UFC 5

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, and the fights had to end by submission, throwing in the towel, knockout, or referee stoppage, and thus, no judges were used. Fight judges and weight classes would finally become part of the UFC framework in UFC 8 and UFC 12 respectively.

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, which led to the highest pay-per-view buyrate the UFC had achieved. Up to this point, Ken Shamrock's only defeat in the UFC was to Royce Gracie in UFC 1. Unfortunately for fans, the resulting bout has been ranked as one of the worst fights in MMA history, often described as "boring" and "35 minutes of Ken Shamrock laying on top of Royce Gracie."

UFC 5 was the first UFC event to feature any kind of time limits since UFC 1. As there was still no winner, the match was declared a draw.

In the tournament side of the event, Dan Severn won in the finals by defeating Dave Beneteau via a keylock submission. The referee for the night was 'Big' John McCarthy.

This UFC event was the last with the involvement of UFC co-creator Rorion Gracie, ostensibly because of the introduction of time-limits, which ran counter to his family's ethos of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in which fights should go to a finish. 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 until he returned for UFC 60.

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

| N/A | Ken Shamrock | vs. | Royce Gracie | Draw | | 36:06 | Superfight Championship bout: After 30 minutes of grappling, the referee stood both fighters up and had them fight a 5 minute overtime round. Neither fighter was able to achieve decisive victory and the match was declared a draw. | N/A | Dan Severn | def. | Dave Beneteau | Submission (americana) | | 3:01 | | N/A | Dave Beneteau | def. | Todd Medina | TKO (submission to strikes) | | 2:12 | Beneteau replaced Jon Hess, who had broken his hand during his first match. | N/A | Dan Severn | def. | Oleg Taktarov | TKO (cut) | | 4:21 | | 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 | | 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

| RD1-seed1= | RD1-seed2= | RD1-team1= USA Jon Hess (Kung Fu) | RD1-team2= USA Andy Anderson (Taekwondo) | RD1-score1=TKO | RD1-score2=1:23 | RD1-seed3= | RD1-seed4= | RD1-team3= USA Todd Medina (Jeet Kune Do) | RD1-team4= USA Larry Cureton (Kickboxing) | RD1-score3=SUB | RD1-score4=2:55 | RD1-seed5= | RD1-seed6= | RD1-team5= RUS Oleg Taktarov (Sambo) | RD1-team6= USA Ernie Verdicia (Kenpo) | RD1-score5=SUB | RD1-score6=2:23 | RD1-seed7= | RD1-seed8= | RD1-team7= USA Dan Severn (Wrestling) | RD1-team8= USA Joe Charles (Judo) | RD1-score7=SUB | RD1-score8=1:38 | RD2-seed1= | RD2-seed2= | RD2-team1= CAN Dave Beneteau 1 | RD2-team2= USA Todd Medina | RD2-score1=TKO | RD2-score2=2:12 | RD2-seed3= | RD2-seed4= | RD2-team3= RUS Oleg Taktarov | RD2-team4= USA Dan Severn | RD2-score3=4:21 | RD2-score4=TKO | RD3-seed1= | RD3-seed2= | RD3-team1= CAN Dave Beneteau | RD3-team2= USA Dan Severn | RD3-score1=3:01 | RD3-score2=SUB 1Jon Hess was fined $2,000 for fouls committed in his fight. He withdrew with a hand injury, and was replaced by Dave Beneteau.

Encyclopedia awards

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

• Fight of the Night: Oleg Taktarov vs. Ernie Verdicia
• Knockout of the Night: Jon Hess def. Andy Anderson
• Submission of the Night: Oleg Taktarov def. Ernie Verdicia

References

References

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8. (April 8, 2012). "Retro Recap - UFC 5: The Return Of The Beast".
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