We wanted to give our 2 cents on the Royce Gracie -Ken Shamrock Fight last night. We have to start by saying that we don’t even watch MMA anymore and are no expert on the sport. We were a fan back in the old days when these 2 guys used to fight. The reason everyone wanted to see this fight is not only cuz these 2 guys are legendary names, but they are 2 of the people that made MMA what it is today.

 
Shamrock and Gracie go back the “Good ole days” when there were no gloves, no time limits, no weight limits and basically no rules, a street fight. Shamrock grew up on the wrong side of the street and had to learn to protect himself in the streets before becoming a cage fighter in Japan which is glorified cock fighting. The Gracie family basically did the same thing in Brazil and was instrumental in bringing this type of fighting to the USA. Without the 2 of these guys bringing the sport from the Stone Age to the Space Age, there would be no MMA as we know it today.

 
That being said if you’ve ever been in street fight yourself and I have been in plenty, and did study a little Shodakan and Wing Chung after I was already used to being a street fighter, you don’t want the fight the end quickly (unless of course you are winning). We didn’t see yesterday’s fight but we read that Gracie caught Shamrock in the Groin and when Ken went down started to pummel him and the ref stopped the fight. Shamrock went nuts and was pissed off. If you’ve ever been hit in the nuts you there is delayed reaction, then the pain happens. Shamrock can take a punch and could’ve weathered the storm and came back and won the fight, but wasn’t given the chance.

 
When you go into a fight you go in as wolverine and try to kill your opponent. It’s not always going to be perfect and you may have to take few shots before you get things going your way. The winner of the fight is the last man standing, not the one to take an early lead. The old saying is “Every one gets knocked down in life but a true champion gets back up”. Shamrock was never given a chance to get back on his feet and beat an opponent that he’s never beaten before, and now must live this for the rest of his life unless they do again.

 
In any sport and in life it’s not the person who starts fast but finishes fast that is the winner. This is what sports teaches us and we are extremely disappointed that in certain sports such as fighting, football, and even in hockey, (manly sports) they are putting “skirts “on the players and not letting them fully give it their all in their chosen profession. The reason that they got into the sport in the first place is because of the grind, the hard work and the danger. If we change sports and society by putting too many rules into play we detract from the true nature of sport or life in general.

 
When we bet on a team or player at America’s Bookie, we always look for hard workers, winners, and people that give their all and exceed expectations, not the pretty boy frauds that are so prevalent in sports today.

 
In closing we want to post the end of one of Vince Lombardi’s famous quotes and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Shamrock was not given the chance to win this match and whether or not he got a few knocks on his head he certainly would’ve wanted to continue to fight, and whether he won or lost if he still gave it his all, he could’ve lived with that, not just walking away feeling like he still has some unfinished business.

 

“And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat. I don’t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” – Vince Lombardi