- RENZO ACCEPTS SHAMROCK'S CHALLENGE
by Mitch Gobetz - MMAWeekly.com
Earlier this year, Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie went head to head in a fight that had so much hype surrounding it, only to be stopped short due to illegal knees to the back of the head of Gracie. Even though the judges scored the first round to Shamrock for some reason, Gracie had taken Shamrock down fairly easily and controlled him.
With Shamrock dismantling Phil Baroni this weekend in the StrikeForce promotion, he has said very publicly that he wants to fight Renzo again and finish the feud. Many fans would like to see that fight happen again, because everyone was very surprised how easily Gracie was controlling Shamrock in the first fight. The Frank Shamrock that we saw last Saturday night against Baroni looked like a completely different fighter than the fighter we saw against Gracie.
Gracie was recently on MMAWeekly Radio to responds to Shamrock's challenge. "I never get invited to a party that I didn't show up. I'd love to do it again," Gracie said excitedly. Anyone who knows Gracie knows that he never shies away from a challenge and that he has the heart of a lion. "I want to finish a fight that I never had a chance to finish. I think it will be a continuation of what we had in February."
Gracie did get a chance to see Shamrock in his fight against Baroni and he was very impressed. "I have to say he looked very, very amazing against Baroni. I saw him putting him down twice." A rematch between Gracie and Shamrock could be worth a fortune to them both. Many people want to see what would have happened if the fight could have continued.
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Both fighters are coaches in the IFL, yet the last time they fought, it was under the EliteXC banner. Gracie has his preferences, but he really doesn't care where the fight takes place as long as they fight. "I would love to have it happen in the IFL. If I could pick, I would pick the IFL. Anywhere, it would be a good fight. Any promoter who wants to put it together, it would be a pleasure."
Shamrock believes he can put Gracie away easily and convincingly this time. Gracie, however, thinks that Shamrock is just talking a lot to hide his insecurities. "Anyone who runs his mouth too much, it's because he's not 100% confident in what he does. You never hear me running my mouth."
With the illegal blows that Shamrock used against Gracie, and then again this past weekend against Baroni, Gracie thinks he should be more careful. "He has to be more cautious towards that. It's not fair."
Gracie is extremely confident that the next time they meet, he will put Shamrock away. "Next time, I'm gonna do the full thing this time and finish him."
