Impact FC II Report: Ken Shamrock was all Talk
By Scott Heritage
In the main event of the second Impact FC event this month, both of which happened in Australia, Ken Shamrock was beaten in decidedly one aided fashion by grizzled Brazilian veteran Pedro Rizzo. For all Shamrock’s talk leading up to the fight, which included both assurances of his beating Rizzo and detailing his new found religious beliefs, the fight itself only lasted three and a half minutes.
Rizzo landed with punches and kicks at will from the start, while Shamrock largely looked on and moved around the cage. What little he did throw in return seemed to lack any kind of power, and his face was quickly marked up by the hard hitting Brazilian.
Never known to rush things or be overly aggressive, Rizzo probably could have ended the fight in the first minute if he was really inclined. As the round wore on and Shamrock’s legs began to wobble after each low kick, Rizzo landed a particularly nasty looking one to the thigh, which caused Shamrock to take a knee. From there a couple of punches from Rizzo ended things.
After the fight Shamrock admitted that at the age of 46, and having gone 6-1 in his last 7 fights, that the end of his fighting career is “getting close”. He than said though that as long as the fans continue to show up he will continue to come out and get beaten up for everyone’s amusement. Surely fans showing up or not shouldn’t be the only factor in deciding on whether he continues to fight though. Long term health issues from a lifetime of punishment and admitted long term steroid abuse are far more pressing issues that Ken should be looking at now.
Paul Daley also returned to action for the first time since he was unceremoniously booted out of the UFC for punching after the bell against Josh Koscheck. And in actual fact the athletic commission presiding over the incident has still not ruled on whether he will face a suspension from competing in Canada and perhaps also the United States (The athletic commissions tend to back each other with suspensions).
A spokesman for the Quebec athletic commission recently said that a full investigation and decision could take several more months because they were so backed up with other business.
Despite his uncertain future though, against Daniel Acacio, Daley seemed to be back to his usual self. In the first he landed at will, and Acacio didn’t seem to have any kind of answer for his aggression. In the second though, he was taken down and Acacio got the chance to work some ground and pound. Daley’s ground game seemingly still being a weak point of his game, despite his loss to Josh Koscheck.
In the third though he was back to his aggressive best, ending the fight with a face splitting elbow after Acacio flopped to the ground in an attempt to pull guard. Acacio admitted afterward that the sight of so much blood had scared him and that he had never been cut before in a fight.
The routinely troubled Paulo Filho was also in action on the card, and fought fellow Pride veteran Dennis Kang to a draw. The Brazilian missed weight at the first attempt, and quickly tired as the fight progressed. Kang was unable to take full advantage of Filho’s typically horrendous conditioning though and had to settle for the draw.
A rematch is already being talked about, with both sides stating that they believed they won the fight, although whether it will be in Impact FC isn’t yet clear. In reality, both clearly took a round each and the other was fairly close, so a draw wasn’t that shocking.
If Filho gets himself in better condition for the rematch, he would be the clear favorite, having drawn with a Kang who looked to be in at least decent shape.
Brazilian veteran Murilo Bustamante returned from a brief semi-retirement to take part, only to lose to Jesse Taylor after feeling dizzy and falling down when John McCarthy stood both fighters back up. What caused the worrying incident is not yet known, but if they continue to happen, Bustamante should seriously consider retiring for good.
Murilo “Ninja” Rua was also in action, and came back from a knockdown to beat out one time TUF contestant Jeremy May via guillotine. The ten year MMA veteran has struggled over the last couple of years to string together many meaningful wins, coming up short against the likes of Robbie Lawler and Benji Radach.
Glover Teixeira was also present, and improved to 10-2 with a win over Aussie newcomer Marco Peselj. Why Teixeira, a long time training partner of Chuck Liddell, hasn’t been signed up to one of the major promotions yet is probably only a matter of inactivity, but riding an 8 fight win streak dating back to 2006, he is probably only another win or two from the major leagues.