Ken Shamrock Says Not Wanting MMA Pioneers to Fight is Age Discrimination

Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn and CSAC executive director Andy Forster spoke with MMAjunkie about the rising trend of older MMA fighters returning to the cage and public reaction over it. Check out the highlights:

Shamrock on people who don’t think older MMA stars should fight anymore: “It’s funny, because we’ve spent hundreds of years with these type of situations. Just like with (civil rights) and women’s lib. To me, it’s so gut-wrenching to think that we are still dealing with discrimination…I mean, who gets the right to say that somebody is too old, especially when that somebody can do more pushups, more sit-ups and run farther than somebody half their age? Somebody who’s able to do everything asked of them to qualify to go in there and compete, yet the people on the outside are still stuck a hundred years in the past.”

Foster on the logistics of booking older fighters: “Matchmaking is incredibly important. Just because you can pass the medicals, that doesn’t tell us everything we need to know.”

Foster on licensing older stars: “Certainly, age is one of the factors to getting a license, but it can’t be the only factor. You have to look at it on a case-by-case basis to make sure the matchup is right, but denying somebody just because they’re an older person, that doesn’t fly with this commission.”

Severn on fighting when older: “Really, once you hit 38 years of age, a lot of state athletic commissions don’t want you anymore. I don’t mind if you make me jump through a few more hoops to compete. That’s OK, because it’s all for the safety of the athletes, and I know I can pass any test you put in front of me. But I do believe it’s a system that’s been tainted by how they approach it for boxing. And at a certain point, the promotions you’re fighting for don’t want to bear the cost of that extra testing.”

On public interest in veteran fights: “I think there is an appetite for, I don’t know, call it a masters division, like they have in other sports. And as long as its done right and those masters compete against other masters, I think it’s something people want to see. You just can’t put the 50-year-old guy against a 25- or 30-year-old guy, because the reality is that no matter how good your skills are, they are diminishing.”

Severn on if he’d face the winner of Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie: “Well, they were on my to-do list in the first place, So sure, I’d do it.”