Watch Shamrock host Strikeforce on NBC Saturday nights. (Check your local listings.)

Maxim: Let's cut to the chase: You. Kimbo Slice. Cage. What's the headline the day after the fight?
Ken Shamrock: "Shamrock's Back."

Wow. So when you beat him, how would that rank among your 27 wins?
This would be the best—this would be the top. I've had some failures in my career [13 losses], but this would definitely wipe the slate clean, in my mind. It would put me right back in the mix of things and definitely establish me where I want to be.

Well, Kimbo didn't really look great in his last fight. He's still new to the MMA game, but do you think he's overrated at this point, or just unskilled?
Kimbo Slice hasn't asked for anything—he hasn't asked anybody to tell him he's the best. He never even said he was the best. As far as his ground game is concerned, he knows that he needs work. Kimbo's never done that, you know? I mean, the guy's a street fighter. So, is Kimbo Slice overrated? I think that they've overrated him; I don't think Kimbo Slice has overrated himself—he knows exactly where he's at, but he's just taken everything that's given to him. Can you blame the guy for that? I think we all know that he's not there yet, and he hasn't been, but I think he can. I think he's definitely got the size and the power and the movement, for a big guy, to get it done. Someday, he will be the one to beat.

Do you think he has more to lose than you?
Oh, yeah. I've got nothing to lose. I know what people say about my legacy, but I don't let that stuff get to me. I know what I've done; I know what I've accomplished; I know what I'm about. This match does mean something to me, and it is also about pride. I want this, and I'm going to go get it.

Whoa, OK, OK, you're giving us the "I'm gonna break your leg look." You're doing a lot of promotional work for Strikeforce's upcoming September 20 card at the Playboy Mansion. Do you ever get pissed off at some questions you get asked by us media idiots?
It depends. When it comes to fighters, we're moody. You might catch us on a diet day or on a bad day of training. It's not always the reporters. If you're a fighter and you're doing an interview, there are a lot of things that you have to answer because you are in the limelight and people want to know more about you. If you want to get in the business, then you better understand that you're going to get questions that'll make you feel uncomfortable. Be ready to answer them.

Let's talk about the Strikeforce card. There's a great match at the top: Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Riggs.
It's a tough one right there because both guys have an ability to finish a fight very quickly. The guy that prepares the best is going to win the fight, because they're both very skilled. They've both got explosive finishes. So we'll just see what happens. I think it's going to be a great fight.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about getting into the sport professionally?
The first thing I'd tell them is to do a lot of research on anybody who's going to be representing you. That's the first thing that happens to a lot of fighters. They get bad representation, and it hurts them for many, many years. They don't ever really get the shot that they deserve because they're getting pawned off.

So let's say someone's thinking about joining a gym and learning mixed martial arts. What should they start off with?
It really depends. If you're a great wrestler and you've wrestled all of your life, by all means, learn submission—get back down. You can always get a takedown when you're starting out on a striker. But if you're coming in completely green, meaning you haven't boxed, wrestled, or any of that stuff, then I would say you have to learn boxing and kickboxing. You can do both at the same time because you have no bad habits. You're going to learn everything from scratch. There are a lot of things you can do right away to help you make money or help you move up the ranks, but eventually you're going to have to know all of it. 

SHAMROCK'S NFL PICKS

You were captain of your high school football team and seeing that the NFL season is just underway, what are you thoughts? Do you have any personal favorites in the league this year? Well, I'm a Chargers fan. Oh, they suck. Yeah, the season's a bit of a disappointment right now, but at the same time they're playing teams that are good. But you know what? It's still early—the Chargers still have a lot of games remaining and they're going to make the playoffs. But I think the team you've got to watch out for right now is—yes, ladies and gentleman, and I'm going to say it—the Dallas Cowboys.

You've faced a lot of top MMA fighters in your career. You've had a lot of successes, and you've also had a lot of failures. What, in your mind, is your best win in your career?
It's hard to say—there have been a lot of big fights. A lot of big wins. The biggest one I would have to say, in the U.S., would probably have to be...well it wasn't really a win, but a draw over Royce Gracie. I won the fight, but there were no judges then. That right there sent me to another level. Over in Japan, it would have to be my win over Funaki, because he was the one that actually taught me how to shoot fight.

Speaking of the UFC, Randy Couture is making his way back to the cage this November to take on Brock Lesnar, of WWE fame, for the UFC heavyweight title. Who's going to the hospital?
Well, if Randy wants to win, he's going to have to weather the storm in the first and second rounds. Randy has to stay in the fight, stay in that position. And the longer the fight goes, the more opportunities he will have to catch Brock in a submission hold. Lesnar's weakness, the submission, is the strongest part of Randy's wrestling background.

Do you think MMA exploding over the past five years is all due to the UFC and their reality show The Ultimate Fighter, or is there another reason?
Well, people really like it now. I know back in the day when I was starting out, they banned it. A lot had to do with the boxing commission seeing our sport as a threat. They were trying to keep mixed martial arts out of the public's eye, but the hard-core fans kept it alive. They'd watch it on the Internet and watched it wherever they could.

And people like you also brought a lot of notoriety to it.
We kept fighting even though there wasn't money there. We kept it alive, and the fans kept it alive. It was a good combination.