “Bring it On” earlier this year.
That, too, was supposed to be a warm-up for the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” to groom him for a big money match down the road against either Slice, or his younger brother, Frank.
He didn’t deliver … and he rarely does these days.
But that may not matter Elite XC Head of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen appears warm to the idea.
Here’s what he had to say:
“They’re talking about doing it and we’re interested in the fight. It’s a storyline everyone can relate to, Cain versus Abel.”
It’s interesting that Elite XC is open to working with Ken after everything that happened as a result of him being scratched from the Slice fight.
He put them in a terrible spot. And then everything that has transpired since that night, including allegations of fight influencing, put the already struggling promotion in a much deeper whole of which to climb out.
Furthermore, is this really a fight that fight fans want to see or is it a fight that Frank and Ken think the fans want to see? Let is know what you think in the comments section below.
63 Comments »
This is borderline freakshow. Everyone knows Frank will win.
would’ve been a hell of a fight 10 years ago! too bad it didn’t happen then
“…I figured he’d wait until I was 50 years old, but I guess he’s waiting until I turn 45.”
That’s actually pretty funny. I would watch it.
I would watch, but would be more interested if Ken could win a fight or two first.
That was exactly the comment I was going to make!
Having said that, it’s still a fight that I would be very interested to watch.
and I’ll probably watch too. Kind of like driving by a mind-boggling horrendous car accident (the one’s where they use tarps as visual barriers), you don’t REALLY want to see, but you just have to look.
Frank is the biggest JOKE/weasel in the game! Its pathetic how a tough, well rounded fighter like frank refuses to ever face top 10 competition.
I will be actually rooting for Ken to punch a whole through his face!
You mean like Bob Sapp vs Giant Nortje??
Oh wait, no, that was a Strikeforce main event.
Lol! Sapp got owned
what a joke….
i personally have no interest in this fight. are they both really so desperate for a fight that they will fight their brother? kinda sad but whatever, if its a fight they want, BOOK IT! i got ken winning easy if it goes down. just looks trashy IMO
frank winning* my bad
I’m glade you cleared that up. I thought you were delusional for a second, lol.
I would have liked to watch this fight about 10 years ago. Now, no way. Frank still has skill and Ken has a jaw of jello and would likely get put down in an old folks home. Not interesting to me in anyway.
One word…pathetic. Frank can probably still compete as a gatekeeper or have some skilled fights, but ken is done. More sad attempts by elite xc and the shamrocks attempts to make a quick buck. i would watch this fight on free tv but on ppv, no chance.
i hope ken kills his bro.
if there is a fighter that i can say is my most hated?
it would be frank shammy.
isn’t frank from up your way
i would love to see this fight as long as i dont have to pay for it. Elite xc wants to venture in to doing ppv’s which i dont think anybody will purchase, elite will only be watched if it is free they dont put on enough good fights for people to have to pay, but i would like to see this fight as long as it is free.
I cannot see die hard, informed fans wanting to watch this fight. The casual mainstream fans will likely think this is cool stuff. I will likely watch it for free on CBS but if the UFC throws a free card or anything else, this card will be an afterthought.
i would consider myself a informed fan but i would still want to watch this fight just as long as i dont have to pay for it.
Is this Elite Xc’s big plan to save the company?
I think they are trying to show they can get ratings so they can sell out to Showtime for more money.
Pray for a double-ko everyone. Maybe if we all pray it will happen, two shamrocks knocked out cold on the canvas.
ha i was thinkin the same thing.. then they could both retire!!
i hope both of you have a double knockout and stop posting, how bout that?
I’
I’ll drink to that! Hey, does Frank have to wear a mouth guard on the bottom too because of his braces?
I think its a stupid fight. and frank will surely win.. But if you ask if im gonna watch, ya sure. Ill watch the fight on some mmawebsite after haha.
Who cares about these two dopes. On a seperate note, does anyone have any idea when/if Cung Le is getting back into the cage to defend his title?
word.
I’ll watch. For the novelty factor, if anything. Frank will destroy Ken.
I will never waste my time to watch a ken shamrock fight.
but you will waste your time reading about it and posting a response to an article, good call
winner of this fight is the coroner
This begs the question, who will Kimbo fight next? I think they need to bring in Gannon. If he defeats Gannon, that will help to start rebuilding his credibility. He would be extremely motivated for that fight as well. I could see Kimbo going all out to train for a fight like that. Think about it. This is after his first professional loss, this is the first guy to ever beat him in his street fights….he has a lot to prove with a fight like that and I could really see him going all out for it. KIMBO VS GANNON. Make it happen EliteXC!
