MMA legend Ken Shamrock opened up about his famous bout against the late Kimbo Slice back in 2008. Despite getting Slice in a deep submission that appeared to have Slice going out, Shamrock ended up losing the fight after getting caught with a big punch later on.
Shamrock walked through the sequence, explaining how he had the whole game plan mapped out in his mind beforehand. “I felt so good. I felt like I was going to destroy him,” Shamrock told Jaxxon podcast. After taking Slice down and locking in a tight submission, Shamrock thought he had secured the tap and let up slightly, waiting for the referee to stop the action.
However, Slice didn’t officially tap and was able to keep going. “He reaches out…and then does this like nothing,” Shamrock described the confusing non-verbal tap from Slice that made him ease up on the submission attempt. “I literally just eased up on him. And because I felt like he tapped.”
With the acton restarting from the ground, the elder Shamrock admitted his movement was hampered by his shot knees at that stage of his career. Slice was able to capitalize by landing a big punch that had Shamrock rocked and the referee jumping in to stop the contest.
Even after getting clipped by that punch though, Shamrock insisted “I’ve never been knocked out ever. I’ve always hit and I’m okay.” It wasn’t until rewatching the replay that the fighting legend understood why it was waved off. “Once I watched the replay, I was like, okay, now I get it.”
Shamrock clearly felt he was so close to finishing Slice, which made the eventual loss even more frustrating. Still, he praised Slice’s toughness and acknowledged why the referee made the call to stop it when Shamrock appeared hurt by that punch.
