"Well, he's probably in a wheelchair now because he couldn't get out to the ring against Kimbo. You know what I mean? But really, it's been a matter of logistics and every time I got close, Ken took another fight and then something bad happened. So it's like this is a 2nd strike and I don't think there's going to be a 3rd. I think we have to fight or I gotta let it go," stated legendary Frank Shamrock as he talked about his highly anticipated clash with his brother Ken. You don't want to miss what else he had to say as he talks more about Ken and shares his thoughts on the recent CBS EliteXC card, Kimbo Slice, why he thought Seth Petruzelli was a bad matchup, his own willingness to step in for his brother and much more.
PC: How is everything going Frank?
FS: It has been fantastic; another crazy week down the drain.
PC: Are you in full training or are you taking it easy?
FS: No, no! I train all of the time. I'm not in a fight camp now, but I'm training 5 days a week for a couple hours a day.
PC: Will it be okay for you to fight with your braces?
FS: I sure hope not. You know what? I don't know too many people that are out there fighting with braces. It's definitely new territory and I'm pretty good with the whole new territory thing. I have an exceptional doctor, Miles Guyton, and he is going to custom make my mouthpieces for each one of my fights. As my teeth grow, he's going to help me grow with them.
PC: What did you think of the CBS EliteXC show?
FS: All in all, I thought it was a good show. I have since gone back and watched it and I totally enjoyed it. The whole Ken thing was awfully weird; the whole night was weird. It was just a weird night.
PC: Who were you most impressed by and who disappointed you from that card?
FS: I was impressed the most by Gina Carano. She steals the show every time. She always hits the home run and she is just a fantastic performer. I was most disappointed in Ken, frankly. I don't even know how to describe how terrible that was. That was not cool.
PC: That close to the fight, what do you think he could have been doing like that to get the gash?
FS: Well, Ken always goes hard. Ken's idea of going light is putting on gloves. Ken is from the old school where training was fighting and fighting was training. He has to realize that it's not that way anymore. You have to chill out; it's about technique and strategy.
PC: Were you a little surprised at how light he came to the weigh-in?
FS: No! His natural body weight is about 205 pounds. He's been blowing up for years and years, but the truth is he's about 2 inches taller than me and he's naturally about 15 pounds heavier than I am. I think he was actually in really good shape and he was probably pretty focused for it. But old habits die hard and they caught up to him this time.
PC: What was your initial reaction to him pulling out of the fight? I heard you offered your services.
FS: Yeah! You know, we had a big powwow to try and figure it out because without a main event, we really didn't have much of a show. We were there trying to figure out what to do and about an hour into it, I raised my hand and said, "Look, I'll step up and fight him and make the show a show. Shamrock replacing a Shamrock." I put it out there and up until an hour before the show, I was fighting in the main event and it just didn't work out that way. It was what it was. I put my suit on and went out there and did my job.
PC: What were you weighing in at on the night of the fights?
FS: I was weighing 191 pounds, which is what I always weigh, but I fought Tito Ortiz at that weight when he was 230 pounds and I fought Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at that weight when he was 245 so I'm not worried about the big guys.
PC: Tito Ortiz was present at the fights and your name was mentioned to him. Is that a fight you're hoping Elite could put together?
FS: Oh yeah! It's a built-in story. We had an epic fight years ago and those are the things that
usually they don't happen more than once in the industry. The fact that Tito and I are both fighting at a very high level on a very big stage and it just makes for a great story.
PC: I know you were hoping that Ken would defeat Kimbo to set up a fight between you guys. Are you going right into a fight with Ken without a build up fight just to get it over with?
FS: Yeah, it's gotta be done. My goal is to get that fight done the first quarter of next year. I've been working on that for about 2 ½ years now and I think it's go time.
PC: I interviewed him right before the Kimbo fight and he said to tell you that he's not getting any younger, but maybe you're wanting to wait until he's in a wheelchair.
FS: Well, he's probably in a wheelchair now because he couldn't get out to the ring against Kimbo. You know what I mean? But really, it's been a matter of logistics and every time I got close, Ken took another fight and then something bad happened. So it's like this is a 2nd strike and I don't think there's going to be a 3rd. I think we have to fight or I gotta let it go.
PC: You didn't think it was a good idea to let Kimbo face Seth Petruzelli in the main event. Could you explain why you didn't think it was a good idea?
