MMA Legend and First-Ever UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Frank Shamrock. Photo courtesy of: James Manalisay/Strikeforce

By Joshua Molina

Who says Frank Shamrock has been written out of the UFC history book?

In the promotion of the Cung Le. vs. Rich Franklin fight in China, there he is, live in front of the whole world to see, getting his butt kicked by Cung Le.

Apparently Shamrock only exists if the UFC can make him look bad in a one-minute video to hype one of the guy’s fighting.

Here’s how it goes on the video:

“Cung’s matchup against Shamrock is legendary,” says Rich Franklin.

Mauro Ranallo screams, “Down goes Shamrock”!
(Le, by the way, had dropped Shamrock with a leg sweep, not a punch or kick).

“Broke his arm,” Franklin says, as an image of Shamrock scrambling to get up is played.

Yes, Le broke Shamrock’s arm, but it wasn’t from the knockdown or even a submission. Shamrock broke his arm defending his face from Le’s devastating kicks. Shamrock didn’t come out for Round 4.

The video is remarkable for a few reasons. First, you haven’t seen Shamrock on UFC TV in a long time, regardless of how he is portrayed. Since UFC boss Dana White and Frank Shamrock despise each other, Shamrock has been erased from Great Fight or Great Knockout highlight reels.

Shamrock was one of the UFC’s early pioneers. He fought for the company in the late 1990s, even submitting Tito Ortiz.

White often calls Shamrock “irrelevant” and Shamrock often calls White a “douchebag.”

So it’s pretty amazing to see Shamrock used to promote a UFC fight. They are essentially saying that “Le beat the legendary Frank Shamock so Rich Franklin is in trouble.”

It’s weird to hear Franklin call the Le vs. Shamrock fight “legendary.” It was a big fight in the San Jose, California area because both fighters lived there. The fight sold out the HP  Pavilion. The actual fight was good, but not legendary. In fact the ending was a bit anti-climatic since Shamrock ended the fight unable to come out for the round.

UFC had Strikeforce footage that show’s Le winning far more impressively. They could have showed him hammering Scott Smith, whom he actually knocked out with a kick.

Le’s battle with Wanderlei Silva was a way more exciting fight than the one with Shamrock.

So is the UFC just trying to make Shamrock look bad (it actually never mentioned his first name).

Or is it actually acknowledging that Le’s victory over Shamrock was a significant moment in MMA because Shamrock’s a big legend?

Whatever the reason, Frank Shamrock is back on UFC TV, even if it is just for a few embarrassing seconds.

Now for a look at the world of MMA media . . .

411Mania has a fairly unintentionally humorous column ranking the Top 10 Strikeforce fighters of all time. The “list” is more like a random collection of Strikeforce fighters than an analysis the best to ever step inside the hexagon.

All that needs to be said about this list is that the writer left off Jake Shields, who famously upset Dan Henderson and then left the company as Middleweight champion.

Shields may be the most boring fighter in the world, but he was one of Strikeforce’s best.