Part 8

Dive into UFC 5: The Return of the Beast! Learn about the historic superfight, the 8-man tournament, and key fighters like Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock. Your guide to UFC history.

Alright, let's talk about UFC 5, also known as "The Return of the Beast." This event went down on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a big deal, shown live on pay-per-view and later on home video. ### History UFC 5 shook things up with an eight-man tournament where the winner snagged $50,000. Plus, it featured the very first UFC Superfight! They also had two alternate fights, though those weren't on the live broadcast. Remember, back then, there were no weight classes or limits, and fights ended by submission, towel throw, knockout, or referee stoppage. No judges needed! Judges and weight classes wouldn't show up until UFC 8 and UFC 12, respectively. The main event was the Superfight, where the winner would be crowned the UFC Champion. This was the epic rematch between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, arguably the most hyped match in UFC history up to that point, leading to record-breaking pay-per-view buys. Keep in mind, Ken Shamrock's only previous UFC loss was to Royce Gracie in UFC 1. Something new at UFC 5 was the introduction of time limits, a change from UFC 1. The quarterfinal and semi-final tournament matches had a 20-minute limit, while the finals and the Superfight had a 30-minute limit. The Superfight actually went over, hitting 31 minutes before they decided to extend it by another five minutes. Still no winner, so it ended in a draw. On the tournament side, Dan Severn took home the win by defeating Dave Beneteau with a keylock submission in the finals. The referee for the night was the legendary 'Big' John McCarthy. This event marked the last time UFC co-creator Rorion Gracie was involved. He wasn't a fan of the time limits, as it went against his Brazilian jiu-jitsu philosophy of fights going to a finish. Rorion and his partner Art Davie sold their stake in WOW Promotions to Semaphore Entertainment Group. Royce Gracie also took a break until UFC 60. Why the time limits? Well, it was to make sure the whole show fit within the allotted satellite time. The event ran 2 hours and 40 minutes, which was 40 minutes over the scheduled time, but they had wisely bought 3 hours of satellite pay-per-view time. This was a big step up from UFC 4, where many providers cut the broadcast short after just 2 hours. This event is also where many fighters got their famous nicknames: * 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 Here's how the fights went down: Superfight Championship * Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie: Draw (36:06) Final * Dan Severn def. Dave Beneteau: Submission (keylock) (3:01) Semifinals * Dave Beneteau def. Todd Medina: Submission (Strikes) (2:12) * Dan Severn def. Oleg Taktarov: TKO (cut) (4:21) Quarterfinals * Jon Hess def. Andy Anderson: TKO (punches) (1:23) * Todd Medina def. Larry Cureton: Submission (forearm choke) (2:55) * Oleg Taktarov def. Ernie Verdicia: Submission (choke) (2:23) * Dan Severn def. Joe Charles: Submission (rear-naked choke) (1:38) Alternate bouts * Dave Beneteau def. Asbel Cancio: TKO (punches) (0:21) * Guy Mezger def. John Dowdy: TKO (punches) (2:02) Important Notes: * The Superfight between Gracie and Shamrock went to a draw after 36 minutes because there were no judges. This set a new record for the longest UFC fight. * Dave Beneteau stepped in for Jon Hess in the semifinals because Hess broke his hand during his quarterfinal match. Hess was actually fined $2,000 for fouls in his fight before that. ### UFC 5 bracket Here's a visual of how the tournament bracket played out: | Quarterfinals | | Semifinals | | Finals | |---|---|---|---|---| | Jon Hess (San Soo) | TKO | | | | | Andy Anderson (Taekwondo) | 1:23 | Dave Beneteau (Wrestling) 1 | TKO | | | | | Todd Medina | 2:12 | | | Todd Medina (Jeet Kune Do) | TKO | | | Dan Severn | SUB | | Larry Cureton (Kickboxing) | 2:55 | | | | | Oleg Taktarov (Sambo) | SUB | Dan Severn | TKO | | | Ernie Verdicia (American Kenpo) | 2:23 | | | | | Dan Severn (Wrestling) | SUB | | | | | Joe Charles (Judo) | 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.