Upon completion of his training, he made his return to the ring to engage in yet another contest at the 205-pound limit, this time against fellow shoot wrestler Ken Shamrock. Three minutes into the bout, Sakuraba struck through Shamrock's guard with a left hand. Shamrock staggered back and ultimately fell into the ropes, his head hanging out of the ring and his back turned to Sakuraba. Sakuraba rushed in to follow up but before any meaningful offense could be launched, the fight was halted by referee Yuji Shimada. Shamrock got up following the KO and protested vigorously. Opinions were mixed regarding the KO's legitimacy, though Ken's adopted brother and rival, Frank, stated to believe the stoppage was justified: "He got clocked. He went down. According to the rules, he was no longer defending himself and that's the end of the fight."