Dan Severn - MMA Legend

Memories by the MMA Blaster


On a cold winter night while in high school back in 1996, my friends and I went to the local Family Video and rented UFC 1-4. All we needed to see was "No Rules" to know that we wanted to rent those tapes. 17 years later and I am still watching.

Dan Severn (101-19), an Olympic alternate, was a hero of those early tapes for the wrestling crowd. As a high school wrestler, it was nice to see tactics I used work effectively in a fighting situation. In his debut, with a week or so of training, Severn suplexed Anthony Macias twice before executing a crude rear naked choke. That moment was the first jaw dropping use of wrestling in modern mixed martial arts.

Severn cruised his way into the UFC 4 finals against Royce Gracie, whom had previously won UFC 1 and 2. Severn was able to take down Gracie, and held him there while throwing strikes until Gracie secured a triangle choke just before the 16 minute mark. However, the Beast was born that night.

Severn came back with a more rounded game and won UFC 5, the UU 95 Tournament and the Superfight Belt, now heavyweight championship, at UFC 9. Severn continued to utilize his superior wrestling skills throughout his career while adding submissions and BJJ black belt to dominate his opponents. He was the third member inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame.

Dan's notable wins come over a who's who list of MMA from old to new school- Oleg Taktarov, Ken Shamrock, Forrest Griffin, Paul Buentello, Mario Neto, Dave Beneteau, Wes Sims, Paul "Polar Bear" Varelens, Travis Fulton, Justin Eilers, Dan Christison, Dennis Reed, Brad Kohler, Anthony Macias, Robert "Buzz" Berry, Cal Worsham, Ruben Villareal and Tank Abbott. With the amount of Indian reservations he fought at, his number of victories is likely upwards of 150.