PRO MMA (promma.info) was on hand at the Shamrock Martial Arts Academy for Frank Shamrock’s media workout Wednesday in downtown San Jose, California. Shamrock (24-9-1) will face PRIDE FC and UFC veteran Nick Diaz (18-7, 1NC) at Strikeforce’s April 11th event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.

The MMA legend took some time to sit down with PRO MMA to discuss Diaz and the upcoming bout. Shamrock also discussed the cut to 179, the new location of his gym, Tito Ortiz and the evolution of MMA.

PRO MMA: Frank, how has moving the gym to this new location downtown gone for you?
SHAMROCK: The only hard part was that we moved through Christmas which was hard to get volunteers. A lot of days moving but it’s fantastic, look at it! It is absolutely amazing. The energy in this place, the feel of it…everyone says it looks like the White House when you come in and then you are up in here it looks like a dungeon of sorts. It’s the kind of place I need. Hardcore, rugged, a little dirty and dusty but it’s good.

PRO MMA: At the Strikeforce press conference last week there were some tense moments and words exchanged between yourself and Nick Diaz. What do you think of Nick’s personality and him being a representative of the sport of MMA?
SHAMROCK: Well, frankly, I don’t like it. I think it is the wrong message to send about martial arts. To me its martial arts…mixed martial arts or whatever you want to call it, it is still martial arts. There is a way about things, to promote things. I’m the first guy to jump on somebody and pick a fight with them, at least verbally, I try to do it with some class and respect. I think he is too young to realize what a beautiful art that it is and I don’t think that he has the skill set, verbally and mentally to kind of support (MMA) the way it is supposed to be. But everyone’s got their gimmick, ya know?

PRO MMA: You’ve talked about your interest to get into boxing and Nick Diaz has some pro boxing experience. Where would you rank Nick’s boxing skills?
SHAMROCK: I think they’re good. They certainly are not to be over looked. He rolls his shoulders nicely and throws his punches in bunches, that is the foundation of boxing. He’s a lot taller than most people, especially in his weight class, so he’s got reach on everybody. I think he is a fair boxer. I think he would be a good amateur boxer. I don’t know about a pro boxer because he never moves his head and you’ve got to move or somebody’s gonna whack ya. That’s kind of my strategy.

PRO MMA: With the fight being at 179 pounds, how do you anticipate the weight process going?
SHAMROCK: This morning I weighed 186.2 pounds, so I don’t think it’s going to be a problem at all. I’ve been progressively getting smaller over the years. My natural body weight is about 183 pounds. I’ve just always tried to keep ten pounds of muscle on me because the bigger you were before, the more money you made. I always tried to cut at least five pounds to get to 185. I don’t think it is going to be a problem at all. In fact, if anything, he might be bigger than me for this match. I think he is six foot two or six-three. He’s a monster.

PRO MMA: Was this the fight that you wanted to come into in 2009? Was there anyone else on your radar for your ’09?
SHAMROCK: No there wasn’t really anyone else that I was kind of waiting for. Showtime’s trying to revive their MMA program. I know that (Showtime) wanted to book an exciting fight, a knockdown-drag out fight. Nick Diaz brings it every single time and I bring it every single time. I think that was the brain child matching this fight. They want exciting fights that are going to have a finish and there is going to be a finish to this one, some one is going down! (laughs)

PRO MMA: I heard you say earlier that you are hoping to knock Nick out in the first round, is that correct?
SHAMROCK: Yeah, that’s my goal.

PRO MMA: Going off that, Josh Gross pointed out in a recent article that submissions, in the UFC, have been down for several reasons. Has the sport started to shift to the stand up game with a focus on knockouts, rather than the ground game?
SHAMROCK: Well, I think it is starting to evolve. It has always been a very flexible sport and its evolved several times. It used to be all grappling and then it was trying to strike, then it went back to grappling again. Now we are in a striking area. I think the striking, it is easier to damage somebody and it takes less energy to damage somebody with striking. When you’re grappling you’ve got to grab them, wrestle into position, secure a hold and use your body to attack it. When you punch or kick, it’s the entire weight of your body, attacking the brain or the body. That is so much easier to damage somebody and takes so much less energy. I just think the whole sport will eventually turn into a pseudo wrestling-striking sport.

PRO MMA: I’ve heard you say that you believe the striking aspect of MMA and, the sport itself, is not where it should be. Have we seen the full evolution of MMA?
SHAMROCK: Yeah, the striking has been the weakness the whole time. We have been mainly a grappling art for a long time. It’s coming and it’s coming quickly, people are catching on. You watch the fights now and it’s more striking than most. The other thing that people are starting to figure out is that grappling is an anaerobic sport. It is a muscular based sport, where striking is an aerobic based sport. So you can strike longer for faster than you can grapple. I just think that as the athlete evolves, which we are pretty close to the top, evolution of the athlete, the striking techniques are right close behind.

PRO MMA: You mentioned earlier that you have progressively been getting smaller over the years. Could that possibly affect you fighting Tito Ortiz down the line? We’ve heard that fight being kicked around for 2009.
SHAMROCK: I mean, it might. The last time I fought him he came in at about 225 or so and I weighed 190. He had a good thirty plus pounds on me then and may have forty pounds on me now. I just think with my understanding of the game and my ability to strike, it’s just going to be really hard for these guys to get a hold of me. That’s my new thing. I know how to grapple, I know how to work the ground game but very few people have the timing and confidence to stay in the pocket and throw a lot of strong punches. I don’t think Tito has a good chin, every time he gets hit he turns his head and runs away. I don’t think he can stay in the pocket with me. I don’t care if he has fifty pounds on me. I’m going to touch his chin and change his mind.

PRO MMA: Is that fight going to happen in 2009?
SHAMROCK: I sure hope so. It’s up to Tito. We are here, we are ready and I know he had a back surgery and wants to get his body back together. Whenever he is ready we will be here.

PRO MMA: Lastly, I’ve heard you say that MMA is an art, a sport, sports entertainment. Is it a sport, art or sports entertainment? What is MMA?
SHAMROCK: It is an artistic expression of sports entertainment.

PRO MMA: Frank thank you for joining us today.
SHAMROCK: My pleasure!

By: Matt De La Rosa

4 thoughts on “PRO MMA exclusive interview: Frank Shamrock”
  1. hello frank can u get back to me, im a young guy, training like a animal im 185 muscle and i live in canada i wanna leave soomuch and traing with ur camps and find some apartment , i just gradauted from highschool. i know u may think im just another punk trying to show off or something like that, please dont get me wrong im yyoung respective man , i’ve been sober all my life, and living on a Rez, i just turned 18. and wanna leave this place. im firstnation mi’kmaq which that makes me a native. i’ve been watching ya fight since when i was lil booger ahaha since gracie’s were there.

    thanks frank
    your #1 fan Tom Jr

    thanks frank,

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