UFC legend Frank Shamrock heaps praise on Scott Coker, says he provided appealing "market differentiator" with Strikeforce
Frank Shamrock recently heaped praise on Scott Coker for the freedom he provided fighters, which attributes to an excellent experience when he was at the helm at Strikeforce. The Lion's Den standout even noted that it was a stark contrast to the UFC.
Throughout his career, the California native was among the top 205-pounders in the world, and so he was a major acquisition for Strikeforce, where Coker was at the helm. Despite being a top light heavyweight, Shamrock moved down to 185-pounds after joining the promotion and eventually became their inaugural middleweight champion.
During his recent appearance on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's JAXXON PODCAST, the UFC legend heaped praise on the former Strikeforce president and described his experience as a positive one. Shamrock noted that Coker didn't discourage fighters and mentioned that he allowed them more freedom as it pertained to the buildup of their fights. He said:
"[Coker] understood my skillset of storytelling and performing at that same time. He was really a kickboxing promoter, he didn't know much about this [MMA] space, but he was a great character...That was our market differentiator at the time between the UFC in that time. UFC, you're stuck in your lane...I always felt like I was held back by the promotions because I had so much ability to perform."
Check out Frank Shamrock's comments below:
What was Frank Shamrock's record in Strikeforce?
Despite his incredible resume, Frank Shamrock's MMA record under the Strikeforce banner was 2-2 as he joined the promotion later into his career.
The California native was 34 years old when he joined and was coming off a three year layoff. He earned a 20-second knockout win over Cesar Gracie in his debut and after losing via disqualification in his next bout in EliteXC, returned to Strikeforce and submitted Phil Baroni to become the inaugural middleweight champion.
Shamrock's middleweight title reign was short lived as he lost a TKO to Cung Le after he broke his arm and was unable to continue following the third round. He then lost a second-round TKO to Nick Diaz, which ended up being his final bout.
Check out highlights of Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz below: