Frank Shamrock: "Before, I just wanted to kick his butt because he was mean to me and he's a bully."

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Here are Frank Shamrock’s responses from Tuesday’s CBS conference call. Among the items discussed were the health of his arm, his upcoming bout with his brother Ken, his thoughts on the Lawler/Smith rematch and much more.

Operator: We’ll go next to John Navarro with Knockout TV.

John Navarro: Doug, CBS seems to be a company of firsts -- the first company to start off on broadcast TV and now you guys are going to be on broadcast TV and (premium) TV. How do you see that developing your marketplace within this industry? Is that going to take you to a new level?

John Navarro: When do you anticipate seeing a rematch between Cung Le and Frank Shamrock?

Doug DeLuca: Well, Frank … I don't even know if Frank's joined yet and if he ...
Frank Shamrock: I'm here.

Doug DeLuca: Hey, Frank. How are you?

Frank Shamrock: I'm good, fantastic, very excited. I'm sorry I'm late, everybody, and I apologize for stepping on your question, but I want to thank everyone for coming out. I was at the hospital getting my bone density scans for my arm, and I'll let everybody here be the first to know I'm cleared for combat so Cung Le or Scott Smith or whoever comes out as the victor, or Kimbo Slice, or whoever's been eating their Wheaties, they better keep eating them.

Doug DeLuca: So there you have it. I mean, in answer to your question. There will definitely be a Frank Shamrock-Cung Le rematch. I think we have to sit down with Frank. This is great news that we just got now and we'll have to figure out when that might be.

John Navarro: Frank, after watching that last battle between Scott Smith and Robbie Lawler, how do you expect this one to come out?

Frank Shamrock: I think Lawler really has Smith's number when it comes to the standup game and when it comes to dictating pressure and positioning in the game. I think it's going to be a similar fight. I really think Lawler can control that striking game to do the most amount of power punching and damage. I see him coming out on this, and yes, I just think he's too strong, too big, and too in his zone with his new standup skills and his wrestling combination. He's got a flow about him that's really going to be tough to beat for a while.

John Navarro: And how do you see the Jake Shields' match with 'The Goat'?

Frank Shamrock: I don't know. That's a tricky fight to call. Shields has so much skill and I think he's just really underrated and, underappreciated as a technician. I think that is going to be a very intense technical battle, but I think it can go either way.

John Navarro: What can you tell us Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva?

Frank Shamrock: All I know is he's a giant and his technique improves every single time. His new game is standup with flying knees, and for a man of this size to be throwing flying knees and head kicks it's very exciting and very damaging. I just think he's a young man in the sport with a lot of potential and I think he's going to knock some fools out.

Nick Solomon: Frank, are you still looking at the possibility of a fight with your (half-) brother, (Ken)?

Frank Shamrock: Oh, yes, most definitely.

Nick Solomon: Would you want to fight Ken first, or Cung le?

Frank Shamrock: Well, I think the Ken fight is really important to get done as soon as possible not only because we're both getting older, but I think now is the time to tell the story of the sport and the families and the brothers and stuff that were involved at the beginning of the sport and how it came to be what it is. I think it's an educational opportunity and it's great television so I'd love to get that fight in first. And Cung's a great martial artist and we do really well here in San Jose. But I want the world to see that fight and a promotion like “Blood Brothers” would really kick that fight to the next level.

But yes, I mean, that's kind of my general plan. I would like to get a fight in at the end of this year just because my hand feels better and I’ve got to keep fighting. So we might try to sneak that in, but haven't really figured out the logistics of it because, of course, I just found out about an hour ago.

Nick Solomon: Doug, what is your response to what Frank said about the fight between him and Ken?

Doug DeLuca: Absolutely. It's something Frank and I have been talking about for quite some time. I agree with Frank wholeheartedly. It's an important fight, one the two brothers will want to have and have wanted to have for a long time. It just hasn't been the right time to put it together, but I think now is the time to put it together. Frank and I are still kind of working on some of the details, but I think it's a fight that the MMA community definitely wants to see.

With both of their very rich backgrounds in the sport and because of their personalities and their characters, I mean, you have two legions of the sport and guys that have been there from the very beginning and have kind of grown up with the sport and are now both successful in different ways in the sport. It’s a compelling story and stories are what is going to make the mainstream public watch as well. So I think it's an interesting fight that new fans, old fans, casual fans, any fan of a combat sport will want to see. So , we're excited to make it happen and we're going to work towards that with Frank and Ken.

Nick Solomon: Doug, so which of the options are you looking at more closely? Putting Ken first for Frank? Or Cung Le?

Doug DeLuca:”It's an interesting question and I don't have an answer for it at this point in time. Frank and I have gone back and forth with it a number of times. I kind of lean towards Frank. I mean, maybe it's the Ken fight first, but, in promoting, everything is timing and it's about where, when, what the platform for promoting it is … so , we have a lot of unanswered questions, but we're trying to answer them real quickly.

