The Cannon gets his shot

[Robin Hood]

The Cannon Gets His Shot

Contributed by Clyde Gentry III

After Kazushi Sakuraba’s win over Renzo Gracie in Pride
10, Ryan wanted a shot and Vitor wanted redemption, but
Sak wanted a break. After fighting three Gracies and the
Ukrainian powerhouse Igor Vovchanchyn, Sak was
reportedly not 100% to compete in the Japanese-heavy
Pride 11 card. With his senior Takada headlining, Sak
needed a light opponent that could allow him to play up his
pro-wrestling roots without getting in trouble ALA Anthony
Macias.

Enter Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch, the journeyman no-holds-barred fighter who
has more MMA experience than anyone other than Adrian Serano or Travis Fulton.
With over seventy fights under his belt, Ritch has managed to get a slot against
Sakuraba in the upcoming Pride. And while there’s little speculation as to who the
winner should be, Ritch has an opportunity that many fighters will only end up
dreaming about. "If he thinks it’s going to be an easy fight then I think it will be
great for me because I know I’m going into this as an underdog like Rocky against
Apollo Creed," said Ritch. If this fight is supposed to be a walkover – Shannon
certainly doesn’t know that, and he has nothing to lose by going up against the
very best.

Ritch emphatically repeated that he is not afraid of Sak
and has every intention of bringing the fight to him. By
looking into his background, one can see he’s been a
fighter all of his life. Ritch grew up in a rough town in
Coolidge, Arizona, born half Irish and half Choctaw
Indian – an eagle feather tattoo resides over his heart
as respect for the latter. Relentlessly picked on as an
abnormally small child, Ritch sought refuge in a
traditional karate school that opened up nearby. He
began taking lessons at age ten believing that he could
properly defend himself. Earning a black belt ten years later, he enjoyed point
karate and kata competitions, but felt ill prepared for altercations on the street.
Though his defensive tactics were better, it took moving into Muay Thai before he
could find a solid offense base to work from. Before long, he met Arizona native
Tom Proctor, who got Ritch into a series of underground pit fights. After knocking
out opponent after opponent, Proctor dubbed him "The Cannon" and the rest was
history.

With some high school wrestling under his belt, Ritch
found submission as the next wave after seeing the
UFC and began working with such notables as Oleg
Taktarov and Christophe Leininger. After making his
sanctioned-fighting debut in 1996, Ritch went into
the army for two years only to find that fighting is
his true calling in life. Not wasting any time, Ritch
fought in over 40 matches from 1998 to the present.
With his sights set on fighting in the UFC, the
self-managed Ritch would fight all the time trading
wins and losses with little or no preparation time. "They would say you have to
fight here and such and I’ll give you one day notice, and I’ll get in there and fight,"
said Ritch.

His detractors saw him as a b-level or club fighter without realizing his objective.
"The reason why I fight on all these cards and step up and fight anybody at
anytime is because that’s how I make my living," said Ritch. "A lot of people say
they are pro-fighters, but they also hold two other jobs. For me, I make my living
fighting. I’m not rich by any means and have fought for $200 or $300 many, many
times, but I can honestly say that I’m a true no-holds-barred fighter." Ritch quickly
earned two reputations in the MMA world, only one of them being good. He always
had a knack for putting on a good show for the crowd so getting invited back was
hardly a novelty. But Ritch made the mistake of carrying over his fight persona
outside the ring. "A lot in my life has changed…when I was first coming up, I had
the persona that you had to be a badass all the time – well, it’s not about that,"
said Ritch. "I said a lot of things coming up as a young fighter that I regret now,
but I am a different fighter now and I’m a whole different person."

By changing his attitude, Ritch made friends with
MMA stars Bas Rutten and Don Frye, who introduced
him to Fujita and Simon Inoki. When Ritch promoted
his own show in Texas, Pride’s Fujita discretely
competed under an alias and Ritch earned their
respect by treating them like kings with sparse
money on hand. Months later, Antonio Inoki began
showing up to more Pride shows and so did Don Frye,
who was itching to fight again. Being a self
promoter, Shannon would humbly ask for Frye’s help
in getting into a big show like Pride and on his 30th birthday, he got his wish. "To
my surprise, they called me on my birthday and asked if I would fight Sakuraba and
I thought that would be the best present in the world," exclaimed Ritch.

Since placing in the top three out of two hundred competitors for television’s
Battledome, Ritch has concentrated more on training than on fighting. And judging
by these pictures, his 190-pound, chiseled frame is not a fluke. He’ll actually come
in heavier than Sak for this match. Moving from place to place to train, Ritch
finally settled down in Dallas, Texas, to work out at The Fighter’s House, a
hardcore training facility that blends Muay Thai, wrestling, boxing and submission.
The equally stout Todd Handel runs the facility when he’s not heading up security
for any number of Dallas-area clubs and bars. But Ritch sees The Fighter’s House
as more of a fighting family. "They give me free room and board and it’s free
training, twice a day. You have a personal trainer and a Muay Thai coach so
you’re doing kickboxing, cardio, nutrition – it’s a whole package. They have opened
up their hearts and their home to me and I’m forever grateful," said Ritch.

Training for Sak has become serious business for
The Fighter’s House and they’ve been working with
Ritch in numerous ways. By watching tapes of Sak,
he feels prepared for his craftiness on the ground,
especially the kimura. "I want to stand up with him
and believe I can out-strike Sak. I see a lot of
flaws in his standup game," said Ritch. Handel also
enlisted the help of a hypnotherapist to work with
him on the mental strategy. "You have to have
something that brings you back to a very primitive
level where you can fight the way you train in class," said Handel, who pointed out
the parity between great gym fighters who frequently lose in the ring.

The name Mike Radnov may not sound familiar, but he’s the 260-pound
juggernaut and All-American wrestling champion from Nebraska who worked with
Ken Shamrock earlier in his career. Today Radnov trains exclusively at The
Fighter’s House and has every intention of making a name for himself in the fight
game. "He’s a big guy who is incredibly intense, a great speaker and very fast on
his feet," said Handel. "He’s motivated and training hard everyday – just as hard as
anyone who is in the ring now. In his mid-thirties, he wants a good five-year
stretch in the fight game. I don’t want to comment on what happened between
him and the Lion’s Den, but that will all come out." Ritch has spent the past two
weeks working with Radnov and feels more adept with grappling than ever before.
Handel and Radnov will both be accompanying Ritch to Pride 11.

Shannon Ritch has signed a two-fight deal with Pride and while he won’t say how
much he earned, it’s definitely his biggest purse to date. For someone who frankly
admits to fighting for free on many occasions, Ritch had this to say: "It’s definitely
going to change my view for fighting in smaller shows." While his plans include
moving out to Los Angeles to get into action movies [he has already signed with
Tough Talent Casting Agency], Ritch is extremely focused on fighting Sak. "I’m
getting my one shot and this is it: to fight the very best and to show people and
myself that I belong there. It’s a dream come true, win or lose. I’m not making any
predictions, but this will be the best fight of my life," said Ritch. Just as Rocky only
wanted to make it to the end with Apollo Creed, Ritch just wants to show people
what he’s made of…and that can’t be measured by who ends up with the win.
Against all odds, he doesn’t have anything to lose – just a chance to win some
respect with the major players in a tough sport.

Shannon would like to thank TapouT (www.inyaface.com) for their continued
support over the years, as well as ZeroMercy.com and The Fighter’s House
(www.fightershouse.com).