Oleg Taktarov, Kimo Leopoldo and Brian Johnston. In Pancrase he faced Bas Rutten, Maurice Smith and Matt Hume and an array of premiere Japanese grapplers. Before Ken Shamrock's return in the Pride GP he hadn't been in an MMA competition in nearly four years, last competing in the Ultimate Ultimate 1996. He broke his hand in the opening round of the tournament in a bout with another MMA fighter-turned-wrestler, Brian Johnston. Ken came back in the PFCs to face Alexandre Otsuka, the man who put an ailing Marco Ruas on the shelf for a while. Alexander Otsuka was busted up by an older Ken Shamrock who showed he had developed a bit a stand-up game in his absence. Kazuyuki Fujita was next.
Ken was beating the hell out of Fujita before the stoppage. It appeared as though Ken was getting his second wind and Fujita was there to be had. Then Ken gave it his all in the bout with Don “The Predator” Frye and this time he made to the final bell. Shamrock battled longtime nemesis Tito Ortiz at UFC 40. It took three rounds for the former light heavyweight champions to put Ken away. He now battles Kimo for a second time some eight years after their initial meeting.
Shamrock/Royce Gracie: As most fans know, these two met twice. The first meeting was at UFC 1 in a quick bout where Royce tapped Ken to a rear naked choke in under a minute. They met again at UFC 5 for the UFC’s first Superfight. Unfortunately it was a long drawn out affair that lasted better than half an hour and ended in a draw. Ken had shown improvement since the first meeting and Royce’s face proved it but he could not put Gracie away.
Shamrock/Kimo Leopoldo: Discussed under the Kimo Leopoldo bio.
Shamrock/Brian Johnston: Brian “The Fury” Johnston, having trained with Don Frye and Matt Furey to prepare him, came to the octagon bigger than ever before and battled Shamrock in the quarterfinal bout of the Ultimate Ultimate ’96. Shamrock gets the takedown and drives Johnston into the fence. From the guard, Johnston tries to defend but he eats punch after punch while Ken shoves his head into the fence (actually trying to push him through it) and holds him there. Johnston’s defense improves and he answers back with strikes of his own but he never improves his position. With nearly six minutes gone by, Johnston taps to a forearm choke but Shamrock must pull out of the tournament due to a broken hand. That was Ken’s last fight until the comeback in 2000.
Shamrock/Alexander Otsuka: They trade kicks and punches standing with Shamrock looking crisper. Otsuka, always the pro wrestler, bounces off the ropes and points to the crowd. They continue to trade standing with Shamrock landing solid uppercuts to the body and Otsuka landing knees inside a clinch. Otsuka continues his theatrics and reacts to pain when struck. He lands a nice overhand right to Shamrock’s head and Ken locks him up, eventually getting the takedown. From the mount Shamrock stays busy and periodically works for a keylock. Alexander cannot buck Ken off and only when Shamrock misses an armbar attempt is he able to get back to his feet. They trade again standing with Shamrock in control. Otsuka tries a takedown but Shamrock easily defends and punishes him for it. In the final stand-up sequence, Shamrock is in complete control and finishes Otsuka of with a right-left flurry.
Shamrock/Kazuyuki Fujita: A bout with Ken Shamrock at Pride 10: The Warrior’s Return had an incident in the ring forcing a verbal submission and giving the win to Fujita.
Shamrock/Don Frye: In his most impressive performance since his return, Don battled Ken Shamrock in a bout that truly lived up to the hype. Don won a decision but he almost had Shamrock out cold in the third round. Shamrock worked his ankle locks and assorted leg attacks and seriously damaged Don’s ankles (word has it Frye was in a cast after that one).
Shamrock/Tito Ortiz: A bout nearly three years in the making. Although obviously past his prime, Shamrock went toe-to-toe with the youthful champion and paid for it. It looked as though he momentarily stunned Ortiz early but Shamrock was never able to make the bout seriously competitive. The legend, beaten down and bloodied up, unwillingly passed the baton to the next generation of fighters in the UFC.