Frank Shamrock: Yes, Doug, if I could interject there. What's unique about ProElite, CBS, SHOWTIME relationship is they're thinking on long term. They're not thinking to the next fight. I'd love to say, yes, I'm going to fight that guy next, but what has made good entertainment good entertainment is that the stories intertwine and they last for a long time.

Those are the type of compelling stories and talent we're trying to generate through ProElite and the CBS and SHOWTIME concept is (that) stories drive the sport and we're only going to get one shot at two brothers who are legends in one sport that's brand new fighting each other. It's got to be done right.
And like Doug said, the timing's got to be right, the platform has got to be right. We think it's right very soon but the public will tell at the end of the day what they want. The fans will tell us what they want and, of course, we'll give it to them.

Operator: We'll take another follow-up from Doug Jeffrey with Ultimate Grappling.

Doug Jeffrey: Frank, do guys are on a pretty big stage. Do you feel any pressure being part of the announcing team?

Frank Shamrock: I do, personally. The pressure I feel truthfully is from within. I feel a huge burden to present mixed martial arts, MMA in its modern format as a martial art. I feel I have a duty to kind of educate and support the values and principles of the martial arts. I really think that's why it's important. The funny thing is, it’s cool and all that but I really think that's what's important. So I feel a responsibility to do that.

I also feel a professional responsibility to be as good as I can at my job. We went to primetime. It was totally untested water. I mean, this was as monumental as we could make it and we nailed it. That was a lot of stress, but I certainly feel better going into the second event. But I still 100 percent feel the responsibility to educate and involve the community in martial arts and then to call it like I see it.

Doug Jeffrey: Frank, when the idea to fight Ken was first presented to you, what crossed your mind?

Frank Shamrock: Well, I mean, it was my idea so for me, it came from a negative place. Ken and I were in a bad way, we've had a challenging relationship, and for me the first thought was, boy, I'd love to just kick the crap out Ken. It evolved into a much more mature idea. For me, it's about paying penance to the – to my mentor who brought me up, who is my brother, for bringing our family back together and for standing for something that's really, really important, whether he believes or I believe it or whatever it is. That's why I think the fight was so important and that's what it's turned into. Before, I just wanted to kick his butt because he was mean to me and he's a bully.

Operator: We'll go next to Scott Linesburgh with the "Stockton Record".

Scott Linesburgh: Frank, you and Ken grew up pretty close to Stockton, right?

Frank Shamrock: Yes, yes. We actually lived in Lockeford for several years. I actually began my fighting career in Lockeford, Calif., which is right next to Lodi, which of course is right outside of Stockton. We'd go to Stockton all the time. It was kind of the big city next to our little city. But I grew up all in northern California from 12 years old on.

Scott Linesburgh: When did you stop living in the Lockeford area?

Frank Shamrock: Well, let me see, I lived there from about 20 till I was 24, I want to say. That was kind of my Stockton, Lodi time.

Scott Linesburgh: Did you start to fight then, or were you already fighting at that time?

Frank Shamrock: No, no. I was dropping out of college and Bob Shamrock, my adoptive father and Ken's father – I wanted to move back and he said I could if I got a job or did the wrestling thing my brother was doing. So I literally walked into the gym one day and had never done any combative sports or martial art, anything. I fought Ken for 20 minutes and learned about martial arts.

Scott Linesburgh: What years did you live around Stockton?

Frank Shamrock: I would have been there from '93 till I moved to San Jose in 1997.

Scott Linesburgh: Do you think the Stockton area is built for this sport?

Frank Shamrock: It's built for it. This sport is a community type social activity. It takes a lot of people. You need a good group, you need partners. It takes a community to do this and support one person or two people or three people. So the more rural your area or the more community-based your area the faster this catches on because it's something where my daughter's going to go do MMA. She's only three months old, but all my kids – all my friends' kids -- everybody does it because that's our lifestyle. And when you get a nice, settled rural community or a slower community that stuff multiplies quickly.

Scott Linesburgh: If you did fight Ken, would it have to be in northern California, like San Jose, Stockton? Would that be the place to do it? Or do you not have a preference?

Frank Shamrock: Well, there's certainly a preference there just for locals, but I really think this is a story that is bigger than any region, and I really think, like Doug, this is a television-based product and once you get to that level it doesn't really matter so much where you go as long as a lot people are watching it.

Scott Linesburgh: Frank, what do you think of the Diaz-Denny fight?

Frank Shamrock: It's compelling. I know Diaz . Denny’s a kind of wild card – he's a wild man. I definitely think Nick's probably picked to come through that fight. But Denny he could change a fight in two seconds and he's got a lot of experience.

My concern is that he gets into a tie up match and somebody's bleeding and it's not a pretty fight. But when it comes to technique, they're both good technicians. It should be a good technical fight. I just hope it's a pretty one.

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