Who is Ken Shamrock – Here are 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know

Quick Facts

He is not called “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” in vain as Ken Shamrock, also known as the “The One Punch” has proven time and time again that he can be as dangerous in the ring as he can also be positively defiant to obstacles when they stand in the way of his goals.

Having grown up in pain and suffering and finally finding some peace in a foster home, Shamrock has risen against the very worst conditions to make something of his life today. His success has become a testament to what sheer determination can bring if you persist with your dreams. Read on to see how Shamrock became the master of his own success when life gave him less than just straws.

Who is Ken Shamrock?

Ken Shamrock is a mixed martial artist (MMA) fighter who was born Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick on February 11, 1964. He is also a former pro wrestler who was the first to be inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame in 2003 alongside Royce Gracie.

Currently fighting in the MMA roster, he has gone on to become not only one of the biggest stars of the promotion but also a legend as long as the competition’s history is concerned. He has set several pay-per-view records, earning the nickname, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” as well as headlining numerous main events in both the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships.

Here are 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know

1. Family and Early Life

Ken Shamrock is the product of a dysfunctional family system. He was born to his mother, Diane Kilpatrick, a dancer and waitress (who was only a teenager at the time), in a military base as his father, Richard Kilpatrick was a US Air Force enlistee 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 get married to his step-father, Bob Nance, who was a Vietnam war US soldier and Army aviator and Shamrock with his three younger brothers and his mother, left Georgia to move to his step-father’s hometown in Napa, California. With the swift change in environment, Shamrock and his brothers soon found themselves struggling to adapt to their new environment got into a lot of trouble with other kids in the bloc.

But it was here that Shamrock’s interest in sports was enhanced. He began playing baseball at that young age. He endeared himself to his coach and all who watched him play as he gave his all to the sport, playing with so much passion and zest. And even though young Shamrock was exposed to narcotics and drugs at that age, he didn’t fall victim to it but the same couldn’t be said of his brother, Richie, who played football at the time too. Richie got entangled in marijuana and heroin.

He was lucky to survive being stabbed multiple times during a robbery while he was only ten and by the time he was 13, his step-father had had enough and so both he and his brothers were thrown out of their home due to the incessant troubles they caused. Upon leaving the house, the brothers dispersed, going each one on his own path. In what looked like a stroke of fortune (after he was rescued from sleeping in parked vehicles and moved from one foster home to the other), he was adopted legally by Bob Shamrock and placed in his foster home – Bob Shamrock’s Boys’ Home – in Susanville, California.

2. Career Highlights

Ken Shamrock began fighting as an MMA fighter in Japan. He fought under 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 the sport. Upon defeating Nielsen in that fight, Shamrock, Minoru Suzuki, and Masakatsu Funaki founded the wrestling promotion called Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling in 1993 – in a bid to make money from professional fighting. With a record of 17 wins and 3 defeats in 20 bouts between 1993 to 1996, Shamrock left Pancrase to the UFC.

At the UFC, his rivalry with Royce Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent was epic and it went on until Gracie left the UFC. He joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) later in 1996 and then returned to fight in the Pride Fighting Championships in 2000. He found himself feuding with Don Frye, who bad mouthed him over 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 fight to a split decision.

He returned to the UFC in 2002 to fight , who he had a feud with in 1999 before he left UFC to fight in Pride. Tito who was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion was billed to defend his title in a title match against Shamrock. Ortiz won the match but later admitted in his book his book This is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion; that he was “a little bit afraid” of Shamrock before the fight. And even though Shamrock later revealed that he fought with a torn ACL, the defeat made it two in a row for him, something that had never happened in his career and he considered retiring as a result.

In 2005, he and Ortiz were made coaches for The Ultimate Fighter: Season 3 and his fighters did very badly against Ortiz fighters. His feud with Ortiz culminated to two rematch fights in 2006 with Tito Ortiz winning both and defeating Shamrock with a KO in the second rematch on October 10, 2006. He was released by the UFC the following year – 2007.

3. Hall of Famer

Ken Shamrock is also a UFC Hall of Famer. On November 21, 2003, Shamrock and his one-time UFC rival, Royce Gracie were announced as the pioneer inductees to the UFC Hall of Fame. The announcement came at the UFC 45 event held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut by the UFC President Dana White, who described it as a “deserving” honor “for their (unequaled) contributions to (the) sport.”

4. Relationships

The MMA fighter has walked down the aisle in matrimony twice. He was first married to  Tina Ramirez and the union produced three boys – Ryan Robert, Connor Kenneth, Sean Garret and a daughter, Fallon Marie. However, the marriage was over by early 2002 and in 2005, he got hitched with someone he had known form his childhood. Her name is given only as Tonya and even though they have no children together, Tonya has three of her own, and Shamrock also adopted them.

Shamrock also had affair with Alicia Webb from 1999 until early 2003. Alicia, who was a wrestling valet and was known as Ryan Shamrock, was just 19 at the time she started dating Ken Shamrock who was 16 years older than her. It was alleged by Don Frye that he divorced his first wife, Ramirez, because of Alicia Webb and even cheated on his wife with her before eventually leaving his wife.

5. Brother Feud

Shamrock may owe everything he has become in life today to his foster father, Bob Shamrock, who adopted him and gave him a home when he was homeless and destitute. It is for this reason that he had a fight with his adopted brother, Frank Shamrock who mistreated their foster father. Even though Frank had a different version of the story, it seems the brothers have now reconciled.

Other Facts About Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrocks is also referred to as the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” after ABC News ran a documentary on “The World’s Most Dangerous Things.”  His other nickname is “One Punch.”

He practices the Christain faith and his zodiac sign is Aquarius.

Shamrock has dark brown eyes and light brown hair. He is six feet tall in height (183 cm) and he weighs 212 lbs (96.2 kg).

Bob Shamrock, his foster father, died in January 2010 from diabetes.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.