Also worthy of note, Shamrock faced: Masa Funaki (win/submission, loss/submission, win/submission), Yoshiki Takahashi (win/submission, win/decision), Pat Smith (win/submission), Minoru Suzuki (loss/TKO, loss/submission), Ryushi Yanagisawa (win/submission), Matt Hume (win/submission), Bas Rutten (win/submission, win/submission), Christophe Lenninger (win/submission), Alex Cook (win/submission), Maurice Smith (win/submission), Dan Severn (win/submission, loss/decision), Sam Adkins (win/submission) and Oleg Taktarov (draw).
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Ken has always had a lot of heart. That by far is his greatest strength. He was known as a “master of submission” and tapped out all six of his opponents in his UFC victories. Word is Ken has changed his training partners and is working out at full strength for the first time in years. He’s coming off knee surgery. He tore his ACL before the Ortiz fight, then injured it again and has finally had replacement surgery. So the weakness is easy here. He has had multiple injuries including broken hands, broken feet and numerous over extended limbs. He’s getting older and not everyone is Randy Couture.
HOW HE CAN BEAT LEOPOLDO: Submission. Just like the last time. It is too big a risk to stand and trade at this point in his career, regardless of how healthy he feels. Kimo will try to pound him so Ken should do his best to set him up and force him to make the mistakes.
KIMO LEOPOLDO: German-born Hawaiian striker; Pankration stylist; 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do; K-1 veteran; WFA veteran; UFCF veteran; Ultimate Explosion veteran; U-Japan veteran, S-Cup veteran; trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with UFC veterans Joe Morreira; has trained with Matt Hume, John Lewis and Eddy Millis; with a record of 10-3-1 in MMA; making his 6th appearance (2-3) in the UFC.
HISTORY: Christian Kimo Leopoldo was born in Germany. His father Dennis was born in Hawaii and while in the military in Germany, he met his mother. They moved to Hawaii and raised Kimo in Waikiki. When Kimo came on the scene in 1994, he was billed as a “warrior in the service of the Lord”, dedicated his fighting career to his faith and was a practicing minister to boot. His NHB legend began at UFC 3. No one could forget the first time they saw Kimo battling Royce Gracie. At the time, the Gracies were still thought to be invincible. In walks this muscular tattooed Hawaiian brute and he proceeds to give the two-time UFC tournament champion the fight of his life. In the K-1,
Leopoldo submitted UFC veteran Pat Smith with strikes but was KO’d by K-1 champion and Pride veteran Massaki Satake. He faced World Combat Championships veteran Fred “The Mangler” Floyd at the first United Full Contact Federation event (also featured the MMA debut of John Lewis) and clobbered him. Kimo beat Smith again and lost to Ken Shamrock at UFC 8. He ventured to Japan to compete in UWFi (shoot wrestling) against Yoshihiro Takayama and battled future legend Kazushi Sakuraba in the S-Cup event. From there he returned to Japan to compete in a unique event called U-Japan and Kimo pounded a completely outclassed Bam Bam Bigelow. Leopoldo was truly tested in a bout with Paul Varelans at Ultimate Ultimate ’96 but pulled out the win. He then fought UFC veteran Brian Johnston at the Ultimate Explosion show in Hawaii scoring another quick win.
He was part of the very first Pride show in a bout with Dan Severn (originally supposed to be Tank Abbott) and fought to a draw. And in his final bout in the octagon at the time at UFC 16, he lost a decision to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka which can easily be considered TK’s shining moment. He battled UFC veteran Tim Lajcik at WFA 2 and won via injury (broken toe) to Lajcik. He also battled Bob Sapp and Hiromi Amada in K-1 under kickboxing rules and lost to both. His most recent MMA bout was to David “Tank” Abbott at UFC 43 and he submitted the street brawler via arm-triangle choke in the first round.
Leopoldo/Royce Gracie: Remember the giant crucifix? If you saw the fight, you couldn’t possibly forget it … or Joe Son either for that matter. Kimo made his Octagon debut at UFC 3: The American Legend in 1994 against two-time tournament winner Royce Gracie. At the time, the Gracies were still thought to be invincible and though he didn’t beat Royce, he put some serious cracks in the armor of Brazil’s renowned fighting family. He claimed a Tae Kwon Do background but clearly knew more than that as he grappled with the grappler for better than four and half minutes and stunned the world.
