They don’t call him ‘The Most Dangerous Man Alive’ In vain, Ken Shamrock, also known as ‘The One-Punch Man’, has proven time and time again that he can be just as dangerous in the ring that he could also be able to defy obstacles when these got in the way of his goals.
Growing up in pain and suffering and finally finding peace in a foster family, Shamrock rose against the worst conditions to do something with his life. Its success has become a testament to what determination can bring if you persist in your dreams. Read on to see how Shamrock became the master of his success when life gave him less than chaff.
Who is Ken Shamrock?
Ken Shamrock is a Mixed Martial Artist (MMA)Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick was born on February 11, 1964. He is also a former professional wrestler who was the first to be inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame in 2003 at the alongside Royce Gracie.
Currently fighting on the MMA roster, he has gone on to become not only one of the promotion’s biggest stars, but also a legend in the eyes of the competition’s history. He set several pay-per-view records, earning him the nickname “The Most Dangerous Man Alive”, as well as numerous main events in the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships.
Here are 5 fast facts you need to know
1. Family and early childhood
Ken Shamrock is the product of a dysfunctional family system. He was born to his mother, Diane Kilpatrick, a dancer and waitress (who was then only a teenager), settled in an army base in the same way as his father, Richard Kilpatrick was a recruit of the United States Air Force who didn’t know the first thing about being a father or raising a family. He abandoned his family when Shamrock was only five years old.
His mother would later marry his stepfather, Bob Nance, an American Vietnam War soldier, Army aviator and Shamrock along with his three younger brothers and his mother, moved from Georgia to settle in the his father-in-law’s hometown of Napa, California. With the rapidly changing environment, Shamrock and his brothers soon found themselves struggling to adapt to their new surroundings and had many problems with other children in the block.
But this is where Shamrock’s interest in the sport was enhanced. He started playing baseball at this young age. He was very attached to his coach and everyone who watched him play, devoting himself completely to the sport, playing with such passion and zest. And while young Shamrock was exposed to drugs and drugs at that age, he wasn’t a victim of it, but the same couldn’t be said for his brother, Richie, who was also playing football at the time. Richie got entangled in marijuana and heroin.
He was lucky to survive several stab wounds. During a robbery, when he was only ten and thirteen years old, his stepfather had had enough and so he and his brothers were driven from their homes because of the incessant trouble they caused. Leaving the house, the brothers dispersed, each going his own way. Under what seemed like a fluke (after being rescued from his sleep in parked vehicles and moved from one foster home to another), he was legally adopted by Bob Shamrock and placed in his foster home – Bob Shamrock’s Boys’ Home – in Susanville, CA.
2. Career Highlights
Ken Shamrock started fighting as an MMA fighter in Japan. He wrestled as part of the Japanese wrestling promotion called Fujiwara Gumi with the ring name ‘Wayne Shamrock’. His fight against kickboxer Don Nayaka Nielsen at the Tokyo Dome in October 1992 opened his eyes to the business side of sport. After defeating Nielsen in this fight, Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki founded the wrestling promotion called Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling in 1993 – with the goal of making money from professional wrestling. With a record of 17 wins and 3 losses in 20 fights between 1993 and 1996, Shamrock left Pancrase in the UFC.
In the UFC, his feud with Royce Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent was epic and lasted until Gracie left the UFC. He joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) later in 1996 and then returned to fight at the Pride Fighting Championships in 2000. He found himself feuding with Don Frye, who blamed him for his Shamrock affair with 19-year-old Alicia. Webb (Shamrock was 35 at the time). Their feud ended in the ring and Shamrock lost the battle due to a split decision.
He returned to the UFC in 2002 to fight TitoOrtiz, who he had a feud with in 1999 before leaving UFC to fight in Pride. Tito, who was the UFC heavyweight champion, was scheduled to defend his title in a title match against Shamrock. Ortiz won the match but later admitted in his book It’s Gonna Hurt Me: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion ; that he was “a little scared” of Shamrock before the fight. And although Shamrock later revealed he battled with a torn ACL, the loss gave him two straight wins, something that had never happened in his career and he considered retiring. Consequently.
In 2005, he and Ortiz were named coaches for Ultimate Fighter: Season 3 and his fighters did very poorly against Ortiz’s fighters. His feud with Ortiz culminated in two rematch fights in 2006, with Tito Ortiz winning them and beating Shamrock with a knockout in the second rematch on October 10, 2006. He was released by the UFC the following year – 2007.
3. Hall of Fame
Ken Shamrock is also a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. On November 21, 2003, Shamrock and his UFC rival, Royce Gracie, were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. The announcement was made at the UFC 45 event hosted by UFC President Dana White at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, who called it a “deserving” honor “for his (unparalleled contribution to sport)”.
4. relationships
The MMA fighter has walked down the wedding aisle twice. He was first married to Tina Ramirez and the union produced three boys – Ryan Robert, Connor Kenneth, Sean Garret and a girl, Fallon Marie. However, the marriage was over in early 2002, and by 2005 he had found himself linked to someone he had known since childhood. Her name is given only as Tonya, and while they have no children together, Tonya has three, and Shamrock adopted them as well.
Shamrock also had an affair with Alicia Webb from 1999 until early 2003. Alicia, who was a wrestling valet and went by the name Ryan Shamrock, was only 19 when she started dating Ken Shamrock, who had 16 years older than her. Don Frye alleged that he divorced his first wife, Ramirez, because of Alicia Webb and even cheated on his wife before he left her.
5. Brother Feud
Shamrock may owe everything he has become in life today to his adoptive father, Bob Shamrock, who adopted him and gave him a home when he was homeless and destitute. It was for this reason that he had a falling out with his adoptive brother, Frank Shamrock, who abused their adoptive father. Even though Frank had a different side of the story, it seems the brothers have now reconciled.
Other facts about Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrocks is also considered ‘the most dangerous man alive’ after ABC News released a documentary about ‘The Most Dangerous Things in the World’. His other nickname is “One Punch”.
He practices the Christian faith and his zodiac sign is Aquarius.
Shamrock has dark brown eyes and light brown hair. He is 183cm tall and weighs 96.2kg.
Bob Shamrock, her adoptive father, died of diabetes in January 2010.