I still Frank has a lot left in the game … Frank, not so much. He should’ve retired years ago and now his brother will break his face. His chin is brittle and he’s slow. This won’t break 3 minutes.
meant Ken in the first line
Do we really care?
i wont be watching i heard they’re gonna replay the khalib starnes marathon with nate quarry that interests me more
rofl
I don’t see how this is interesting.
Ken TKO’s himself via doctor stoppage during practice, hasn’t won a fight in years, and is way past retired. Frank is just a huge mouth attached to a sporadic fighter… he’s fought like 6 times in the past 8 years, which isn’t enough to make many fans care who he is.
As for the whole bro vs. bro thing… meh. They’re not really brothers, and they’re not really good fighters. This is shaping up to be a mediocre event.
Really, where does he get off saying it’s going to be the biggest fight in MMA history? These guys need to get over themselves.
I don’t know, this feud has been around for years and I’m kindof interested to see the outcome.
wats funny is both of these guys are so full of themselvers its pathetic!
i would be curious to see the fight though, but only for free torent download
frank will probably taunt him and put on a bit of a show like in the baroni fight and then finish him late 1st or early second round…
This would be a fun fight to watch. Not necessarily a great fight, but it’d be fun. Ken getting his ass beat by his younger brother, classic….
what a couple of retards. hows one gonna feel when they fuckin cripple their own brother by accident? not that i give a shit cuz both these idiots are pretty much ancient!
war brothers
Idiotic fight match-up. Could Elite XC just fold already? They are turning our sport into a joke. This is not a huge fight for fans. They are just giving MMA detractors ammunition.
Furthermore, I don’t think that CBS would want to be associated with this type of spectacle. This is more like WWE circus antics as opposed to a professional sport. The Shamrock’s certainly have an inflated sense of self-worth! Also, they aren’t brothers - it’s more like they were roommates for a couple of years. Elite XC needs to go bankrupt before they pollute the sport that we all really like. I agree with Dana’s recent rant.
Oh my god PLEASE DON’T DIE FRANK… YOU ARE SO F’IN OLD! This is ridiculous. Is the fight between Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood next? And don’t hit me with the Randy and Chuck crap. Two completely different fighters.
Im looking for this fight now. I want to really see how this turns out. Its different when you get in a fight with your bro. Plus, they both have really big egos. It might actually be a fun fight to watch. I have Franky tho in the first round. Franky is still a great fighter. Seriously. Alot of you guys talk shit, but he has only lost two fights in 10 years. One for his broken arm, which he still fought with for 4 rounds.. and then when he lost to the pussy ass henzo gracie, for hitting him in the back of the head. Which was totally accidental, Gracie was just taking a beating and looked for the easy way out.
Dont watch it if you dont want too.. but talking shit about these guys is just dumb. Franky is not washed up. Thats for sure. Hes got a few more years.
have you seen my helmet
They should call the event Elite xc “Shampoo”
OK, I’ll admit that I found that funny.
They should call this Elite XC: Nail in the Coffin. Add the kimbo vs Seth fight, and maybe a few other overrated or over the hill fighters. And the fights could be for the end of the career for all the losers. All the way to Elite XC. That could be their going out party. If they want to look to succeed theyd need to throw Kimbo in a fight with a respectable, young fighter. And pray he looks good. Great time for Kimbo vs Rogers.
maybe they can make a specail division for fighters over 40, Randy would rule but it would give these old farts a place to go, instead of getting murrderd buy the young guys. the ken vs tito fights, and ken vs franklin, was just embarassing for the guy.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA OH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA,,,IF KEN DOESNT SHUT HIS FINGERS IN A CAR DOOR OR CUT HIS FINGER OR….
THE WEIGH IN S WILL BE BETTER AND MORE ENTERTAINING THEN THE FIGHT ,AND THE LEAD UP AND MENU WILL BE AWESOME ….STRIKE FORCE OR ELITE XC????
they are both signed to EliteXC.
Ken introduced Frank to the MMA and trained him for a long period. Frank might be the only one Ken could possibly beat, these days if the younger brother hasn’t leant too many new tricks
Ryu was always better than Ken.
here is a tip.. check your spelling before releasing your article.. looks like an 8 year old wrote it