SHAMROCK: 6’ 1”, 235 pounds, 42, San Diego, California, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man”

BACKGROUND: Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick was sent to the Shamrock Ranch for Boys at 14 and four years later was adopted by Bob Shamrock. After recovering from a serious wrestling injury in high school, he began professional wrestling at 24. In 1990 he joined the fading UWF and became an essential part of the foundation of Pancrase in Japan. In 1993 he took part in UFC I and fought back and forth for both organizations until 1996. Shamrock was the first King of Pancrase, the first UFC superfight champion and the leader and founder of the Lion’s Den. There he trained with Tra Telligman (Pictures), Vernon White (Pictures), Pete Williams, Jerry Bohlander, Guy Mezger (Pictures) and other members of the Lion’s Den and has been training with Erik Paulson and to inject new life into his fight preparation. Ken sports a record of 26-10-2 in MMA.

MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Submitted Bas Rutten (Pictures) at Pancrase-Road to the Championship and caught him again via kneebar at Pancrase-Eyes of Beast 2. Submitted Maurice Smith (Pictures) at Pancrase-King of Pancrase tournament. Stopped Alexander Otsuka (Pictures) with strikes at the PRIDE Grand Prix Finals 2000. Was stopped with strikes by Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) at PRIDE 10. Lost a decision to Don Frye (Pictures) at PRIDE 19. Was stopped with strikes by Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) at PRIDE 30.

UFC EXPERIENCE: 7-4-2. Submitted Patrick Smith via heelhook at UFC 1, but was choked by Royce Gracie (Pictures) in the next round of the legendary tournament. He later fought to a draw with Gracie at UFC 5. Shamrock submitted Christophe Lenninger with strikes and Felix Mitchell via rear choke at UFC 3. He submitted Dan Severn (Pictures) via guillotine choke at UFC 6, but lost a decision to Severn at UFC 9. Fought to a draw with Oleg Taktarov at UFC 7. Submitted Kimo Leopoldo (Pictures) via kneebar at UFC 8. He stopped Kimo again with strikes at UFC 48. Submitted Brian Johnston (Pictures) via forearm choke at Ultimate Ultimate ‘96. Was stopped with strikes by Tito Ortiz (Pictures) at UFC 40. Was stopped with strikes by Rich Franklin (Pictures) at The Ultimate Fighter season one finale.

WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: He’s a legend in the sport. Not for winning the big fights but for being an innovator in MMA cross training. His record reads like a who’s who of early MMA stars and though he competed in three UFC eight-man tournaments, he did not win one. He seems like a genuinely nice guy when he’s not “on” and his heart and desire to win has always surpassed his physical ability to do so.

ORTIZ: 6’ 1”, 235 pounds, 31, Huntington Beach, California, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”

BACKGROUND: Tito is a two-time California State wrestling champion (58-1 in Jr. College). Ortiz was a wrestler at Golden West College and Cal Bakersfield before coming to the UFC as a sparring partner for Tank Abbott. The semifinalist at the 2000 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling World Championships and former UFC light heavyweight champion is 13-4 as a pro in MMA.

MMA CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Beat Eugene Jackson (Pictures) by decision at Neutral Grounds.

UFC EXPERIENCE: 12-4. Was submitted via guillotine choke by Guy Mezger (Pictures) at UFC 13, but earned his revenge with strikes in a rematch at UFC 19. Stopped Jerry Bohlander with strikes at UFC 18. Was stopped with strikes by Frank Shamrock (Pictures) at UFC 22. Beat Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) by decision at UFC 25. Stopped Yuki Kondo (Pictures) with strikes at UFC 29. Knocked out Evan Tanner (Pictures) at UFC 30. Stopped Elvis Sinosic (Pictures) due to a cut at UFC 32. Beat Vladimir Matyushenko (Pictures) by decision at UFC 33. Stopped Ken Shamrock (Pictures) with strikes at UFC 40. Lost a decision to Randy Couture (Pictures) at UFC 44. Was finished by Chuck Liddell (Pictures) at UFC 47. Beat Patrick Cote (Pictures) by decision at UFC 50. Beat Vitor Belfort (Pictures) by decision at UFC 51. Beat Forrest Griffin (Pictures) by decision at UFC 59.

WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BOUT: He is always in top condition. Since the loss to Frank Shamrock (Pictures), Tito has valued conditioning over all else. His strength is his wrestling but he has knowledge of the submission game. He isn’t the greatest striker but he can do enough on the feet to overpower most opponents and get them to the ground where he can finish them.

OVERALL OPINION OF MATCH: Grudge matches are always interesting. It is even better when it involves the top two competitors in a given division. This is not the case here but it will still be entertaining. Tito is using Shamrock as a springboard back into the title race in the light heavyweight division. He got the nod over Griffin but other challenges should lie ahead before he meets up with Chuck again. The Liddell-Babalu bout will give a more accurate picture as to where Tito fits in. Shamrock is fighting likely his last big fight. If he were to knock off Ortiz, he’d send shockwaves throughout the sport. It would be a huge upset. This time Ken seems to be relatively injury free and he’s had nine months to prepare. However he’s fought roughly seven minutes since the 15-minute war with Ortiz in 2002 and that could work against him.