Scouting Report: Prime Frank Shamrock

Frank Shamrock

Born: Dec. 8, 1972 (Age: 49) in Santa Monica, California
Division: Middleweight/Light Heavyweight
Height: 5’10”
Reach: 71”
Record: 23-10-2
Association: The Alliance

Summary: During his prime, which occurred when Shamrock ditched the Lion’s Den and formed The Alliance with Maurice Smith and Tsuyoshi Kosaka, he was way ahead of his time. His stance, movement and defense all resembled that of a fighter a decade later. He had some wrestling ability—though it was hampered by knee injuries—and great submissions for his day, along with good striking for the era, a time when few guys were even remotely well-rounded. His biggest weakness was his lack of takedown defense, but he excelled at getting back to his feet and remains an all-time great at striking from his back, which was facilitated by the rules of the time and the allowance of strikes to the back of the head.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Average.
• Jab: Almost never threw it, but when he did, the punch was slow, weak and not especially technical.
• Cross: A straight, accurate and powerful shot, even by modern standards. It was his main weapon in the striking department.
• Left Hook: Serviceable.
• Overhand Right: Solid mechanically and carried some power, but it was horribly telegraphed and thus easy to avoid or counter.
• Uppercuts: Did not throw them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: More of a one-shot sniper.
• Favorite Combinations: Used the one-two on occasion, although the jab was of no real concern to opponents.
• Leg Kicks: Hard, accurate and technical. However, they were definitely telegraphed and possible to counter, as they were often thrown naked.
• Body Kicks: A little slower and less accurate than the leg kick.
• Head Kicks: Rarely threw them.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Shamrock’s striking game was basic by modern standards, but it evolved and was decently well-rounded for his time, not to mention highly effective. He lacked many punches and skills, but he had a ferocious, accurate, technical straight right that hurt and led to knockouts against multiple opponents. Shamrock also had punishing if telegraphed kicks to the legs and body at his disposal. Notably, his stance, movement and defense were all vastly superior to other fighters of the 1990s, making him a difficult target to hit.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Good.
• Technique: Poor. Did not fight for underhooks at all and would go for ill-advised headlocks and guillotine attempts.
• Knees: Learned to throw a proper, technical and hard strike.
• Elbows: Did not throw them.
• Defense Against Knees and Elbows: Fair.

Shamrock was a weak technical grappler in the clinch, but he was physically strong. An effective knee strike was enough to allow him to hold his own in that area. However, he was frequently taken down from that position.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Offered a fast, dynamic and mostly technical double-leg, although he had little else.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Made basic mistakes by not fighting for underhooks and going for ill-advised headlocks.
• Takedown Defense: Did not sprawl or turn the corner well and went for ill-advised guillotines, some of these tendencies likely due to knee injuries. He could ward off poor attempts.
• Ability to Return to Feet: Excellent, with the ability to sweep. However, some of this can be attributed to bad mistakes from his opponents.
• Submissions: Exceptional. He could apply quick armbars from the bottom and also attack the lower body with technical heel hooks and kneebars. Brazilian jiu-jitsu has advanced a lot in the year since, but his skills still hold up to modern standards.
• Defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Attacked with armbars when given any separation while also targeting the back of an opponent’s head with punches and elbows—a tactic he used to finish the much larger Tito Ortiz.
• Top Control: Below average, frequently getting pushed off-balance and allowing easy, basic sweeps from the bottom or permitting the opponent to simply stand up.
• Ground-and-Pound: He could land powerful elbows and punches, but he was easy to tie up.

Shamrock’s grappling was mostly based around his excellent, well-rounded submissions—especially a quick, technical armbar off his back and the ability to attack the opponent’s lower body with heel hooks and kneebars, byproducts of his days in Pancrase. He also excelled at striking from his back, thanks to the ability to hit the back of the head. He was adept at getting back to his feet, although some of this was due to poor top control and mistakes from fighters. From the top, Shamrock was not especially threatening. He had nice double-leg as a wrestler but little else, and he was especially vulnerable in the clinch. His takedown defense in general was a relative weakness, with excellent wrestlers taking him down at will. Luckily for Shamrock, they had yet to master submissions or even submission defense, so he could strike them without fear from his back.

INTANGIBLES

Athleticism and General Physical Strength: Sufficient.
Cardio: An all-time great and way ahead of his time, with fantastic conditioning that allowed him to win many long fights without rounds or rest periods. Examples: His submission against a young Jeremy Horn after 16 and a half minutes and his stoppage of Ortiz late in Round 4. Notably, Horn and Ortiz also had tremendous cardio.
Chin: Weathered many hard shots, even from fighters like Bas Rutten, with little effect.
Recuperative Powers: Good.
Intelligence: An all-time great. You do not advance the art of mixed martial arts as much as Shamrock did in the 1990s without high-level thought processes. He also made many great tactical decisions in his fights.