Ken Shamrock sues the UFC
Longtime MMA fighter and UFC hall-of-famer Ken Shamrock has filed suit against the UFC, alleging breach of contract regarding a two-fight deal he signed prior to his last fight with the organization.
The suit was filed April 15 in Nevada State Court. Zuffa LLC, the UFC's parent company, is located in Las Vegas.
Shamrock first talked about the possible lawsuit during an October 2007 interview with MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) -- a now-famous interview in which he said that he had always planned to return to the organization even though he announced his retirement 19 months ago.
The 44-year-old fighter last competed for the UFC in October 2006 and lost to rival Tito Ortiz for a third time. Prior to the fight, Shamrock had signed a two-fight deal that could have resulted in a fourth and final fight with Ortiz.
Instead, after the fight, Shamrock announced his retirement from the sport. Shamrock, though, said he had intentions of returning.
"The fights were coming back to back (in July and October 2006), and I was being put in these positions to where I had to fight," Shamrock said in October. "So, I did the fights. I had one fight left on my contract, and I wanted to make sure that this last fight that I had on the contact -- that I was able to go in and be 100 percent. And then they cut my contract, which obviously is a breach."
Shamrock, who signed a multi-fight deal with ProElite, Inc. earlier this year, eventually told the UFC that he wanted to fulfill the last fight of his contract. The organization, though, maintains that the contract was fulfilled once he announced he was quitting because of a "retirement clause" in all Zuffa contracts.
Shamrock is asking for damages in excess of $10,000, as well as attorney fees and court costs.
A copy of the lawsuit is available online (.pdf).
Additionally, to read the full interview in which Shamrock first discusses the lawsuit, check out the MMAjunkie.com archives.
Shamrock (26-13-2) lived up to his nickname as the "World's Most Dangerous Man" during MMA's early U.S. beginnings. He posted 14 consecutive first-round submission victories to kick-start his career, which included a win over Patrick Smith in the very first UFC.
Shamrock, who's also worked as professional-wrestling performer, enjoyed a very successful career throughout the 1990s, fighting for the UFC, PRIDE and Pancrase. However, he's struggled as of late, losing his past five fights and seven of his past eight. He most recently suffered a first-round knockout to Robert Berry at a March Cage Rage event. The loss likely cost him a headline slot against Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson in the first Elite-CBS event on May 31.
Shamrock sues UFC
