Dan Severn Denotes Clear Difference Between Him And Ken Shamrock

Years before Ronda Rousey made the jump from mixed martial arts to professional wrestling, two men paved the way: Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock. The two fighters found varying degrees of success in wrestling; Severn held the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship twice, while Shamrock won the WWE Intercontinental and Tag Team championships, and also had a run with the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship during his time with TNA.

In an interview with Wrestling Inc. Senior News Editor Nick Hausman, Severn elaborated on the comparison with Shamrock, which is something he hears about quite often. "Lot of times people will bring up a Ken Shamrock name, stuff like that," Severn said. "And again, it's not that I'm trying to be mean to Ken. There's a big difference between a Ken Shamrock and a Dan Severn. ... I'm lifetime chemical free."

The obvious implication is that Shamrock used performance-enhancers during his career, something the former UFC champion has admitted, although Shamrock was careful to point out that he never competed in an MMA fight while using steroids. In 2016, however, Shamrock tested positive for anabolic steroids and testosterone enhancers in the aftermath of a Bellator fight against Royce Gracie. Severn, on the other hand, claims to have never used steroids during his time in wrestling or mixed martial arts. In the past, Severn has spoken openly about the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs in MMA and taken pride in never using them in his career.

The rivalry between Severn and Shamrock goes back a number of years. They fought each other twice in UFC, but a scheduled third meeting never came to pass due to Shamrock suffering an injury — one that Severn has openly doubted.