UFC 15

History

UFC 15 was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between Maurice Smith and Tank Abbott. Abbott was brought in as a last-minute replacement for Dan Severn, who couldn't fight because of an injured hand.

UFC 15 featured a Superfight between Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort, a Heavyweight Tournament, and two alternate bouts. The Superfight was billed as a Heavyweight Title Elimination bout, which can be described as a #1 Contender's match, meaning the winner would advance to compete for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at the next event, UFC Japan.

The show also marked the last event to feature Bruce Beck, who had been the main play-by-play announcer starting with UFC 4. He was replaced by Mike Goldberg in UFC Japan.

Collision Course marked a major change in the UFC's rules, with limitations set on permissible striking areas. Headbutts, groin strikes, strikes to the back of the neck and head, knees to a downed opponent, head stomps, kicks to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, and hair pulling all became officially illegal.

Results

|Heavyweight |Maurice Smith (c) |def. |Tank Abbott |TKO (leg kicks) | |8:08 |For the UFC Heavyweight Championship. |Heavyweight |Randy Couture |def. |Vitor Belfort |TKO (punches) | |8:16 | |Heavyweight |Mark Kerr |def. |Dwayne Cason |Submission (rear-naked choke) | |0:53 |Cason replaced Dave Beneteau who could not continue due to fatigue. |Heavyweight |Mark Kerr |def. |Greg Stott |KO (knee) | |0:17 | |Heavyweight |Dave Beneteau |def. |Carlos Barreto |Decision (unanimous) | |15:00 |Due to fatigue, Beneteau was unable to continue in the tournament. |Heavyweight |Alex Hunter |def. |Harry Moskowitz |Decision (split) | |10:00 | |Heavyweight |Dwayne Cason |def. |Houston Dorr |TKO (punches) | |3:43 |

''UFC 15'' Heavyweight Tournament Bracket

| RD1-seed1= | RD1-seed2= | RD1-team1=USA Mark Kerr | RD1-team2=USAGreg Stott | RD1-score1=KO | RD1-score2=0:17 | RD1-seed3= | RD1-seed4= | RD1-team3=CAN Dave Beneteau | RD1-team4=BRA Carlos Barreto | RD1-score3=DEC | RD1-score4=15:00 | RD2-seed1= | RD2-seed2= | RD2-team1=USA Mark Kerr | RD2-team2=USA Dwayne Cason1 | RD2-score1=SUB | RD2-score2=0:53 1 Dwayne Cason replaced Dave Beneteau who withdrew due to fatigue.

Encyclopedia awards

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.

• Fight of the Night: Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort
• Knockout of the Night: Mark Kerr def. Greg Stott
• Submission of the Night: Mark Kerr def. Dwayne Cason

References

References

1. Gerbasi, Thomas. (2011-10-17). "UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship". DK.