The toughest thing for professional athletes to do is let go. They can never seem to know when it's time to hang em up. Brett Favre will never actually make up his mind. Michael Jordan as a Wizard was a horrific sight but he just couldn't help it. Doesn't matter how big of a star they seem to be, they just don't know when to quit. Maybe it's the passion for the game. Maybe it's money. Maybe they are afraid of what life will be like when they leave. But it's a sad spectacle to watch these men painfully go forward when the game has clearly passed them by. You could argue that hasn't happened to Favre yet but it's coming fast.

Ken Shamrock has fallen into this category. Many would argue that he's been in this category for some time now. Jeremy Bottor of Heavy:

"Ken Shamrock used to be the baddest man on the planet. In the early days of mixed martial arts, it was tough to find anybody who inspired more fear than Shamrock. His muscled and ripped frame...his intensity was unequaled in the sport at the time, and his bag of submissions made him a very real threat to any opponent he faced during those early years. But those early years were a long time ago, and Shamrock is no longer even a shell of the man he once was."

Shamrock used to be the man. Eventually though, as happens to all the greats, younger and better stars came along that took over. When that happens it's time to bow out and walk away knowing that you are a legend. The problem is that Ken just won't walk away. The longer he stays in the sport and takes ridiculous fights like this next one against Jonathen Ivey is all the more time for him to damage his legacy. How long before we forget about the beginning and only remember the end?

If you don't know who Jonathen Ivey is, and no one can blame you, here is Ray Hui from MMA Fighting to help out:

Shamrock's opponent, Ivey (29-42), is a heavyweight who has been around the sport since 1998. Ivey holds a laundry list of losses to UFC veterans in Jeremy Horn, Travis Wiuff, Ben Rothwell, Justin Eilers, Dan Severn, Jake O'Brien, Ricco Rodriguez, Gan McGee and Sam Hoger. His list of losses even includes a future UFC veteran, as his most recent fight this past May was a TKO loss to Sean McCorkle, who is set to make his UFC debut later this month at UFC 119. Ivey might be most notable for actually landing a "People's Elbow" in a mixed martial arts bout.

Why? What is the point of a fight like this? Even if it's for money, they can't possibly be paying him all that much. This is a guy that's in the UFC Hall of Fame. The whole thing just feels sad and useless.

Props go to Kaleb Kelchner over at Watch Kalib Run. He found the Ivey-People's Elbow video for me while we were talking in the comments section of Bloody Elbow. I was going to use it for a piece on my Pro Wrestling Moves That Work in MMA series but never got around to it. Here it is:

Yes, that is the man that Shamrock will be fighting. Again I ask; why?