UFC 9

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title: "UFC 9" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ultimate-fighting-championship-flagship-events", "1996-in-mixed-martial-arts", "mixed-martial-arts-in-michigan", "sports-competitions-in-detroit", "1996-in-sports-in-michigan", "organized-events-in-detroit"] description: "UFC mixed martial arts event in 1996" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_9" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary UFC mixed martial arts event in 1996 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox MMA event"]

Field	Value
name	UFC 9: Shamrock vs. Severn 2
image	Ufc 9.JPG
promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
date	May 17, 1996
venue	Cobo Arena
city	Detroit, Michigan
attendance	10,000
buyrate	141,000
previousevent	UFC 8: David vs. Goliath
followingevent	UFC 10: The Tournament
::

| name = UFC 9: Shamrock vs. Severn 2 | image = Ufc 9.JPG | promotion = Ultimate Fighting Championship | date = May 17, 1996 | venue = Cobo Arena | city = Detroit, Michigan | attendance = 10,000 | gate = | buyrate = 141,000 | purse = | previousevent = UFC 8: David vs. Goliath | followingevent = UFC 10: The Tournament 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 regular bouts. The card featured seven bouts and an alternate bout to fill time for the pay-per-view broadcast.

The main event was the highly anticipated rematch between reigning UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock and number one contender Dan Severn, who had fought one year earlier at UFC 6 for the UFC Superfight 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. 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 part to this special rule, 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.

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

| N/A | Dan Severn | def. | Ken Shamrock (c) | Decision (split) | | 30:00 | For the UFC Superfight Championship. | N/A | Steve Nelmark | def. | Tai Bowden | TKO (doctor stoppage) | | 7:25 | | N/A | Cal Worsham | def. | Zane Frazier | TKO (punches) | | 3:14 | | N/A | Rafael Carino | def. | Matt Andersen | TKO (punches) | | 5:32 | | N/A | Mark Schultz | def. | Gary Goodridge | TKO (cut) | | 12:00 | | N/A | Mark Hall | def. | Koji Kitao | TKO (doctor stoppage - broken nose) | | 0:40 | | N/A | Don Frye | def. | Amaury Bitetti | TKO (punches) | | 9:22 |

Encyclopedia awards

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

• Fight of the Night: Don Frye vs. Amaury Bitetti
• Knockout of the Night: Mark Hall

References

References

1. (12 December 2008). "Mixed Martial Arts: Ultimate Sport, or Ultimately Illegal? Part 3 - Grapplearts".
2. "The secret story behind the worst UFC fight ever".
3. "Revisiting UFC 9: The Night MMA Lost Its Punches - FIGHTLAND".
4. Gerbasi, Thomas. (2011-10-17). "UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship". DK.

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