The Battle for San Jose
Silicon Valley showdown
Sitting in front of a bookshelf containing eight title belts (and
he was missing some), Shamrock expressed his love for an art that
cost him his left ACL and, slowly but definitively, his right
knee.
"The truth is I have nothing to gain from ever fighting anybody," said the former King of Pancrase.
Fighting Le is only worth gambling his MMA legacy, Shamrock said, because he loves the sport he helped pioneer.
"It will be interesting to see what Cung Le (Pictures) does. I've never been knocked out in an MMA match, never been submitted, never given up, never been choked out," Shamrock reflected before breaking into a longwinded, maniacal laugh of satisfaction. It's a visceral laugh that demonstrates a level of comfort only a 14-year veteran can achieve.
Shamrock is the favorite based on experience alone. With only five MMA bouts to his name, Le has not been through the same rigors. Questions about Le's cardio and heart still remain, while Shamrock's legacy exudes those traits.
"On paper, it looks like Frank should win," the 35-year-old Le conceded, "but paper is just paper."
Of course Shamrock is ready to dose his undefeated opponent with a loss. And he plans on doing it with Le's own medicine.
"I'm better than everybody in the business [at] standup. I think it's better than Cung's. Maybe I'm making a mistake," said Shamrock, unconvinced, before adding that the "odds are I'm going to destroy him."
"I like Cung," Shamrock said. "He's a good guy and a good martial artist. He doesn't sell a fight very well, but he looks great and he fights hard. He definitely fills two very important requirements for building a fight."
Le's genuinely polite tone sharpened briefly when hearing Shamrock's criticism about marketability. His gym has sold $120,000 worth of tickets for the fight, thanks largely to his strong Vietnamese fan base. If he had not been on the undercard of Strikeforce's debut two years ago, which Shamrock headlined, Le said the show would not have broken the North American MMA paid attendance record.
The disagreement seems minor, but in a fight city, market value is more than ticket sales. Le describes himself as a "people's warrior." Shamrock relishes his status as a role model for kids who come from rough upbringings not unlike his own. For fighters in San Jose, market value is a reflection of their involvement in the communities where they grew up, work and live.
It's always been a martial arts town. Thanks to Frank Shamrock (Pictures) and Cung Le (Pictures) among others, San Jose is now a mixed martial arts town.
With Shamrock Martial Arts just a 10-minute drive from AKA -- a gym Shamrock left behind along with Cung Le (Pictures) -- the battle lines are clear even on the dark, scorching asphalt of the sunny city. And March 29, after Shamrock and Le pull into their reserved parking spots at the HP Pavilion, all of San Jose will be roaring inside the arena, waiting perhaps for their future mayor to emerge from the cage.
"The truth is I have nothing to gain from ever fighting anybody," said the former King of Pancrase.
Fighting Le is only worth gambling his MMA legacy, Shamrock said, because he loves the sport he helped pioneer.
"It will be interesting to see what Cung Le (Pictures) does. I've never been knocked out in an MMA match, never been submitted, never given up, never been choked out," Shamrock reflected before breaking into a longwinded, maniacal laugh of satisfaction. It's a visceral laugh that demonstrates a level of comfort only a 14-year veteran can achieve.
Shamrock is the favorite based on experience alone. With only five MMA bouts to his name, Le has not been through the same rigors. Questions about Le's cardio and heart still remain, while Shamrock's legacy exudes those traits.
"On paper, it looks like Frank should win," the 35-year-old Le conceded, "but paper is just paper."
Of course Shamrock is ready to dose his undefeated opponent with a loss. And he plans on doing it with Le's own medicine.
"I'm better than everybody in the business [at] standup. I think it's better than Cung's. Maybe I'm making a mistake," said Shamrock, unconvinced, before adding that the "odds are I'm going to destroy him."
"I like Cung," Shamrock said. "He's a good guy and a good martial artist. He doesn't sell a fight very well, but he looks great and he fights hard. He definitely fills two very important requirements for building a fight."
Le's genuinely polite tone sharpened briefly when hearing Shamrock's criticism about marketability. His gym has sold $120,000 worth of tickets for the fight, thanks largely to his strong Vietnamese fan base. If he had not been on the undercard of Strikeforce's debut two years ago, which Shamrock headlined, Le said the show would not have broken the North American MMA paid attendance record.
The disagreement seems minor, but in a fight city, market value is more than ticket sales. Le describes himself as a "people's warrior." Shamrock relishes his status as a role model for kids who come from rough upbringings not unlike his own. For fighters in San Jose, market value is a reflection of their involvement in the communities where they grew up, work and live.
It's always been a martial arts town. Thanks to Frank Shamrock (Pictures) and Cung Le (Pictures) among others, San Jose is now a mixed martial arts town.
With Shamrock Martial Arts just a 10-minute drive from AKA -- a gym Shamrock left behind along with Cung Le (Pictures) -- the battle lines are clear even on the dark, scorching asphalt of the sunny city. And March 29, after Shamrock and Le pull into their reserved parking spots at the HP Pavilion, all of San Jose will be roaring inside the arena, waiting perhaps for their future mayor to emerge from the cage.
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