Frank Shamrock – ‘Entertainer’ or MMA Fighter?
As much as it would be a complete pleasure to dislike Frank Shamrock it’s difficult to do so.
Watching Shamrock’s bout with Cung Le, I was reminded that as much as I always enjoyed the antics of Muhammad Ali, but the only thing that made them tolerable was his unmatched ability to back them up with a magnificent athletic performance.
I understand that showmanship is considered a critical element in marketing various sports in our era. I still find it unpalatable – and disrespectful to fellow competitors – when that marketing driven showboating goes beyond the realm of genuine emotion and becomes buffoonery.
That’s why I found it so interesting to hear Shamrock’s post-fight comments. His demeanor was so completely different from the leering personality he displayed in the cage. He was two different people. Judging from those comments, Shamrock seemed genuine, thoughtful and took the time to consider each of his remarks.
I’m also well aware that Shamrock is the de facto figurehead for EliteXC’s efforts to compete with the UFC and WEC. Perhaps a little showboating is merited in that context, but it should be limited to pre-fight comments and generally proves nothing more than a distraction during a bout.
Le fell into the same trap himself on a couple of occasions and it nearly cost him the fight. After a couple of head bobbing, finger-pointing, bits of clowning, Le took a solid right from Shamrock which nearly put him down. Le of course recovered, and with a series of devastating kicks to the head and well-timed right hands, began to control the fight and took the wind out of Shamrock’ sails, turning the tide in what had been a fairly even match.
According to Shamrock, a broken arm which occurred sometime earlier in the fight prevented him from executing his game plan and taking the fight to Le. After watching the fight I think this explanation did a disservice to Le’s skills and heart. It would’ve been fairly easy for Le to attempt to cruise his way through the bout and dodge Shamrock’s superior striking power. But he didn’t do that. Instead he absorbed some serious punishment and kept coming back for more until he could find weaknesses in Shamrock’s armor.
One of those failings, and it became more obvious as the fight wore on, was that Shamrock has a tendency to drop his right hand after throwing a jab. Le exploited that weakness with a number of left footed kicks to the right side of Shamrock’s head followed by some nimble footwork which ended in a right-hand leads landing in combination.
One of things I’ve always found most pleasant about MMA fights is the general lack of what I guess I could only call extraneous flair-I hope it’s clear that I don’t approve of it. I want to see two skilled combatants take each other on without any additional distractions. What makes combat sports so compelling is the pace of the action and the kind of taunting, mugging and play acting that’s become an inevitable part of most boxing matches is generally not in evidence.
That’s good.
I hope MMA competitors help it stay that way.
But I have my doubts.
Cung Le talks about his next opponent:
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