Ken Shamrock knows his role
From CombatPower.com
Ken Shamrock knows his role. Over the past few years he’s been used to put over fighters gain acceptance in the mainstream. When Tito Ortiz first took on Shamrock in 2002, Ortiz was being ushered in as face of the UFC to the public. Similarly the organization put up Shamrock against Rich Franklin, looking to gain more cache behind Franklin. Shamrock once again was set up against Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter reality series, only to take on Ortiz again at the end of the series. These were all bouts where Shamrock was an underdog and expected to be defeated to help bring some cache to his opponents.
Now Kimbo Slice takes on Ken Shamrock in EliteXC–other move made by an organization to use Shamrock to put over an emerging star. It makes sense. Although Shamrock’s record over the past 8 years and last 10 fights is 2-8, he is still widely known in the mainstream. Many people don’t know much at all about MMA, but are aware of a handful of fighters–oftentimes that short-list includes “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”, Ken Shamrock. The WWE had a lot to do with the widescale awareness of Shamrock’s prescence, and has kept him a well known figure until this day.
Nonetheless, kudos to Shamrock for taking on some tough competition even until the age of 44. He’s kept on fighting and maximized the potential his name has drawn over the years, and been able to score some sweet paydays in the process. He knows his role is–his services are being rendered by organizations to create new stars. While being aware of his role of being brought in by EliteXC to be taken out by their cash cow Kimbo Slice, Shamrock knows his job is to dissapoint his bosses and win. He’ll try and do just that this October in Florida.
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