I have to be honest and say i never saw this fight but if there is any truth in this well i Rest my case. Not saying BJJ is not good but Just not what it's always made out to be.
And exactly what is your case?
Fortunately you have me, with some real inside info of the video you just posted.
First of all, this no shoes excuse is laughable. It's not unfair if everybody has to follow the same rules. No one was allowed to wear shoes. And Shamrock's crying about how much it hindered him is complete and utter bullshit. This lie about him slipping and not getting traction for submissions is a lie. The fight didn't even last long enough for sweat to be a factor and every martial art trains bare foot. Nobody wears shoes in modern MMA and nobody complains how it is a disadvantage because it is not.
Shamrock is right about the gi. Royce should not have been allowed to wear a gi. Even though the argument was that it was fair because everybody could wear a gi if they wanted to but for the rest of the fighters it was not an advantage because it didn't suit their fighting style. It is a huge advantage for a Jiu-Jitsu fighter to wear a gi and gave Royce an unfair advantage. That's why I technically left traditional Jiu-Jitsu training and after about 10 years stop training in the gi. There was too much dependence on the gi for control and for the techniques to work. Jiu-Jitsu got more tournament oriented rather than self defense/fighting oriented. I haven't and won't train in a gi for over ten years. Rickson has started a separate organization limiting the use of the gi and trying to bring back Jiu-Jitsu to it's fighting roots.
Shamrock is just telling a bald face lie about how he was training for a 3 hour fight and wanted to wear Royce down. Just a complete lie. He was openingly bragging how this time he was going to knock out Royce standing up inside of three minutes and not get into a grappling match which is Royce's strength, in fact his only strength. It was obvious to anyone with some familiarity with fighting that Royce has no stand up and if you were going to beat him it would be on his feet. That was obvious to everyone, especially Shamrock.
Again I provide evidence for my claims. Think about. Who thinks about wanting to fight for 3 hours. The goal is always to just drop your opponent into unconsciousness as fast as you can. Everyone wants to set a new record for fastest knockout. This idea that Shamrock had to change his strategy at the last minute because he trained to drag on a fight for 3 hours does not comport with common sense and is just a lie and a laughable sad excuse. Since he wanted to keep the fight on the feet, giving him, Shamrock the advantage, you really think he planned to dance around for 3 hours? Nothing would be more satisfying than dropping Royce in seconds with a punch or kick to the head. Training for 3 hours and having to change your strategy for a 3- minute fight -- lol. My main concern for a 3 hour fight would not be if I was in proper condition to last that long, but could I last that long without having to a pee. What a laughable crybaby excuse.
First Shamrock complains about about the fight being cut too short and then he complains about it being extended for 6 minutes. But he is right that it was utter bullshit for Rorion to do this and showed how biased the match was against Shamrock. Though it made no difference in the fight it just further detracted from the fight's credibility that you could suddenly change the rules in the middle of the event. Did Rorion really think Royce could improve his situation with more time? He was getting mauled. Rorion is smart but he did some dumb things like this. Just like when he agreed to a BJJ super fight pitting Royce with Wallid Ismail. Rorion knew Royce was not a legit black belt whereas Wallid was world class and had beaten other far more skilled and experience Gracies in tournaments.
It was draw because they had to end that boring fight at some point. This was now on TV and they did not have unlimited time. It was ruled a draw because neither fighters quit or was knocked out. That was the traditional Vale Tudo rules. You fight until someone quits by tapping or verbal surrender or is unable to fight due to being unconscious. But having said that it was clear that if you go by damage done, Royce lost that fight. Never would a Gracie settle for a draw but in this case it put Royce in the best light saying he fought to a draw when it was obvious that if it was truly a no time limit match Royce would have whithered away.
The third fight with Bellator was a complete disgrace and and a huge injustice done to Shamrock. Royce was working with Bellator and the obvious bias against Shamrock and trying to ensure victory for Royce was corruption and bias beyond anything Rorion had done. It was especially infuriating to me was that though I fly the Gracie flag, Shamrock was a legend and the rivalry between him and Royce was the stuff of legend.
Ken deserved better. To end a legendary career, one of the original stars that made this sport, in such a disgraceful fashion is just beyond injustice. There was no honor in that gift given to Royce. Every time I think about it. How Shamrock was treated is a huge black mark on MMA. I don't know who was responsible. It was the referee who stopped the fight but it was such an obvious bad call that I don't know if it was just bad refereeing or if the fix was in. Royce should have stopped and let Shamrock recover and try to achieve a legit honorable victory to and end this decades long classic rivalry with dignity and class. Such a disgrace. Such utter disrespect to one of the true legends in the UFC.
