5 Ken Shamrock fights that never happened in the UFC
Ken Shamrock was a true MMA pioneer who competed in the very first UFC event. He was one of the top fighters of his era and also had success competing in Japan. Shamrock was part of the sport’s infancy stages and headlined multiple events in the 1990s.
‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ also played an important role in paving the way for fighters to transition into pro wrestling. He left the sport during the peak of his career and found success in the WWE. When he returned, he played just as important a role as his bad blood rivalry with Tito Ortiz was seemingly keeping the promotion afloat.
Shamrock has competed in many big fights during his legendary career. Although he fought many legends and Hall of Famers, there were still many missed opportunities that should've been capitalized on. This list will look at 5 Ken Shamrock fights that never happened in the UFC.
#5. UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie - trilogy bout
The UFC's never-booked trilogy bout between Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie remains a missed opportunity. Both MMA pioneers were the inaugural inductees into the promotion's Hall of Fame and fought each other in the octagon twice.
Gracie got the better of ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ when they were matched up at UFC 1. The event was significant as the Brazilian proved the effectiveness of Brazilian jiu-jitsu against much larger opponents. They met in a rematch two years later, however, this time Shamrock made the necessary adjustments. Despite controlling Gracie for the duration of the fight, it was ruled a draw because there were no judges scoring it.
They ended up competing in a trilogy bout at Bellator 149. The fight took place in 2016, when both were obviously past their prime. Gracie got his hand raised by first-round TKO, which ended the trilogy and their respective careers. Had the trilogy been booked following their rematch in 1995, it could’ve generated a lot of pay-per-view buys.