Shannon Ritch was born in Coolidge, Arizona and was raised "dirt poor" on a farm in Randolph.
33 Facts About Shannon Ritch
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Shannon Ritch began learning karate from a young age and competed in high school wrestling before becoming a professional kickboxer beginning as an amateur sometime in 1988.
3.
Shannon Ritch had a brief stint in the United States Army with the 4th Infantry Regiment, which ended in 1996 before being employed by the private military organization Blackwater.
4.
Shannon Ritch still trains military personnel in mixed martial arts and is a mainstay at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.
5.
At one time Shannon Ritch was a bodyguard for United States Congressman John Negroponte while serving as a private contractor under Blackwater.
6.
Shannon Ritch made his debut in 1991 at an event in Mexico, but like much of his fighting career this was during a time when sanctioned fights took place under athletic commissions that kept no record of mixed martial arts competitions.
7.
Shannon Ritch made his debut in the organization on October 31,2000, at PRIDE 11 against the legendary Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba.
8.
Shannon Ritch lost via achilles lock submission at 1:08 into the fight.
9.
In 2004 Shannon Ritch drew interest from Pancrase after his wins over The Ultimate Fighter cast members Ray Elbe and Eddy Ellis that same year, his Pancrase debut would be against PRIDE and UFC veteran Yuki Kondo at Pancrase: Brave 6 in a losing effort.
10.
In 2018 Shannon Ritch took part in an event promoted by former UFC fighter Brad Kohler, taking place in Russia with no audience and no ring or cage.
11.
Shannon Ritch opened the card in a heavyweight bout against professional wrestler Jerry "J-Rocc" Mires, making his mixed martial arts debut, Shannon Ritch won the fight in the first round after quickly taking Mires down and submitting him with a straight armbar.
12.
Shannon Ritch was scheduled to face fellow mixed martial arts veteran Aaron Brink in the main event of Road to ONE: RUF 44 on October 23,2021, the event was a cross promotion between RUF and ONE Championship.
13.
Shannon Ritch has found success as a grappler winning multiple NAGA, Grapplers Quest and IBJJF competitions, most recently winning a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the UAEJJF Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championships '17 in Phoenix, Arizona, a gold medal at the Grand Canyon 2017 BJJ Open in the super heavyweight division, 2 gold medals in Gi and No-Gi heavyweight masters division at the SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Long Beach and a silver medal at the '17 Arizona State BJJ Championships.
14.
Shannon Ritch began his bare-knuckle boxing career in the mid-1990s competing in an arena known as the Plaza del Toro in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
15.
In 2016 Shannon Ritch was to fight against boxing superstar Bobby Gunn for the coveted Police Gazette Diamond Heavyweight Championship and the winner receiving a $100,000 win bonus, the bout never materialized.
16.
Ritch is set to fight again in bare-knuckle boxing in 2019 for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships at BKFC 4 against Omar Molina in Cancun, Mexico, Shannon would go on to win the fight via knockout in 26 seconds of round 1.
17.
Shannon Ritch made his pro wrestling debut in October 2001 for the Battlarts promotion against UWFi veteran Daijiro Matsui at the event Battlarts Yuki-Bom-Be-Ye '01 losing via pinfall.
18.
In 2003 Shannon Ritch was signed to a one year developmental contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling and had one match against Rocky Romero that ended in a double count out after both wrestlers brawled outside the ring past the time limit given by the referee.
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Shannon Ritch would go on to win the match after eliminating the final two opponents in the 20-man battle royal, Timothy Thatcher and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Classic.
20.
Shannon signed a one match deal with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood in their 2018 event in China to appear on the undercard against Wenbo Liu in a rematch from a 2017 MMA fight, Ritch would go on to lose this match via disqualification after he brought a steel chair into the ring.
21.
In 2020 Shannon Ritch announced his return to pro wrestling and that he was signed to appear in a 2-month tour with Canadian promotion HLW.
22.
On March 26,2022, Shannon Ritch returned to HLW in their debut live event on FITE TV in Elmira, New York and won the HLW Showdown Championship after defeating TJ Epixx by submission with an ankle lock.
23.
In 2017 Shannon Ritch started filming of a biopic centered around his mixed martial arts career, through HBO films, titled The Real Last Samurai and to be released exclusively on HBO in late 2019.
24.
In 2021 Shannon Ritch will be co-starring alongside Mickey Rourke and Donald Cerrone in The Commando.
25.
Shannon Ritch is an avid golf player, winning 1st place in many state and pro am competitions held within his native Arizona as recent as 2017.
26.
Shannon Ritch won 2 Veterans Golfing Association 1st place medals in 2018 and again in 2019, the tournament is hosted by the United States Golf Association.
27.
In June 2024, Shannon Ritch was involved in a fatal shooting in Arizona.
28.
Shannon Ritch claimed self-defense, stating the incident occurred during an altercation.
29.
Shannon Ritch was matched against the Burmese fighter Ei Htee Kaw in a fight held at a contract weight of 165 lb the Thuwunna National Indoor Stadium.
30.
Shannon Ritch started the fight strong and forced his opponent to be defensive.
31.
Shannon Ritch continued to attack with Ei Htee Kaw trying to defend.
32.
Shannon Ritch struck himself on Ei Htee Kaw's knee unintentionally, driving it directly into his solar plexus.
33.
Unable to breathe, Shannon Ritch went down immediately without Ei Htee Kaw throwing a shot and the fight was declared over.