Tonight’s episode started with Frank Shamrock’s assessment of his team, “They may not be the best fighters in the world at this moment,†he asserts, “but 6 months from now, they will be.†This was before he replaced more than half his team.
Ken Shamrock related his rough childhood and how he came to live with Bob Shamrock. Frank told how he and Ken Shamrock would beat each other up as kids. He admitted to being a wild one in his youth. Ken and Frank both discuss how they’d like to beat each other up even now. Ken stated Frank will never be regarded as a legend. Frank insisted he’s the best fighter alive. Ken joked, “When [Frank] joined the IFL, that’s what he thought it was all about. The I-FL.â€
“It’s Ken Shamrock and Frank Shamrock,†announced Bas Rutten. “It’s mixed martial arts’ answer to Cain and Abel.â€
Yep, that about sums it up.
The first fight in this episode was between Razorclaws lightweight Josh Odom and Dragons Rob Di Cenzo. Odom emailed Frank Shamrock while in the National Guard and Shamrock invited him to train when he was home from Iraq. For having no amateur background, Odom performed very well in this fight. The first round was fairly evenly matched. However, the second round started with Odom landing a hard kick to Di Cenzo’s mid-section then landed some solid punches to Di Cenzo’s face. Odom was warned when he grabbed the ropes while attempting a guillotine. The Razorclaw landed another kick to Di Cenzo’s body and the second round ended. Round three opens with an obviously tired Odom and a decidedly battered Di Cenzo. Nevertheless, Odom still landed a hard punch that knocked his opponent to the ground. Odom picked apart Di Cenzo until he landed the punch that ended the fight. Odom is awarded the TKO and his team’s very first win after the referee stopped the fight.
The second fight is between middleweights Brian Foster and Joe Doerksen. Foster is a wild-looking Marine who literally uses Doerksen as a heavy bag for most of the first round. Doerksen came into the second round more aggressively. He forced Foster to tap out with a rear naked choke.
By the end of this card, the Dragons took the team win 3-2.
The second hour begins with Ken Shamrock explaining how he got the nickname “The World’s Most Dangerous Man†saying that he was originally known as Ken “The Rock†Shamrock until he was featured on a show about the world’s most dangerous things.
Of the 150 young men who showed up to try out for the Nevada Lions, Ken Shamrock chose 5 starters and an elite handful of alternates. His starter team is made up of John “Guns†Gunderson (LW), Pat Healy (WW), Dan “The He-Man†Molina (MW), Vernon “Tiger†White (LHW), and Roy Nelson (HW).
The first bout between the Shamrock teams was between Gunderson and Josh Odom. This was Odom’s first fight. Odom caught Gunderson in an armbar early in the first round, but Gunderson managed to body slam his way out of it. Gunderson attempted a toe hold on Odom but let go rather than wasting too much energy. Gunderson gets full mount which he transitioned into a triangle choke, forcing Odom to tap out. The Lions draw first blood. The announcer said so himself.
The next bout was the single most active heavyweight fight I’ve ever seen. Both fighters came out swinging with Nelson chasing and Lucero back-pedaling. Early in the first round, Roy Nelson had Vincent Lucero stuffed in the corner, pounding the poo out of him. The fight was called by the referee giving Nelson the TKO.
Because the California State Athletic Commission determined that the fight between Vernon White and his Light Heavyweight Razorclaws opponent would be unfair, lightweight alternate Joe Martin took on alternate Clint Coronel in place of the light heavyweight bout. Martin’s loss to Coronel was highlighted briefly. I’m disappointed that the fight wasn’t shown as every story I’ve read about this bout suggests it was called early while Martin was attempting a maneuver and didn’t appear in trouble. Besides, I really wanted to see Martin go ballistic on the ref, costing him a suspension.
Dan Molina’s fight against Brian Foster was up next. Right in the middle of the first round, the lights went out. Although Molina was working for a submission when the arena went dark, the referee restarted the action with Foster in Molina’s guard. The second round opened with Molina taking Foster down. The referee stops the action at the ropes almost immediately then restarts the combatants on their feet. Molina fakes a straight right then shot for a take down. Foster reversed control, knocking Molina’s mouthpiece out. For some reason, the fight was not stopped to allow Molina to put his mouthpiece back in despite Molina taking shots to the mouth. The referee did, however, stop the fight to give Foster the TKO.
Pat Healy’s win over Ray Steinbeiss was discussed next. The Razorclaw loss was such a disappointment to Frank Shamrock that he chooses to fire nearly his whole team. Odom and Foster remained while Donnie Liles, Brian Ebersole, and Dan Christison make up the new middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight positions, respectively.
Ebersole’s loss to Anaconda’s Alex Schoenauer is mentioned followed by an all out brawl between Brian Foster and Benji Radach. In less than two minutes of the first round, Radach puts Foster to sleep. Foster gained consciousness, apparently unaware of what just happened.
Josh Odom went against Chris Hordecki. Frank explained how his man would get knocked out if he didn’t play the right game. To Odom’s credit, he survived the undefeated Anaconda’s lightweight, going the distance. Not surprisingly, however, Hordecki won the unanimous decision.
Donnie Liles faced Jay Hieron for the middleweight fight. Liles tapped out to a guillotine choke in the first round.
With a 3-0 loss to the Anacondas, Dan Christison went against Krzysztof Soszynski in an attempt to stop a sweep. Christison literally towered over Soszynski. Christison, in his overall career, has a win over Silverbacks’ Ben Rothwell. The first round ended without much drama. Round, two, however, started with Soszynski getting the take down. Christison gets up and powers a take down of his own. Soszynski returned to his feet, defending armbar and triangle attempts. After escaping what appeared to be a solid armbar, the round ended with Soszynski taking the unanimous decision, securing a clean sweep for the Anacondas.
While Frank reflected how disappointed he was with the across-the-board loss, Ken was laughing that Frank replaced 3/5 of his team and still had his butt handed to him.
And the poll for the night? Who would win if Ken and Frank Shamrock fought? My vote: Ken Shamrock. The results will be revealed on next week’s show. The poll is just begging for the actual fight. A super fight, perhaps? I know I’d like to see it.
The Inside Pulse
I would have liked to see the complete fights between the Shamrock teams with edited versions of some of the other fights. Other than that, it was a very good episode.
