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Frank Shamrock steps back into the cage on March 29 to take on fellow San Jose native Cung Le for the Strikeforce organization. Shamrock has been out of action since his June 2007 victory over heated rival Phil Baroni. Now, he returns to the cage against the undefeated yet largely untested Le.
We recently caught up with Shamrock to discuss a wide variety of topics including his thoughts on the fight with the Le, what he thinks about his brother Ken's recent fight with Buzz Berr, and his views on Kimbo Slice being the front man for Elite XC's first appearance on network television.
Question: What are your thoughts on the upcoming fight with Sanshou expert Cung Le?
Frank Shamrock: I think it's going to be a good match. It's a different style match. I'm more of a grappler/puncher guy, and he's more of a kicker/wrestler guy. So stylistically, I think it is a very exciting match. And in San Jose, it's huge.
Q: Why is it that mixed martial arts is so big in San Jose?
FS: San Jose is like a little big city. All the big companies are here, but at the core, it is a small town. And this town loves martial arts. There are umpteen number of MMA schools here. When you have local martial arts icons going against each other in a fight, it becomes a huge, huge event.
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| Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz II coming soon? (EliteXC) |
FS: Personally, no. I have fought everyone for every title. I have been at this for about 14 years now. When I look at Cung, he looks like a young boy, but the beauty of this sport is anything can happen at any time. There are so many different elements to (the fight) that anyone has a shot at winning. But if I were him, I wouldn't fight me.
Q: Do you expect Cung Le to keep the fight standing? I know he has a wrestling background as well, but his expertise definitely seems to be on his feet.
FS: I believe he will start standing, but once he feels that I understand the striking game, he'll go back to his roots, which really is wrestling. He has a very good wrestling base. He'll try to combine the two to pick apart my striking game, but I think he is really underestimating my striking game.
Q: In your last fight against Phil Baroni -- a noted striker -- you stood and traded with him for a while before finally getting him to the ground and finishing the fight with a rear naked choke.
FS: Definitely. Everyone thought that was a fluke. But when I first retired from the sport, I really thought the sport would turn to a striking based sport because that is just the easiest way to damage somebody. Since 1999, my main focus and study has boxing, kicking, kneeing and elbows -- anything based in the striking arts. I think the world is going to have a big wake-up call when it comes to my striking.
Q: Should you get past Cung Le, one man who has mentioned your name a few times is Tito Ortiz. Is that a fight you'd like to have in the future?
