He may have never won a UFC event when it was in its tournament format, and it can not be said that he was the dominant figure Royce Gracie was in the sport. But there has probably never been a more popular or enduring performer in the history of mixed martial than Ken Shamrock, who has literally spanned every phase of the sport’s development.

Shamrock wasn’t his given name; it was Kenneth Kilpatrick, and he grew up in Georgia under somewhat less than ideal circumstances. Young Ken was a rambunctious youth; he was constantly in trouble, and after several unsuccessful attempts to straighten him out, he was shipped off to California, where he became a ward of the Shamrock Ranch, a boys group home run by a gentleman with an uncanny ability to turn lives around by the name of Bob Shamrock.

It was there that Ken showed an affinity for boxing and wrestling, in addition to other sports. But as an aggressive type, and as he showed in scuffles that took place at the ranch, where Bob had boys settle differences by putting he gloves on, Ken was a fighter - regardless of what the discipline was going to be.

It was clear he was headed in that direction, but not many casual fans are aware that an early wrestling accident almost derailed everything. Ken got his neck broken, and had to have a metal plate inserted at the base of his skull. All the doctors wrote him off as far as future competition was concerned, but the youngster, who was adopted by Bob and assumed his surname, would have none of it.

As he was finding himself, Ken Shamrock found himself in Toughman contests, and working as a bouncer in a nightclub, until one night he went a little too far and almost killed one drunk and disorderly patron. That was

See Tarantino's next movie right now (sort of)
Eager to catch the ultraviolent WWII shootout "Inglorious Bastards," loaded with blaxploitation beefcake and naked chicks? Come on over! <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301605980"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301605980" border="0"/></a></div>
"Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr. gives the most enjoyable performance of the year in this near-genius satire of Hollywood excess and vanity. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301591651"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301591651" border="0"/></a></div>
Do you suffer from blockbuster fatigue?
As the summer movie season drags on, it's time to ask whether there's a limit to how much hype we can take. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301353210"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301353210" border="0"/></a></div>
The 1960s' gayest show
As a kid, "The Wild Wild West" taught me about sexiness and desire -- and how two men could live together and love each other. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301353208"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301353208" border="0"/></a></div>
Is torture an Olympic event?
After 33 years of abuse and imprisonment, one Tibetan monk says no to the Beijing Olympics -- and to the Dalai Lama's accommodation with tyranny. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301299773"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301299773" border="0"/></a></div>
Big Think: "Often, I felt I was actually overstepping boundaries"
Ceridwen Dovey reflects on filming her documentary in South Africa and her generation's relationship with apartheid. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301128393"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=301128393" border="0"/></a></div>
Critics' Picks
What you need to see, read, do this week: Tiger attacks, young Arab Brooklynites and a couple of guys named Corey. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300832838"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300832838" border="0"/></a></div>
"Elegy" for a topless bombshell
Penélope Cruz gets art-history naked and Ben Kingsley is diamond-brilliant in an overly pretty film adaptation of Philip Roth's "Dying Animal." <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300789964"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300789964" border="0"/></a></div>
Olympic torch song
Some love the Games for the competition. I love them for the Opening Ceremony kitsch. Bring on the belting divas, plush bears and dancing cows! <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300606305"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300606305" border="0"/></a></div>
The art world's Pepsi Generation
"Beautiful Losers" chronicles the art rebels of the '90s, fueled by punk, skateboarding, graffiti and trash culture. Now brought to you by Nike! <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300519111"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=78fbcf6d84a5470dac0e03fca480ff36&u=300519111" border="0"/></a></div>

enough bar work for him. Afterward he enrolled in wrestling school and began the slow climb up the ladder.

His point of entry was South Atlantic Professional Wrestling, a small circuit in the Southeast. Ken did not earn a lot of money there, but there was experience to be gained and contacts to be made. One of those contacts told him about an outfit in Japan that might offer a much better opportunity. And so Ken Shamrock was off to the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF).

UWF action was something that would be rather unfamiliar to American wrestling fans. It had a lot of the characteristics of shoot fighting, in that many of the moves, strikes and holds that were made during the matches were real. But the outcomes were predetermined, meaning that eventually the competitors had to get around to the scripted ending to crown the winner.

Shamrock enjoyed this, and became a popular and formidable competitor in the year he was with the UWF, but the idea of continuing in a “worked” event, even one that contained as much realism as the UWF, lost its appeal because it did not being him all the satisfaction in the world. he figured it was time to make a move.

It was then that Ken Shamrock took the first step toward what would eventually lead him to worldwide fame in the UFC.