Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock both want to fight each other, but it seems the bout probably won’t happen. If you ask Shamrock why, he will tell you he is about to have his knee replaced, and any sort of competition is out of the picture for now. If you ask Severn why, it’s because Shamrock is full of excuses.

Severn and Shamrock were scheduled to meet for the third time at UR Fight 1 in March 2016 — nearly 20 years after their rematch at UFC 9. But just over a week before the event, Shamrock was forced off the card. He first cited an injury as the cause for the bout cancellation. In reality, he was suspended 90 days by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) after testing positive for a steroid and an opioid in a drug test related to his Bellator 149 loss to Royce Gracie earlier that year.

Over a year-and-a-half later, Severn is adamant that he would still accept the Shamrock fight. But he says the probability the ‘Beast’ ever fights again is pretty low, simply because he only wants two fighters — Shamrock and Gracie — and neither are willing to fight.

“Am I gonna stick around forever for a turd like [Shamrock]?” Severn tells BloodyElbow.com. “No. My life will move on. I’m older than Ken. I’m the statesman of the sport. So why wait around for him? If he ever gets his head out of his proverbial ass, I might consider a match, but at this point in time, nope. Will I continue to bury him? Oh, you bet.

“But I don’t look at it as burying him. I look it as I’m just burying him with the facts. Don’t say, ‘I couldn’t do the match because I got hurt. I didn’t do the match because I tested positive for steroids. I didn’t do the match because I tested positive for opioids.’ What excuse does he want to [say]?”

Severn says Shamrock breached a contract with UR Fight by not fighting on the Phoenix card. Initially, Severn claims, the event was planned for February. But the promotion pushed back its debut show one month for Shamrock, who — after agreeing to the Severn bout — accepted the Gracie fight in Bellator.

“I hold him accountable for the fact that he had already given his word. He signed on the line, letter of intent,” Severn says. “It’s all because of him it didn’t happen.

“There are just excuses. He can say whatever he wants. If you want to make a big, bold claim like you’ll fight Royce Gracie one weekend and you’ll fight Dan Severn the following weekend, well, be a man and actually do it. I’m so bold that I would fight the two of them in the same night. I live up to my word, and you heard it here. Sad part is that I’ll never get either one of those sad sacks.”

Severn adds that if the Shamrock trilogy match ever does happen, it probably will be overseas – perhaps in Japan or Australia – where Shamrock can use all the “chemicals” he wants. Severn still takes pride in the fact that he’s never failed a drug test in his 100-plus-fight career.

“The reason the fight did not take place is [Shamrock] violated rules,” Severn explains. “First off, he said he got injured. Then he tested positive for two different substances. To me, that’s just called stupidity. I don’t know what else to call it. He might’ve still wanted to fight, but if we’re gonna do it in the States, it’s gonna be run by an athletic commission.”

And if Severn does fight again, it certainly won’t be for UR Fight, he says. Since UR Network – the company who put on the card – had never promoted a combat sports event before, Severn had to help with the promotion side of things in a big way. Severn says he helped find and communicate with the Texas commission, who regulated the event, helped find the venue and plan ticket prices, and even brought someone else in to help shape the undercard. Severn adds that initially, UR Fight planned on it just being a four-fight show.

After Shamrock and replacement opponent Tank Abbott fell off the card, one of the opponents Severn says UR Fight asked about – as a potential second replacement – was actually deceased.

Eventually, UR Fight did put all the matchups together – including a grappling match between Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen, as well as a boxing main event between Roy Jones Jr. and Vyron Phillips.

Moving forward, Severn has some plans for 2018 unrelated to fighting — including a new “career” — but he’s keeping them a secret. He reiterates that him facing either Shamrock or Gracie isn’t too likely, but hints that if he did ever meet his former foes again, it would most likely be “in a different arena.” Although he refuses to explain what that arena might possibly be.

“I’ve talked to their people. Ken’s given me eloquent answers, beating around the bush to the point that no, it’s not gonna happen. The Royce Gracie match will never take place just because there’s too much to be lost by doing a match with me,” Severn says. “Neither one of these two cats are aging all that well.”