Ken Shamrock sounds like a man that has seen it all.
But even the UFC hall-of-famer was surprised by Conor McGregor’s 13-second knock-out of Jose Aldo earlier this month.
The win made the Irishman the undisputed featherweight champion of the UFC, with much debate now as to where he ranks in the pantheon of great MMA fighters.
Shamrock is a big fan, and he feels that since that win in Last Vegas, it’s easy to rate the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now.
“Without a doubt, Conor McGregor. His knockout over Aldo, for me, clinched it,” he said. “It was crazy. I mean Aldo, that guy is great. To see what he did there, to me, that’s hands down.”
Shamrock is full of praise for The Notorious but also has a warning for the new champion, who has been enjoying his Christmas holidays in Dublin the last few days.
The 51-year-old feels that McGregor can become a legend of UFC, but also is also concerned about the increasing fame McGregor is subject to,
“When that happens, you fear that it doesn’t go to his head. You fear that because there’s so many people in his head right now telling him how great he is that you believe it. You believe you’re the greatest thing in the world and you think no rules apply to you.
“I’m not saying this, I mean I’m saying this because I went through it. I was in that moment and it’s really, really a hard drug to get away from. I just hope there’s the right people around him and in his corner that are telling him to be level-headed, understand the realm of what it is you’re doing and what it means in the world.”
Clip: Fighthub
