UFC 5

UFC 5: The Return of the Beast
A poster or logo for UFC 5: The Return of the Beast.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	April 7, 1995
Venue	Independence Arena
City	Charlotte, North Carolina
Attendance	6,000
Buyrate	260,000
Event chronology
UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors UFC 5: The Return of the Beast UFC 6: Clash of the Titans

UFC 5: The Return of the Beast was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.

History

UFC 5 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $50,000. The event also featured the first ever UFC Superfight, as well as two alternate fights, which were not shown on the live pay-per-view broadcast. The tournament had no weight classes, or weight limits. The fights had to end by knockout or submission; therefore no judges were used.

The Superfight match was the main attraction, and the winner of this fight would become the reigning UFC Champion. It consisted of rivals Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock facing off in the most anticipated match in UFC history to that date. Up to this point, Ken Shamrock's only defeat in the UFC was to Royce Gracie in UFC 1.

UFC 5 was the first UFC event to feature any kind of time limits since UFC 1. A 20 minute time limit was imposed for the quarterfinal and semi-final round matches in the tournament. The finals of the tournament and the Superfight had a 30 minute time limit. The Superfight overran to 31 minutes before incorporating an on-the-spot decision to extend the fight by a further five minutes. As there was still no winner, the match was declared a draw. The referee for the night was 'Big' John McCarthy. Dan Severn won the tournament by defeating Dave Beneteau with a keylock.

This UFC event was the last with the involvement of Rorion Gracie, ostensibly because the introduction of new rules had diluted Gracie's (and his family's) vision for the UFC and vale tudo fighting. MMA Columnist Steve Cofield also noted that the Gracies left the UFC just as the talent level was beginning to increase. This is debatable, however, considering that many of the Gracies, including Royce, continued to fight in Japan against similar competition. Gracie and his partner Art Davie later sold WOW Promotions, co-promoters of the event, to WOW's partner, Semaphore Entertainment Group. Royce Gracie also ended his involvement following Rorion's departure, however Royce returned for UFC 60.

UFC 5 was generally well-praised. This event saw the implementation of a fight time limit in order to present the entire show in the allotted satellite time. The show ran 2 hours and 40 minutes, which was 40 minutes "over" the scheduled time, but UFC purchased 3 hours of satellite pay-per-view time in preparation. This was unlike UFC 4, where many PPV providers cut the show off after the first 2 hours.

With this event, many of the fighters received nicknames, including:

• Dan Severn - The Beast
• Oleg Taktarov - The Russian Bear
• Todd Medina - El Tiburon
• Joe Charles - The Ghetto Man
• Jon Hess - The Giant With an Attitude

Results

Superfight Championship
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
N/A	Ken Shamrock	vs.	Royce Gracie	Draw		36:06
Final
N/A	Dan Severn	def.	Dave Beneteau	Submission (keylock)		3:01
Semifinals
N/A	Dave Beneteau	def.	Todd Medina	Submission (Strikes)		2:12
N/A	Dan Severn	def.	Oleg Taktarov	TKO (cut)		4:21
Quarterfinals
N/A	Jon Hess	def.	Andy Anderson	TKO (punches)		1:23
N/A	Todd Medina	def.	Larry Cureton	Submission (forearm choke)		2:55
N/A	Oleg Taktarov	def.	Ernie Verdicia	Submission (choke)		2:23
N/A	Dan Severn	def.	Joe Charles	Submission (rear-naked choke)		1:38
Alternate bouts
N/A	Dave Beneteau	def.	Asbel Cancio	TKO (punches)		0:21
N/A	Guy Mezger	def.	John Dowdy	TKO (punches)		2:02

UFC 5 bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Jon Hess

TKO

Andy Anderson

1:23

Dave Beneteau1

TKO

Todd Medina

2:12

Todd Medina

TKO

Larry Cureton

2:55

Dave Beneteau

3:01

Dan Severn

SUB

Oleg Taktarov

SUB

Ernie Verdicia

2:23

Oleg Taktarov

4:21

Dan Severn

TKO

Dan Severn

SUB

Joe Charles

1:38

¹Jon Hess was fined $2,000 for fouls committed in his fight. He withdrew with a hand injury, and was replaced by Dave Beneteau.

See also

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
• List of UFC champions
• List of UFC events
• 1995 in UFC

Sources

• UFC PPV Buys Explode in 2006 (includes information on UFC 5 pay-per-view buys)

External links

• UFC 5 results at Sherdog.com
• UFC 5 fights reviews
• Official UFC website
• MMA Mental History UFC 5