This Month’s MMA Birthdays: Ken Shamrock Turns 52

Former King of Pancrase and Ultimate Fighting Championship super fight champion Ken Shamrock was one of MMA’s first legitimate stars, buoyed by his appearances at seven of the first nine Ultimate Fighting Championship events. “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” will celebrate his 52nd birthday on Feb. 11.

A Macon, Georgia, native, Shamrock has competed in various high-profile organizations throughout his career, from the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships to Pancrase and Bellator MMA. Known for his submission skills, he was a tournament semifinalist at UFC 1 and a tournament finalist at UFC 3 and won 17 of his first 20 professional bouts. Shamrock engaged in memorable rivalries with Bas Rutten, Royce Gracie and Tito Ortiz, the latter resulting in nearly 100,000 pay-per-view buys and a record $1,540,000 gate at the landmark UFC 40 show.

Shamrock’s skills diminished with age, as evidenced by the fact that he has won just six times in 18 appearances since he submitted Kimo Leopoldo with a kneebar at UFC 8 in February 1996. He will headline Bellator 149 on Feb. 19, when he meets Gracie in a trilogy bout at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Others in MMA celebrating birthdays during the month of February:

FEB. 1

Bill Mahood (49)
Igor Pokrajac (37)
Ronda Rousey (29)
Jared Papazian (28)

FEB. 2

Hector Lombard (38)
Denis Stojnic (36)

FEB. 3

Rodrigo Damm (36)
Ricardo Tirloni (33)
Phillipe Nover (32)
Eduardo Dantas (27)

FEB. 4

Andrei Arlovski (37)
Satoru Kitaoka (36)

FEB. 5

Antoni Hardonk (40)
Lyle Beerbohm (37)
Johnny Cisneros (36)
Leonardo Santos (36)
Bubba Jenkins (28)
Joaquim Silva (27)

FEB. 6

Waachiim Spiritwolf (40)
Vik Grujic (39)
Shinichi Kojima (37)
Mamoru Nakamura (35)

FEB. 7

Haruo Ochi (32)
Derrick Lewis (31)
T.J. Dillashaw (30)
Lance Palmer (28)
Cesar Avila (27)
Jae Hyun So (27)

FEB. 8

Yuki Ishikawa (49)
Kevin Ferguson (42)
Chan Rothana (30)
Pawel Pawlak (27)

FEB. 9

Chris Clements (40)
Mark Munoz (38)
Charlie Brenneman (35)
Jake Rosholt (34)
Jake Hecht (32)
Henry Cejudo (29)
Felipe Arantes (28)

FEB. 10

Matt Horwich (38)
Nick Ring (37)
Mariusz Radziszewski (32)

FEB. 11

Evan Tanner (1971-2008)
Ken Shamrock (52)
Ali Mokdad (33)
Stephen Thompson (33)
Vagab Vagabov (30)
Andrea Lee (27)
Bec Rawlings (27)
Megan Anderson (26)

FEB. 12

Jon Madsen (36)
Tony Ferguson (32)
Joey Miolla (31)

FEB. 13

Elvis Sinosic (45)
Anthony Lapsley (36)
Ewerton Teixeira (34)
Daniel Hooker (26)

FEB. 14

Kenny Robertson (32)
Micah Miller (29)
Chris Mierzwiak (28)
Jayson Jones (27)

FEB. 15

Brian Rogers (32)
Cezar Ferreira (31)
Steven Siler (29)
Ciro Rodrigues (27)
Emiliano Sordi (25)

FEB. 16

Carina Damm (37)
Zelg Galesic (37)
Vladimir Mineev (26)
Mirsad Bektic (25)

FEB. 17

Brett Rogers (35)

FEB. 18

Jimi Manuwa (36)
Marvin Blumer (34)
Melvin Blumer (34)
Joseph Duffy (28)
Fabiano Silva da Conceicao (28)
Stefan Struve (28)

FEB. 19

Chad Leonhardt (36)
Liz Carmouche (32)
Nam Jin Jo (25)

FEB. 20

Antonio Inoki (73)
Rousimar Palhares (36)
Tim Means (32)
Derek Anderson (26)

FEB. 21

Chris Kelades (35)
Paul Daley (33)
Roman Salazar (28)
Brian Ortega (25)

FEB. 22

Gregor Herb (38)
Edgar Garcia (32)
Colby Covington (28)
Kuat Khamitov (28)

FEB. 23

Ruan Potts (38)
Gina Begley (35)
James Vick (29)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (27)
Mike Hofer (26)

FEB. 24

Jon Fitch (38)
Fernando Bruno (34)

FEB. 25

Ron Stallings (33)
Rachael Ostovich (25)

FEB. 26

T.J. Grant (32)
Jeff Lentz (27)
Reant Febriza Rainir (27)

FEB. 27

Michael Knaap (32)
Antonio Castillo Jr. (29)
Misha Cirkunov (29)
Sean Strickland (25)

FEB. 28

Jorge Rivera (44)
Michael Bisping (37)
Glaico Franca (25)

FEB. 29

Jim Yorke (40)
Francimar Barroso (36)
Patrick Cote (36)