UFC 9
UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.
History
UFC 9 was the first UFC production not to feature the tournament format (which was brought back by popular demand at UFC 10). Instead, it featured an entire card of predetermined matchups. The card featured seven bouts and an alternate bout to fill time for the pay-per-view broadcast.
The main event the was the highly anticipated rematch between reigning UFC Champion Ken Shamrock and number one contender Dan Severn, who had fought one year earlier at UFC 6 for the UFC Championship, with Shamrock reigning victorious.
The UFC drew national criticism leading up to the event, due in large part to Arizona Senator John McCain's letter writing campaign against the "brutal spectacle" of no holds barred fighting. [1] After a legal battle in the Detroit courts up until 4:30 p.m. on the day of the show, the UFC was allowed to continue, but with modified rules.
The special rules included no closed fisted strikes to the head and no headbutts – a rule that referee John McCarthy attempted to enforce, but with little success. Before the show, fighters were warned not to use closed fisted strikes under penalty of arrest. Although many fights that night included closed fisted striking, no fighters were arrested.
Due in small part to this special rule, but more because of the contestants' match plans, the Superfight between Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock is widely considered one of the worst MMA fights of all time, with the fighters circling each other for nearly 20 minutes with little or no contact.
[edit] Aftermath
Following the legal battle over UFC 9, Senator John McCain was successful in pulling UFC pay-per-view broadcasts from numerous cable systems, including TCI cable, which greatly hurt pay per view buy rates.
Results
Main bouts
* United States Cal Worsham vs United States Zane Frazier
Worsham wins by submission (strikes) at 3:17
* Brazil Rafael Carino vs United States Matt Andersen
Carino wins by submission (strikes) at 5:33
* United States Mark Schultz vs Canada Gary Goodridge
Schultz wins by TKO (Stoppage due to bleeding) at 12:00
* United States Mark Hall vs Japan Koji Kitao
Hall wins by TKO (Broken nose) at 0:47
* United States Don Frye vs Brazil Amaury Bitetti
Frye wins by TKO (Strikes) at 9:30
Alternate bout
* United States Steve Nelmark vs Tai Bowden
Nelmark wins by TKO (cut) at 7:23
Superfight
* Superfight Championship bout: United States Ken Shamrock (c) vs United States Dan Severn
Severn wins by split decision at 30:00