Leopoldo/Ken Shamrock: The reason for our rematch. Shamrock throws a right hand to the head and takes Kimo down, landing in side control. Ken is able to free his head, work to half mount and sit up to strike. Kimo holds on and stifles much of Ken’s offense Shamrock gets full mount and sits back as Kimo turns him. It looked like Shamrock wanted to get his back and possibly work for a rear choke but Leopoldo rolled him and gets the half mount. Head butts from Kimo get the crowd cheering and it looks like Ken is almost eye gouged. Leopoldo lands a left hand to the face and Shamrock bumps him off, working from a far guard. From the standing position, Kimo strikes but is thrown off and winds up punching the ground. Shamrock goes for a kneebar and nearly gives up his back but is able to reclaim the leg. Again he gives the back and now goes for an ankle lock. Kimo is attempting to kick him off and spits out his mouthpiece. Ken finally gets in the kneebar as an exhausted Kimo must simply watch from behind. The tap comes just over four minutes into the first round.
Leopoldo/Kazushi Sakuraba: Kimo participated in a few wrestling shows including the controversial bout with Kazushi Sakuraba at the S-Cup show in ’96 (the same show where RINGS veteran Mikhail Illoukhine beat Capoeira fighter Mestre Hulk with his infamous chin to the eye technique). Having seen the bout, it is difficult to say for sure if it was legit. I did find it strange that neither fighter wore gloves (this was uncommon in Japanese NHB matches) but striking to the head on the ground was allowed. At one point Kimo delivered a number of strikes sitting on Sak’s back including elbows, palm strikes and even headbutts (yes, the front of Kimo’s head struck the back of Sak’s head). Kimo outweighed Sakuraba by a lot but his technique was sloppy. Sak seemed to be holding back and he’d already had a lot of bouts on Team Kingdom. It seemed like he was pulling up short on submissions and didn’t strike at all. But hey, that’s just my observation. Kimo sank in the rear-choke at 4:22 of the first round.
Leopoldo/Scott Bigelow: Kimo pounded pro wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow. It appeared as though Bigelow, who they showed training with Yoji Anjo, didn’t know the bout was for real. Kimo simply took him down, mounted “The Jumpin’ Munster” and pounded him to a bloody mess until he rolled over and gave Leopoldo the rear-choke for the win. Some speculate this too was a “work” but I just can’t see Bigelow agreeing to take such a vicious beating on purpose.
Leoplodo/Paul Varelans: Kimo came down from 280 pounds to fight at 235. From the bell, Kimo he works to bring “The Polar Bear” to the mat but Varelans is able to regain his footing and employ elbows to the head. They grapple back and forth on the feet but Kimo cannot bring him down. Varelans eventually falls on Leopoldo and plants a forearm on his throat. He avoids the choke but takes a world of punishment on the mat and nothing he does seems to slow down Varelans. Both fighters are spent by the seven minute mark. Kimo finally rolls out from under at the nine minute mark and rains down punches on the grounded giant until the towel comes in from Varelans’ corner. It was to set up a Kimo/Don Frye semifinal bout but Leopoldo could not continue in the tournament.
Leopoldo/Tsuyoshi Kohsaka: This bout was worth watching for the “Tank” Abbott commentary alone. From the bell, Kimo tags TK with a left hook. A follow-up strike is ducked and Kohsaka shoots and falls to his back. Kimo works to pass and gets half guard which he parlays into a heel hook. Tank tries to follow the action as best he can yelling “there’s a submission," “he’s got a quarter guard on now, knife hands” and “the Japanese are really relaxed right there, they know about submission.” But to be fair, legendary UFC broadcaster Jeff Blatnick calls Kohsaka “Sakuraba” twice. Great stuff. Back to the action, Kimo is able to roll with Kohsaka and really makes TK work to free himself. Kohsaka gets back to his feet but Leopoldo pulls him back to the mat.
They fight from TK’s half guard for several minutes. Two potential leg locks are thwarted by Kimo and they go back to the feet. Kohsaka looks fresher but Leopoldo is the aggressor. He sprawls to avoid the shot and they’re back on the mat in TK’s half guard. Kimo lands some shots from the top but he eats a solid right hand to the face as all of his weight is coming down on TK and it seems to slow the pace. Leopoldo gets mount and heads toward the cage but Kohsaka is able to buck his and turn them back toward center, knocking Kimo’s mouthpiece out in the process. Another failed leg lock brings the pair back to their feet with eight minutes spent.
