Talkin’ MMA With Ken Shamrock
Published by Scoop Malinowski on September 30th, 2008 in Interviews

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Eye On The Prize: Ken Shamrock Discusses Kimbo Fight

Living legend Ken Shamrock has a golden opportunity to extend his career in a major way if he can take care of business against Kimbo on October 4. In this interview, Ken Shamrock discusses the tricky assignment of taking on the much ballyhooed man from Miami which will be televised by CBS…

MMAMemories.com: Listening to the conference call you and Kimbo did two weeks ago, it seemed kind of interesting how Kimbo said a few times how losing to you - of your reputation and renown - wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It’s kind of odd to hear that kind of attitude in boxing or MMA. Maybe is he paying you respect? Did you notice that?

Ken Shamrock: “Yeah, I did. And I don’t read that much into that because he’s a young fighter. He’s probably getting a lot of heat from getting pushed as big as he is. He’s probably getting a lot of heat. He’s probably just - I don’t know - damage control? Let everybody know that he’s humble. I don’t know. I wouldn’t go in that direction. I’d definitely be a lot more confident than that.”

MMAMemories.com: Describe your emotions when you landed this high-profile match opportunity.

Ken Shamrock: “My emotions were, when I first heard about it, were, DON’T LOSE THIS ONE. GET IT DONE. I knew this was a good fight for me.”

MMAMemories.com: What will most concern you about the Kimbo arsenal?

Ken Shamrock: “Well I think the most important thing is with somebody like Kimbo, you tend to see all his flaws. But you don’t recognize his strengths because you see things that he’s done and you’re like, Wow, he’s not that good. The thing is that you gotta realize is, if you drop your guard and he hits you, you’re gonna go down. So he’s a dangerous fighter. And I have to take him seriously. If I don’t and I make a mistake, that could be a short night for me.”

MMAMemories.com: Were you surprised that they picked you?

Ken Shamrock: “I knew that they were trying to find a good fight for Kimbo. A fight that would put him over. But they knew that they had to be very careful because, if somebody was gonna beat him then it needed to be somebody that they could still promote. And still keep their show going. So they had to cycle through and find what would be the best opponent, so that if Kimbo gets beat, they’re okay. And so they chose me and I’m very happy that they did because I think it was probably one of the best moves they could have made for their organization. Because, I mean, you know what man? Hey, I’m a draw. People love to watch me fight. I love to fight for people. And it shows. So, therefore, after I beat Kimbo, they’re not gonna have a hard time selling tickets.”

MMAMemories.com: Does Kimbo compare or remind you of any of your previous opponents?

Ken Shamrock: “He reminds me a lot of Kimo. Where he has potential - but I think he lacks discipline.”

MMAMemories.com: How is training going, how is the body feeling?

Ken Shamrock: “My body feels great. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. It’s just a wonderful feeling when you go and you train and you see results from your training. Rather than, you train and you’re irritated, your body’s not recovering because of some injuries. It’s just a good feeling when you train and your body’s actually responding to it.”

MMAMemories.com: What is it going to take for to come out the victor with your hand raised in this fight vs. Kimbo, do you believe?

Ken Shamrock: “I think it just takes me, just make sure that I stay focused, I stick to the game-plan. And I take the fight to him.”

(Note: Stay tuned for our next interview where Ken talks about why he’s impressed by Fedor, Roy Nelson vs. Andre Arlovski, the finest performances of his illustrious career and the toughest man Ken’s ever faced.)