Shamrock suspended for steroids

Ken Shamrock, one of the icons of mixed martial arts, may have seen his fighting career end on Wednesday when he was suspended for a year by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for three different anabolic steroids following a Feb. 13 bout in Fresno.

The commission announced Shamrock’s suspension and $2,500 fine on Wednesday for testing positive for 19-Norandrosterone, 19- Noretiocholanolone and Stanozolol following his first-round victory over Ross Clifton.

Shamrock is slated to fight ex-World Wrestling Entertainment star Bobby Lashley in the co-main event of a March 21 MMA/boxing card in Pensacola, Fla. That fight is almost certainly now not going to happen as a result of Shamrock’s suspension. States are required to honor each other’s suspensions, which means that Florida would not allow Shamrock to fight while under suspension in Calfornia.

Shamrock, 45, is one of the greats of the game and is a member of the UFC’s Hall of Fame. But Shamrock has fallen on hard times recently and the win over Clifton had snapped a five-fight losing streak. Even with the Clifton victory, Shamrock has lost eight of his last 11 fights and is no longer remotely competitive with high-level fighters.

Shamrock’s suspension runs through Feb. 1, 2010, at which point he would be 10 days shy of his 46th birthday and would not have fought in almost a year.

Shamrock does have the right to appeal, but that in and of itself will be a lengthy process.