Dan Severn is doing his best to play the part of a detective when it comes to why his scheduled fight with Ken Shamrock at the first ever UR Fight event fell through. If you ask “The Beast,” it’s because Shamrock is missing two things.
Speaking to John Franklin of Combat Press prior to the event, Severn addressed the issue of Shamrock pulling out only a few weeks prior to the event.
“How do I put this bluntly so there’s no fuzzy line here?” Severn pondered. “Did he get hurt? Or does he not just have the balls to step in the ring with me?”
Shamrock competed at Bellator 149 last month and suffered a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Royce Gracie. The fight barely got started before an inadvertent knee struck the groin of Shamrock. As he collapsed to the ground, Gracie followed with a series of hammerfist strikes to cause the referee to intervene. Shamrock never lost consciousness during the bout, but he was still hit with a medical suspension after the event.
However, Severn contends the promotion was looking to put this fight together since last fall. Although Severn officially retired from MMA in 2013, a potential showdown with Shamrock helped lure him out of retirement.
“I was contacted by this company, UR Network, back in November,” Severn said. “When I had returned in January 2013, I retired with a clause — I would seriously think about coming back out of retirement for one of three people: [Mark] Coleman, Shamrock and [Royce] Gracie. This company contacted me and said, ‘We have Ken Shamrock on the hook, are you interested?’ I told them I’m all ears.”
Unfortunately, the two MMA legends weren’t able to face off with each other. It would’ve been a rather nostalgic moment for MMA fans. Severn and Shamrock have previously fought on two occasions, first at UFC 6 for the “Superfight Championship” and then at UFC 9. Severn captured the “Superfight Championship” from Shamrock in their second contest. Both men have one win over the other, making a potential third fight a measure of closure for their rivalry.
Severn’s MMA record stands at an impeccable 101-19-7, and given that he is only interested in the aforementioned trio of opponents, odds are likely we won’t see “The Beast” competing in MMA again.