Ken Shamrock, one of the MMA legends has come out of retirement to fight Kimbo Slice on the 20th of June this year at St. Louis. Shamrock’s reasons for agreeing to fight Slice are based on the fact that the 2008 fight between these two fighters did not materialize as he (Shamrock) got an injury prior to the fight. Even as he trains for his upcoming fight with Kimbo Slice, Ken Shamrock would still like rematches with Tito Ortiz and Royce Gracie.
About the Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock rematch
Ken and Tito Ortiz have already had three fights in the past, all of which Shamrock was beaten by Ortiz. Two of those fights, the second and the third match held in July 2006 and October 2006, respectively, are still considered some of the most popular MMA fights due to the high number of pay-per-view and cable television views they generated. In his defense, Shamrock says he lost the fights because he was nursing his sick father and was, therefore, not in the proper emotional state to win those fights. As much as Shamrock and Ortiz hated each other passionately, he says they are both in a better place now, and a fight between them would mean a lot to him.
About the Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie rematch
As with Ortiz, Ken Shamrock has already had past fights with Royce Gracie; one in 1993 and the other one in 1995. Ken was beaten by Gracie in one of the fights, and in the other fight they drew. Whereas Ken Told MMA Fighting that he wants a rematch with Royce Gracie, he reckons that he would only accept such a rematch on condition that Gracie wears the gi (fighting gear), which has become his (Gracie) signature attire during all his wins.
“I will make sure that he got to wear the gi,” Shamrock said. “If you beat him without the gi, you didn’t beat Royce Gracie. That’s how he won all the titles.
“When you take the gi off of him, you’re not fighting that guy that did all that. You’re fighting half the guy that did all that. If they offered me the fight without the gi, I’d say no. Because if I beat him, I didn’t beat him. So it would definitely be with the gi on.”
Ken Shamrock is currently preparing for a make-up fight with Kimbo Slice after a failed match in 2008. However, he is also hoping to have rematch fights with two of his former fight mates. He wishes to have a rematch with Royce Gracie and Tito Ortiz.
