Stop The Shamrock Hate

This past weekend Impact FC held its second card in Australia and featured several former UFC vets including Ken Shamrock and Pedro Rizzo. After a barrage of knees, punches, and brutal leg kicks Rizzo was awarded a TKO victory in the first round. This morning when I hit the computer to due my usual perusing of my favorite MMA sites I was inundated with articles and quips of what an embarrassment Shamrock has become and how he's only fighting to collect a paycheck.

I'll agree with a majority of what is being said given Shamrock's recent losses and his only win in the past 6 years being against Ross Clifton (a win marred by the fact that Shamrock tested positive for steroids). What bothers me, though, is who are we, as fight fans, to criticize a fighter and say that he should hang up the gloves and retire? Shamrock is a legend and pioneer of the sport, yet due to his strange behavior and string of one-sided losses there has been an outcry that Shamrock is simply making money off of the name he made in the UFC and WWE. All I have to say to that is ... So What??

The world of mixed martial arts is becoming a young man's (or woman's) game, there is no doubt about that. Fighters like Rory MacDonald, Jon Jones, and Lady Cyborg have all shown that athletes are getting into MMA at a much younger age. Meanwhile, fighters like Mark Coleman, Cro Cop, and Shamrock have all been faced with criticism that they are far beyond their prime and should step down while fighters like Dan Severn and Don Frye can continue to fight with little to no comment despite their records or quality of their competition. If Dan Severn lost a fight tomorrow, would we see articles on every MMA site calling for his immediate retirement and calling him an embarrassment to the sport? I don't think so.

The issue that I'm seeing here is publicity. If an older fighter loses on a more publicized card, there is inherently more criticism thanks to the fact that more people are actually going to see the fight. With a more publicized card usually comes fighters of greater skill, which in turn means a greater challenge. Shamrock is being criticized for collecting a paycheck, yet he has the stones to step into the cage with a dangerous fighter like Pedro Rizzo. Where is all the criticism for Dan Severn who is fighting in the minor leagues against inexperienced fighters that present little to no challenge. Shamrock and Severn are making money off of what they do, FIGHTING. It's not like these guys can suddenly stop doing what they've spent a majority of their lives doing. There isn't a lot of money in fighting so it's unlikely that a lot of the older guard have a vast amount of savings. I guess what I'm getting at, is that if an older fighter is going to keep going past his prime, shouldn't there be some kind of admiration for the fighter who continues to challenge himself? Shamrock may be fighting for the paycheck, but in all honesty, who isn't? This isn't entertainment for the fighters, it's a job, and to criticize any of them for doing their job is simply playing armchair quarterback. If anyone is to be criticized it should be the fighter who goes through the motions, fights the small shows, and fights guys with 0-0 records. Shamrock may be a shell of his former self, and yea he might be in it for the money, but hell, I'll give him credit where it's due and commend for continuing to make good money and to do so by stepping in the cage with an actual challenge.