The recent admission of UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock in an interview with Mike Straka of HDNet’s Fighting Words was not appalling since he was previously tested positive for steroids in 2009. He was suspended for one year because of 3 different anabolic steroids found in his system when he fought super heavyweight Ross Clifton at “War Gods: Valentine’s Eve Massacre” in 2009. He won the fight but anti-doping authorities slapped him with a suspension due to Stanozolol and 19-Norandrosterone and 19-Noretiocholanolone, both were nandrolone-based substances.

Shamrock questioned the results but did not pursue the case to clear his name. Instead he just accepted the suspension. With his admission, it validated the results of his steroid tests. The reason for admitting in public that he took steroids is not yet clear. But some of MMA fans lauded his decision. “Kudos to Shamrock for being so honest and not making phony excuses like baseball players do,” commented by a fan.

However, the most interesting part in the interview was the insinuation of the MMA legend that the fans put too much burden on the players to become bigger, stronger and perform at the highest level. “They want home runs, baby. They want people jacking them out of the park,” Shamrock said. He noted that whenever a player tested positive for a banned substance, the fans would immediately blame them for being irresponsible. “But then when they find out about it they want to stick their heads in the sand and (say), ‘How bad, that was stupid, you’re crazy, don’t let him in the hall of fame.’ It’s like let’s point the finger because if we don’t point the finger at somebody else, we have to point it at ourselves because we knew. Nobody wants to take responsibility, but everyone wants to see it,” he added.

Ken Shamrock also revealed how easy it is to buy steroids especially for professional athletes. “It’s like going to the grocery store. It’s that simple. It’s that easy,” said Shamrock. However, abusing these drugs could pose harm to the athlete. “But when you start trying to make things bigger and better, you’re going to get yourself hurt.”

Journeyman Dennis Hallman agreed on Shamrock’s statement. The use of steroids in the sport is common. “Just like if you have a headache, you take aspirin to make yourself feel better; if you have a serious injury and you take steroids to heal you, that’s a smart thing to do. That’s what’s going to heal your body,” said Hallman. For him, steroids should not be the only factor that will help improve the skills of a fighter. “If you’re taking steroids to make yourself a better fighter because you don’t have the skill level or something like that, then it’s a problem,” Hallman added. He also estimated that at least 50 percent of the fighters are taking performance enhancers. There were only a few who failed steroid tests because they were always ahead of the anti-doping system.

Before entering into mixed martial arts, Shamrock wrestled for the WWE from 1997 to 1999 and became one of the WWE Intercontinental champions. He also has a short stint in TNA in 2002 where he won a championship title. Ken Shamrock will prove again his fighting skills against Pedro Rizzo in July 18 at Impact Fighting Championship to be held at Sydney Events Centre in Sydney, Australia.

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