Kimo is wobbled with a left to the head and he looks like he’s running on fumes. TK continues to chop away with roundhouse kicks to the thigh and an occasional jab to the face. An exhausted Kimo is forced to circle and stalk. It was at this point that Blatnick utters one of his true gems. Tank attempts to defend a weary Leopoldo by saying “at the same token, Kimo is getting his air back.” This happens right as Kimo is tagged with a right-left-right combo from TK and Blatnick responds “that’s a heavy price to pay to just breathe.” I laugh every time I hear that. TK continues to circle and strike tagging the Hawaiian like it was a sparring session. With under a minute in regulation Kimo drops his head and swings for the fences. Blood begins to trickle from Kimo’s left eye and we go to overtime.
Leopoldo’s shot is met by a knee to the face on two consecutive attempts. A third shoot earns Kimo a takedown and mount. He tries an armbar but is easily rolled and Abbott leaves us with one more pearl of wisdom: “Lemme tell you somethin’, anybody who steps in the Octagon has big balls and big heart. That’s the way it is. You can sit at home and sit on your coach and drink a beer and talk about kicking ass but get in the cage and do it.” TK controls from the top and earns a clear cut unanimous decision.
Leopoldo/David Abbott: Leopoldo came out with a kick and immediately took Abbott to the mat. He threw strikes in Abbott’s guard and assumed half mount. Kimo moved to mount and slowly sunk the side choke in until Abbott tapped.
Also worthy of note, Leopoldo faced Pat Smith (win/submission, win/submission), Fred Floyd (win/submission), Brian Johnston (win/submission), Dan Severn (draw) and Tim Lajcik (win/TKO).
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Early in his career, Kimo could be categorized as a brawler but he has polished his skills and become a student of submission. He has always been a G-n-P guy and with the additional knowledge of jiu-jitsu, he has just become more comfortable there. A weakness may apply to the past more than the present; lack of a game plan. He would come out and just push his opponent to the limit, not worrying about strategy or tendencies. He has only fought twice in recent years and they were fairly quick bouts so it is difficult to know if he has broken himself of that habit. He is also “on the clock” physically. Time is against him. However, much like a NFL running back that sat on the bench and only played 3rd Downs for half a dozen seasons waiting for a break, Kimo has fresh legs and is likely in good health for a fighter his age.
HOW HE CAN BEAT SHAMROCK: By pounding him in a battle of attrition. This one will hit the ground and stay on the ground. Kimo needs to push the pace and strike Ken early and often. Not to question a man’s heart, especially a man who has fought in the UFC, but if things go south for Shamrock, he’ll likely tap from abuse or exhaustion…or both.
MY PICK: Leopoldo. Shamrock has lost three of five since his return to fighting and clearly his best bouts are behind him. However, he’s still a competitor and a crowd pleaser for bouts like this. They last fought eight years ago (man that sounds like a LONG time ago) at UFC 8. Both men are vastly different fighters than they were at that time. Kimo has a lot less miles on him (fight-wise) and is 2-0 in MMA since his comeback in 2002. It should be an interesting battle and though I have grown to like Shamrock as a person and commentator, I think this is Kimo’s fight. I feel it will be Leopoldo by decision in the 3rd round.
DOWN THE ROAD:
Shamrock/Ian Freeman: This one almost happened about two years ago. Ian is 1-1-1 in the octagon and the crowd always appreciates his heart and attitude. He has just 1 fight since the draw to Vernon White last year. It’s time to give “The Machine” another look.
Shamrock/Pat Smith: Why not? We’re making the rounds of all the old-school rematches. When you look at who he fought, it makes sense too; Royce Gracie, Marco Ruas, Kimo, Dave Beneteau and Kiyoshi Tamura and of course Ken Shamrock. Smith won by KO in a bout last October and would likely welcome another shot at Shamrock.
Leopoldo/Wesley Correira: “Cabbage” wants this fight. And whether it is in K-1 MMA (a possibility for Correira), Rumble on the Rock, or some other venue, it should happen soon.
Leopoldo/Andre Roberts: “The Chief” was always a fan favorite, has fought three times in the last year and half and is 3-0 since coming back. He had been making the rounds in SuperBrawl and this just seems like a solid match-up…that is if Andre could make an acceptable weight for the UFC.