46 Year Old Ken Shamrock Wants Cage Time

Ken talks to Sherdog and blames ring rust for his recent losses:

"The money wasn't there, and there wasn't enough organizations around that could pay that kind of money," he said. "All day long you could get fights for $1,200 or $5,000, but you're not going to get them for anymore than that. They're just not there."

However, Shamrock believes he's found a solution. He said he has worked out a deal with veteran promotion King of the Cage, which holds pay-per-views and also airs on HDNet, to fight regularly and also use his popularity to build the KOTC brand.

"I'm going to be able to fight a lot more often under a contract I'll have with them," he said, "and I'll be able to get paid."

The 17-year veteran of professional MMA acknowledged that he's had a rough couple of years. In addition to struggling inside the cage, he lost a contract dispute with the UFC in April and was ordered to pay the company $175,000 in legal fees.

 

This is the part of the fight game that's the hardest to stomach. It's been a sad cliche of fight sports since at least the 1930s when former boxing champ Jack Dempsey was reduced to doing worked bouts with pro wrestlers. Perhaps no spectacle was sadder than the 1950s plight of Joe Louis who was forced by an enormous IRS debt to face Rocky Marciano in a virtual snuff bout.

I was never a particular fan of Ken Shamrock, but I have a huge respect for his accomplishments and contributions to MMA. It is sad to see him like this, reduced to fighting for a paycheck long after he should have left the cage.