"It's the absolute worst fight by any two individuals in UFC history' - Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock reflects on horrible fight with Dan Severn at UFC 9
It’s rare to hear a fighter refer to one of their fights as being the worst in UFC history. However, that’s exactly how Ken Shamrock feels about his bout with Dan Severn at UFC 9.
'The World's Most Dangerous Man' spoke with VladTV on November 4 about his rivalry with Severn. He didn’t mince any words when describing how bad their UFC 9 main event bout was:
“That was the worst UFC fight of the history. I’m including to this date, it’s the absolute worst fight by any two individuals in UFC history… I should’ve stood on what I believed in, I should’ve stood my ground my ground and go, ‘you know, no, I’m not doing it’ because I cheated the fans. They didn’t get to see a fight, they got to see two guys out there dancing.”
Shamrock mentioned that the promotion was faced with political backlash and there were constant efforts to shut down their events. The combination of rule changes, which prohibited striking, and their respective injuries coming into the fight made matters worse.
“I’m being told that we have an organization backing you on breaking the rules, but the actual law itself isn’t going to be behind the organization. The organization is not going to get arrested, I’m going to get arrested and it’s going to be all over and I’ll lose my license for having this group home where I’m trying to help at-risk kids."
He added:
"So I had a lot weighing on me and I was backing out of the fight. I was going to not fight because first of all, I already knew I had some things that were hindering me. I was going to do the fight anyways cause I thought I could still win the fight. But when they took away the striking, it literally left me with nothing.”
'The Beast' defeated Shamrock via a split decision to become the new UFC Superfight champion and avenged his loss from UFC 6.
Check out the full clip from the interview:
Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn had lengthy MMA careers
Dan Severn & Ken Shamrock
UFC Hall of Famers https://t.co/f4IRFlmmW4
Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn had legendary MMA careers and were among the top fighters in the world during their prime. They also transitioned to pro wrestling and were on WWE's roster during their Attitude Era.
'The Beast' last competed in 2012, where he won his 101st and final fight. 'The World's Most Dangerous Man', meanwhile, last competed in 2016 at Bellator 149, which saw him lose his trilogy bout to Royce Gracie.
Based on their accomplishments in the sport, UFC President Dana White eventually inducted both fighters into the UFC Hall of Fame. Shamrock was inducted, along with Gracie, in 2003, while Severn was inducted in 2005.