Total-MMA.com

By: Bill Thompson

Admittedly I am in the group of MMA fans that care about the fight and the fight only. All the pre-fight and post-fight antics don’t matter to me now, never have in the past, and likely won’t in the future. I only care about two competitors getting in their chosen arena and giving it their all for my entertainment. I derive my entertainment from the actions of those two competitors in the cage or ring, and that is all I need. Others look for more, they want that post-fight smacktalk or the pre-fight staredown at the weigh-ins. There is one man however that seems to understand just how entertainment works in MMA to a level that no other man can claim to have reached. Even for one such as I, where the fight is all that matters, I am inevitably drawn in by this man’s antics before, during, and after the fight. Frank Shamrock is a polarizing figure, most fans either love him or hate him, but for a different reason than most may suspect he may very well be the only true MMA legend out there.

The fight is all that matters, but even I am not shortsighted enough to ignore that people need to want to watch a fight in order for that fight to happen. This is where the avenues of promotion and marketing come into play, avenues that I usually ignore. However when Frank Shamrock is involved it is hard to ignore these avenues. Shamrock can talk with the best of them and he can infuriate with the best of them. Shamrock has the uncanny ability to make you believe that every fight he enters into is the be all and end all of the fighting world. The man once managed to convince the MMA nation that a fight against Bryan Pardoe was the greatest MMA event of our times. That is a true talent and something that really needs to be appreciated. In a time where the sport is growing at an exponential rate Frank Shamrock still manages to make it seem like his fights are more important than the rest even when we know that they aren’t. He does this because of his amazing ability to connect with the fans at the most basic level, he makes them feel something for him.

Ambivalence is the worst thing that can ever happen to a person, place, or thing that wants to be seen. To not care one way or the other about something usually means the object that is receiving said ambivalence will not be around for long. This is where Frank Shamrock’s greatest strength lay. He reaches the MMA fans where it matters most, he makes them care. There are very few fans that you will find that don’t harbor any feelings for Shamrock one way or the other, they either love him and his antics or they hate him. Shamrock plays up on this through various interviews and appearances where he makes sure that you know that he doesn’t care, that he really is that much better than everyone else. He draws the fans in, he makes his fans love him even more and he draws the ire of those that hate him to a fever pitch. In a world where every dollar is needed to stand out from the rest and every fan is needed to supply that dollar Shamrock seems to understand that more than the rest. He doesn’t just treat his occupation as a fight or a job, he treats it as a spectacle, something to behold, and that is why those who love him and those who hate him always want to behold what will befall him next.

Where Shamrock delivers the most is in the actual fight itself. He taunts and antagonizes his opponents, he keeps his antics up all fight long, and the fans eat it up with a spoon. But, most importantly he backs up what he says in the cage. He always put on a show and as much as those who hate him may want to deny it he always brings the tools necessary to win any fight to the cage with him. Not only does he talk a big game while the fight is going on but he has the skills to back up his talking. He draws the fans in to his fights, even fights that he is dominating and that should seem like a formality he makes interesting for the fans. His serve his ultimate purpose, they ensure that his fans love him even more and add more fuel to the fire of those that hate him. Shamrock is as much of a giant inside the cage as he is outside of it.

Once the fight is over most fighters are conciliatory win or lose. They say the right things, they praise their opponent and they move on. Some fighters are the opposite, they take verbal jabs at their opponent and refuse to either admit defeat or praise their opponent in victory. Frank Shamrock is one of the select few that can combine both worlds and get away with it. Somehow he has found a way to be both sincere with praise for a fallen opponent and yet damning at the same time. He has the ability to sound smug and contrite all at the same time. In short, he has the power to enthrall everyone yet again. His fans walk away from his post-fight rhetoric satisfied while those that hate him walk away with even more hate in their heart. But for Shamrock he walks away every single time with his ultimate goal achieved. Through his antics at the end of the fight he has ensured that everyone will come back to watch him yet again and that even more people will be present for the nest fight.

Zuffa would like you to believe that the brand is all that matters, that MMA is like the NFL where the players are not important but rather the team is important. Frank Shamrock wants you to know that Zuffa are stupid. He wants you to know that the fighters do matter and that one fighter can convince the MMA community that he still matters on the highest level even when you know that he shouldn’t. In a world where everything is tied to promotions and to the overall picture Shamrock wants to stand out and he does so with zeal. MMA is a sport where the word legend is bandied about somewhat and it’s debatable as to whether or not anyone has actually claimed that title. All one need do is take one look at Frank Shamrock and you will see that MMA already has at least one certified legend in its midst. Enjoy watching Frank Shamrock while you can, because there has only been one fighter like him in the history of MMA and who knows if there will ever be another. Continue to cheer for him and continue to hate him, because as long as you never bring ambivalence to bear upon him them his legend can only continue to grow.