Wikipedia

Lion's Den (mixed martial arts)

TheLion's Denis an Americanmixed martial artsteam and training facility that was based out ofLodi, CaliforniaandSan Diego, California.The team was founded in the early 1990s byUFCHall of FamerKen Shamrock,and was the most dominant fight camp in the early UFC. It featured fighters such asFrank Shamrock,Guy Mezger,Vernon "Tiger" White,Jerry Bohlander,Tra Telligman,Pete Williams,andMikey Burnett.

The Lion's Den
Est.1994
Founded byKen Shamrock
Primary trainersKen Shamrock
Guy Mezger- Lion's Den (Dallas)
Past titleholdersKen Shamrock1st King of Pancrase (Pancrase 1994); Superfight Champion (UFC)
Guy Mezger7th King of Pancrase (Pancrase 1998)
Roy NelsonIFL Heavyweight Champion 205 lb (93 kg)+
Frank ShamrockUFC middleweight champion, Strikeforce middleweight champion
Maurice SmithUFC Heavyweight Champion
Vernon WhiteKing of the CageMiddleweight Champion
Joe HurleyKing of the CageMiddleweight Champion
Training facilitiesReno, Nevada
Dallas,Texas
Scottsdale, Arizona
WebsiteKen Shamrock's Lion's Den
Lion's Den Dallas

Establishment

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The team was founded out of necessity, as the then-new sport ofmixed martial artsbegan to take off in the early-to-mid 1990s. Shamrock, who had fought atUFC 1,had trouble finding adequate sparring partners to prepare for fights. Shamrock attracted the attention of American fightersVernon WhiteandGuy Mezgerearly on, and formed the first ever mixed martial arts team in theUSA.

In trying to come up with a name for it, Shamrock recalled a documentary he saw about lions. The documentary showed how a group of lions hunted their prey and worked together. He felt his group of fighters should work the same way and be like a family, so he chose to name his gym the Lion's Den.

"Top of the Food Chain"

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The Lion's Den was highly successful for many years and was widely regarded as one of, if not the best,mixed martial artsschools in the world throughout the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. Fighters such asGuy Mezger,Ken Shamrock,Frank Shamrock,andJerry Bohlanderall became UFC Champions.Mikey Burnettcame very close to winning theUFC Welterweight Championship,losing a controversial split decision toPat MiletichatUFC Brazil.Guy Mezger was consistently ranked in the top 10 as aLight Heavyweightduring his time with the UFC and PRIDE, and was ranked as high as the #6Light Heavyweightfighter in the world in 2001, behind such notable names asTito Ortiz,Wanderlei Silva,Dan Henderson,andChuck Liddell.The Lion's Den was also dominant in theKing of the Cagepromotion in the early 2000s, which at the time was an upper echelon MMA promotion.Vernon Whiteand Joe Hurley both achieved championship gold inKOTC.

It was fighters who had roots in the Lion's Den that were the original champions in three of theUFC's first four weight divisions. Ken Shamrock was the original UFC superfight champion in 1995, beatingDan Severn,which became the UFC heavyweight championship.Frank Shamrockwas the first UFC middleweight champion in 1997, beating Olympic gold medal winning wrestlerKevin Jackson,which is now the UFC light heavyweight championship.Jens Pulver,who trained briefly at the Lion's Den in 1999 before joining Bob Shamrock's "Shamrock 2000" MMA gym and then moving on toMFS,beatCaol Unoto become the first UFC bantamweight champion in 2001, which is now the UFC lightweight championship.Mikey Burnettlost a close split decision toPat Miletichfor the creation of the UFC lightweight championship in 1999, which is today's welterweight title.[1]

Other fighters, such asTra TelligmanandPete Williams,earned the respect of the MMA world by defeating giants of the sport in upset fashion. Telligman defeated one of Pride's best fighters,Igor Vovchanchyn,atPride 13 - Collision Coursein a stunning upset. After this victory, Tra was ranked as the #10Heavyweightfighter in the world in MMA.[2]Williams knocked out former UFC Heavyweight ChampionMark Colemanwith a high kick to the head in overtime atUFC 17,and eventually earned aUFC Heavyweight Championshiptitle shot. Pete Williams was also ranked as high as the #6Heavyweightfighter in the world as of May 2000.[3]The Lion's Den was also successful in thePancraseorganization. Ken Shamrock and Guy Mezger becameKing of Pancrasemultiple times, and Frank Shamrock won the interimKing of Pancrasetitle.

The Lion's Den also attracted many top fighters from outside to seek help in their training, including UFC Heavyweight ChampionMark Coleman,UFC 6tournament ChampionOleg Taktarov,and UFC Heavyweight ChampionMaurice Smith.After losing atUFC 5,Taktarov went to live and train with the Lion's Den, and subsequently went on to win theUFC 6tournament.Maurice Smith,a world class kickboxer, offered to help the Lion's Den with their striking in exchange for help with his submission and ground skills. While training with the Lion's Den, Maurice Smith defeated Mark Coleman to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and became the first striker to survive the attack of a world class wrestler. Smith later joined forces with Lion's Den fighterFrank Shamrockto form their own team, called The Alliance. Coleman, after losing two fights in a row to Lion's Den fighters, went to train with the Lion's Den and was coached and cornered byKen ShamrockatUFC 18.

