Shamrock: After Buying Strikeforce, UFC Is MMA

“I would say that the sport is now officially the UFC,” Shamrock (Pictured) said during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “Which has been their plan and strategy all along. Good on them for achieving it.”

Shamrock was a UFC middleweight champion in the 1990s. He spent the last years of his career competing in Strikeforce and now serves as a commentator for the promotion.

“I knew [Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker] was having financial trouble. Not financial trouble -- I knew that he needed more money to expand and to compete in the marketplace,” Shamrock said. “We had high-level talks over the past few months. I was trying to help him. People were trying to help him. I knew he had to make a decision or make an exit or something. I knew something was coming. I was pretty shocked it was the UFC, but it is what it is: big business.”

Shamrock does not fault Coker for selling to the UFC.

“This is business,” he said. “I supported the brand of Strikeforce because I believe in the dream of martial arts and I believe in Coker’s vision and in his passion, and he was honest. To me, that’s all I need to do business with people. I believed in that.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 26:56).