Shamrock's martial arts career began following the dismantling of the UWF, in the inaugural [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] show. In the event, Ken Shamrock defeated [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] by an arm-triangle choke. There was some irony in this, as it was Funaki who had, along with Karl Gotch and Yoshiaki Fujiwara, taught Shamrock the art of [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] during their days as professional wrestlers.
Shamrock went on to win in the two subsequent Pancrase show before returning to America to fight in the newly formed Ultimate Fighting Championships. In spite of their status as competitors in the unrehearsed environment of Pancrase, Funaki served as Shamrock's head trainer for the event. Held under a one-night tournament format with minimal rules (in contrast to Pancrase, which had extensive rules and a gentleman's agreement not to strike on the ground) Shamrock progressed to the semi-finals by defeating Patrick Smith via leglock. However, he fell to [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in his next fight, as Gracie choked Shamrock out. Despite this loss, Shamrock continued to shine in Pancrase, losing to Funaki and another of his mentors, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], but nonetheless defeating [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in the finals of a 24-man tournament to crown Pancrase's first champion. He also picked up a pair of wins against future mixed martial arts legend [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].
06-17-2007, 03:41 PM
Ken Shamrock in Pancrase
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