FanHouse Ken Shamrock

Two new names will be added to the short list of those inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 10 as part of UFC's Fan Expo during UFC 100 weekend.

To date, only five have earned the honor: Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Dan Severn, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman.

The UFC has not released the names of the new inductees, but if I were to venture a guess, I would think that former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell is a lock for one of the slots. While Liddell has not officially retired (he's currently on vacation), UFC President Dana White has repeatedly stated "the Iceman" is done in the octagon.

I'm pretty sure he hates me after this interview, but I've always liked Ken Shamrock, and one of the things I like best about him is exactly the quality he showed in my contentious interview with him: He doesn't back down to anyone.

So I took a particular interest in the article about Shamrock in Friday's Detroit Free Press. Because Shamrock actually sounds, after all these years of being known for his legendary temper, like he works hard at not letting his temper get the best of him.

Frank Shamrock will always be known as one of the legends of mixed martial arts, but he's 36 years old, he hasn't fought in more than a year, and recently he's been focusing on broadcasting and on writing MMA for Dummies. So as Shamrock prepares to return to the cage Saturday night for Strikeforce on Showtime, will he be ready to fight against a younger opponent, Nick Diaz?

In an interview Tuesday, Shamrock told me he's more than ready. He also talked about his adopted brother Ken Shamrock, his once (and future?) opponents Cung Le and Tito Ortiz, and why he wants to see Kimbo Slice in Strikeforce. The full interview is below.

Above is a picture I just took off my own TV, showing a commercial for Saturday night's March Badness pay-per-view show. The only problem is that Ken Shamrock has been suspended after testing positive for steroids and is no longer on the card.

Twelve years ago, Bobby Lashley was one of the most impressive college wrestlers in the country. Two years ago, he was one of the most popular professional wrestlers in the country. But now he has a new challenge in front of him, making the transition from wrestling to mixed martial arts.

I interviewed Lashley this week about his upcoming fight with Jason Guida (Lashley told me he knows nothing about Guida and asked me to tell him what I know), about the cancellation of his previously scheduled fight with Ken Shamrock (Lashley doesn't hold it against Shamrock that he was suspended after a positive steroid test) and about his goals in MMA (Lashley wants to be a champ).

The full interview is below.

Although Ken Shamrock's steroid suspension has put a halt to his planned fight with Bobby Lashley, the fight might not be off for good: Lashley told me on Friday that he thinks there's a chance he'll fight Shamrock in Japan later this year.

"If Ken ever wants to fight with me, if he wants to go to Japan and do that fight, I wouldn't mind doing that also. I know it's kind of a touchy subject, but to do one fight in Japan, I don't mind doing it. I think it's a great fight. I think he's a great fighter. And I know that the guy wasn't maliciously trying to go out there to try go gain an advantage over anybody," said Lashley, who is now scheduled to fight Jason Guida in the May 21 March Badness event.

The steroid suspension of Ken Shamrock forced the promoters of the upcoming "March Badness" boxing/MMA event to find a new opponent for the former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley. That opponent, it has now been reported, is Jason Guida.

Ariel Helwani of Versus.com reports that Guida vs. Lashley will take place on the undercard of a night of fights that also includes Roy Nelson vs. Jeff Monson in MMA and the return of Roy Jones to the boxing ring, to face Omar Sheika.

Ken Shamrock, the UFC Hall of Famer who is still trying to make a go of it in mixed martial arts at age 45, reportedly tested positive for three different anabolic steroids after his fight on February 13.

The California State Athletic Commission has suspended Shamrock for one year, and all other states will honor that suspension. Shamrock had been scheduled to fight his fellow former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley on March 21, but that fight is now off.

Shamrock has not commented publicly, and I was unable to reach him or his associates. Shamrock's outgoing voicemail message sounds like an allusion to his current plight: It says, "Hi, this is Ken Shamrock. I'm not in right now, but if you leave a name and number, I'll get right back to you. A little food for thought: Christians aren't perfect, but God, the one who forgives us, is."

When Ken Shamrock steps into the ring against Bobby Lashley on March 21, the two former pro wrestling stars will be fighting in a legitimate, sanctioned mixed martial arts competition. But it appears that as far as the sports books are concerned, Shamrock vs. Lashley is more like WWE than MMA.