FS: I just thought that
Seth is a great kid and he's really tough, but no one knows him and that's the problem. Kimbo has this great marketing and great mystique and it's a big gamble to gamble that on someone that nobody knows. All of your marketing is shot. My point to them was, why take the risk. If I beat Kimbo, everybody gets it and Kimbo remains Kimbo. If Seth beats Kimbo, Kimbo is done, at least the mystique of Kimbo. It's like when Mike Tyson lost his mystique when Buster Douglas knocked him out. Everybody was like, "Maybe he's not that tough." Well, with Kimbo, he had gotten to that point with 4 fights. That's not a good investment with a star and a brand for the future. It ain't my call, but if it was, I would've been in there fighting him. It would have been very compelling to have me come out of my suit, get in the cage and kick his ass in my brother's spot.
PC: How do you see a Kimbo/Frank Shamrock fight going?
FS: Well, you know, Kimbo's style is that he comes straight forward and he throws power punches. He's got a quick 1-2, but the rest of them are just winging, wild punches. I would push kick him, inside kick him, get him reaching and then I would just double leg him, take his back and choke him out. I would maybe do something like a center choke where he's really grunting or straining. It's always cool when you make a big guy tap.
PC: You are one of the rare fighters that stays in great shape all year round. What keeps you motivated to stay in great physical shape?
FS: My core is a martial artist and while MMA is all popular and everyone is all down with it, this has been my life for 16 years. I get up every day, eat a good meal, spend some time with my family and I work out. That's my secret man. Every day, I learn a little bit more about the art of fighting. That's why I'm still competitive at 35 and that's why I'm still in the game because every day I go in and study the art of fighting and I learn more.
PC: We work good together Frank. You led me into my next question.
FS: I like it.
PC: You say you go in every day and learn something new about the art of fighting. Do you think this is why we're seeing Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell decline because they simply never evolved with the game?
FS: Yep! 100%! I always equate it to business. An old business gets old because they do the same thing over and over again. Then we have new guys come along and say, "Well if they're doing that, then let me try this and try that." They're doing innovation and they're hungrier. You have to stay hungry and you have to stay knowledgeable. The time you think that your style, your system or your strength is going to take you to the end, you'll find 10 guys out there studying that for you and finding out how to defeat it. One of the things I've seen happen, and it's happened to Ken
Ken never changed his style. He's still the big brawler, bully guy. The problem is his body is 44 years old and it doesn't work like it used to. His style needed to evolve with his body and that's the trap that these guys fall into. They get stuck in one mode then their bodies fall apart and they can't switch gears.
PC: Would you say the Gracie's kind of started that mentality?
FS: Yeah. They're perfect examples. We saw the Gracie's evolve over 5, 6, 7 years where they started striking and brought the kicks in. They took their system and said, "That's not enough. We better do some more." Now you see almost the 3rd generation of Gracie students and fighters come out and they're very well-rounded. They are real mixed martial artists.
PC: That's the key because anyone can be a fighter, but to be great, you really have to be a mixed martial artist.
FS: It's mixed martial arts and you have to have an art somewhere because if you're just going to be a tough guy, there's always going to be another tough guy down the road who is tougher, younger and stronger.
PC: How much longer would you like to fight and who else would you like to fight besides Ken and Tito?
FS: Oh yeah! They have Ken, Tito and then after that will come Cung Le. I don't know after that. We should have a new crop of stars on primetime television from the promotion we have. I'll fight these old guys for a while and then these young guys are going to pop up and then I'll smash some of them too.
PC: I personally would love to see Frank Shamrock against Anderson Silva. Is that a fight you would entertain?
FS: I would love to. I would love to fight him in any style, boxing, Kickboxing; whatever. What I like about Anderson Silva is he is a true martial artist. He's always learning, very humble, he's in love with the art, always training, studying and he's a good hearted person.
PC: Always great to get a word with a legend and you are truly a legend in this sport. Thanks for your time. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
FS: Ah, we're still in October, right?
PC: Yes sir!
FS: October is breast cancer awareness month so check your woman's breast. If you don't have a woman, go find a woman and ask her if you can check her breast.
PC: That might get us in some trouble.
FS: Just tell them it's breast cancer awareness month.
PC: I'm about to go and do that and tell them you sent me.
FS: Hey, good luck with that (laughing). Pleasure is all mine.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]