Frank Shamrock’s Narcissism

All the championships, titles and accolades that Frank Shamrock has acquired over his 15 years in the sport have been for one thing and one thing only: himself.

While this is nothing new, the extent of his self-serving attitude has been amplified since his return to the sport in 2006. Never was this ideology more apparent than during his fight with Cung Le for the Strikeforce middleweight championship.

His prefight interviews were typical;constantly referring to himself as a legend, someone who started “this whole thing,” bashing on Ken and other remarks that have become a staple of a Frank Shamrock interview were all in their typical place, including how he planned to finish the fight; by knockout.

In the weeks leading up to the fight, he garnered in spotlight of MMA media by answering questions about on his strategy and receiving praise. He made it clear that Cung Le wasn’t in his league in any way, and he was going to prove it.

Narcissitic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. Remember that.

It all started with an entrance that would have made Vince McMahan proud. Coming to the cage wearing a San Jose Sharks Jersey and carrying a hockey stick, he walked halfway down the ramp before throwing the shirt into the crowd. The Shamrock spectacle was officially underway.

Seconds into the match, the “me-fest” began. Shaking his fingers, nodding, turning his back to his opponent and so on; the fight resembled more of a professional wrestling match than MMA contest.

Every time Le would connect with a kick, Shamrock would react as witty a possible; sometime during round two, those kicks started to hurt.

Yet, Shamrock kept his promise. At no time during the fight did he ever make a legitimate attempt to take Le down. Even after he ducked under a kick from the kickboxing legend, he simply threw his opponent against the fence in order to gain an advantage. He was going for the knockout.

It soon became apparent that Shamrock was not the striker he thought he was, yet he showed no attempts to adjust his game plan. His ego refused to quit.

As round three started to wind down, he caught Le with a flush jab and seemingly had the Vietnamese fighter in the run. Seemingly. Le responded with a barrage of kicks that would make any Chuck Norris fan proud. Connecting with one after the other, devastation soon followed as Shamrock’s wrist broke in two places.

After the bell, Shamrock collapsed. At first it looked as though reinjured his knee. Why else would he have collapsed? Attention.

Unable to respond to bell, Le was announced the winner. Shamrock then collapsed … again … from his stool. Like a kid with skinned knee, he grimaced and hobbled his way to the microphone with the aid of his corner.

The only problem is, Frank Shamrock is not a little boy, he’s a 35-year-old man. Many fighters have bones in this art of combat; few have begged for the fans pity in such an outlandish way.

No one pities Frank Shamrock. At one time this man was one considered the best fighter in the world, now he’s been reduced to a spectacle who refuses to admit his own mortality. His recent failures in the ring will all be met with simple, rational (to himself) excuses that portray him a mystical light.

The man that was, no longer is. Shamrock will live in MMA history, but his self-righteousness has dampened his impact on the sport he helped to build.

PEACE
Brett “The Conqueror” Beverly