This day in MMA: Mike Bourke TKOs Ken Shamrock into retirement
Andrew Ardizzi November 25, 2012Ken Shamrock took part in many battles during his time in MMA, having fought the likes of Royce Gracie, Tito Ortiz, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Rich Franklin, Kazushi Sakuraba and Bas Rutten over a professional career that spanned 17 years. On Nov. 25, 2010, Shamrock stepped into the cage against journeyman fighter Mike Bourke, who entered the contest with a record of 9-16, at King of the Cage – Platinum in Durban, South Africa.
Coming out at the beginning, Shamrock looked crisp with his strikes as he and Bourke circled each other. In the early moments of the fight, Shamrock caught Bourke with a right-cross that sent him reeling backwards against the cage. “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” swarmed “The Rhino,” who tried to secure a single-leg takedown as Shamrock continued to unload on him. Bourke gained the offensive position and slowly worked his way into Shamrock’s guard and began working some ground-and-pound. Inching the smaller Shamrock up against the cage, Bourke began to unleash heavier strikes with Shamrock’s head pinned against the fence. With Bourke posted up and standing high above his foe, Bourke held onto Shamrock’s left leg and delivered one final blow as Shamrock held onto his own leg, the referee stepping in to halt the fight two minutes into round one.
After the fight it was revealed that Shamrock had suffered a hamstring injury when he swarmed in to finish Bourke, an injury which left him incapable of continuing. Regardless, with the loss Shamrock dropped to 28-15-2, losing seven of his last ten fights. Neither man has fought since that night, and while Shamrock has not officially retired, at 48-years-old he does not have a fight scheduled for the immediate future.
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