Lion's Den champions

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Tryouts

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Historically, the Lion's Den is known for its brutal try-outs.[4]"Marine boot camp is not fun. It is not pretty. That's because they are preparing you for war. I am preparing my fighters for war," Shamrock said when discussing the tryout.[5]Once accepted into the Den, the members would be financially backed by Shamrock, so Shamrock made the tryout very difficult to ensure the fighter was totally committed to becoming a professional fighter.[4]The try out consisted of the following:

  • 500squats
  • 200push ups
  • 200sit ups
  • 1.5-mile (2.4 km) run
  • Repeated runs up and down bleacher steps
  • Bear-crawlsup steep hills
  • Lugging heavy barrels of water and sand bags up steep hills
  • The candidates who were still left at this point would then go on to do as many pull-ups as they can without stopping.
  • Candidates then went to the actual Lion's Den facility for several hours of sparring.

Shamrock wanted fighters that could get through this ordeal without quitting, even after their body had failed on them, in order to see how serious the fighter was about dedicating his life to MMA fighting.

The Lion's Den tryouts have been criticized by some for their level of brutality.[6]However, Lion's Den fighter and UFC championJerry Bohlandersaid the difficulty of the tryouts are exaggerated: "Most of those stories are like urban myth. Don't get me wrong, the tryout was hard, but far from impossible. We had a few guys that passed it that would never be good candidates for a pro fight. You had to be in shape and have a great deal of determination. I wish I could give you a good story, but most of them are the type that you would have had to experience in person."[7]Bohlander added, "Most of the horror stories that you've heard were from guys that came in but couldn't cut it."[8]

Ken Shamrock has since adjusted the tryout. Currently, The Lion's Den conducts tryouts by showcasing fighters' skills in a series of drills and live competition put on by Ken Shamrock. The new tryout format allows Ken to evaluate toughness and skill, while making cuts to determine who he wants to represent the Den.[4]

Feuds

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The Lion's Den has engaged in a feud withTito Ortiz.The feud began to build when Ortiz, with his fingers, acted like he was shooting at the Lion's Den corner and coach Ken Shamrock after his win overJerry BohlanderatUFC 18,and additionally put on a disrespectful shirt in the octagon after the fight with Bohlander. The feud exploded after his second fight withGuy MezgeratUFC 19when Ortiz put on a shirt that said "Gay Mezger is my Bitch" and gave the middle finger to the Lion's Den corner. Ken Shamrock leaped onto the top of the cage and screamed at Ortiz, angrily waving his finger in Ortiz's face and ordering Ortiz to put a cease to the disrespectful acts. Ortiz's antics enraged the Lion's Den, especially Guy Mezger and leader Ken Shamrock.

Ortiz then fought Frank Shamrock atUFC 22for theUFC Light Heavyweight Championship.Shamrock defeated Ortiz via submission from strikes, and proceeded to make an obscene gesture at Ortiz's corner after the victory.

AtUFC 40,Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz for theUFC Light Heavyweight Championshipin one of the biggest and most hyped MMA fights of all time. Ortiz defeated Shamrock by corner stoppage after the third round ended. After the fight was over, Shamrock raised Ortiz's hand and embraced him, seemingly putting an end to the rivalry. However, Shamrock fought Ortiz with a torn ACL (a severe knee injury), and when Shamrock made light of his injury, Ortiz took it as Shamrock making excuses for the loss and they began feuding again. The rivalry did not end until 2006 atOrtiz vs Shamrock 3 - The Final Chapter,where Ortiz defeated a 42-year-old Shamrock by KO due to strikes.

The Lion's Den has also engaged in a feud with Gracie Jiu Jitsu. The Lion's Den claims that their submission fighting style is superior to Gracie Jiu Jitsu, while the Gracie's have maintained that their style is superior. Specifically, Ken Shamrock has been a longtime rival ofRoyce Gracie,and Frank Shamrock has engaged in a feud with the Cesar Gracie camp.

IFL Fight Team

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TheLions Denwas one of the camps who participated in the lateInternational Fight League.Coached by MMA legendKen Shamrock,the Lion's Den took the place of theNevada Lionswhen the IFL decided to focus more on a camp-based system than a team-based system.Roy Nelson,a member of the Lion's Den, was the IFL's final Heavyweight Champion before it disbanded.

Other notable associated fighters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Meltzer, Dave (2010-01-18)."MMA pioneer Bob Shamrock remembered - Yahoo Sports".Sports.yahoo.Retrieved2014-02-10.
  2. ^"History of odds and rankings 2001-2004 - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums".Sherdog.net. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-05-21.Retrieved2014-02-10.
  3. ^Bloody Knuckles MMA Top 10- May 2000
  4. ^abc[1]ArchivedFebruary 13, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Total MMA: Jonathan Snowden. Page 58
  6. ^[2]ArchivedOctober 31, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  7. ^Winston, Dallas (2009-12-10)."Exclusive: Jerry Bohlander on Lions Den, Ken/Frank, MMA's Evolution".Thegarv.Retrieved2014-02-10.
  8. ^"Getting rolled up by Ken Shammy - MMA Forum".Mixedmartialarts.Retrieved2014-02-10.
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