UFC 3

UFC 3: The American Dream was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was later released on home video.

History

UFC 3 used an eight-man tournament format, with the winner receiving $60,000. The tournament had no weight classes or weight limits. Each match had no time limit or rounds; therefore no judges were used for the night. Competitors could only win a match by submission, throwing in the towel, knockout, or referee stoppage. The referee for the night was "Big" John McCarthy.

Replacement fighter Steve Jennum won the tournament by defeating Harold Howard via submission due to strikes, despite only fighting in the finals. Jennum was a replacement for Ken Shamrock, who made it to the finals but withdrew due to a knee injury. This was the first UFC tournament that was not won by Royce Gracie (who could not continue due to fatigue). After Jennum won the UFC 3 tournament as an alternate, the UFC instituted alternate qualifying bouts to balance out fatigue, and lessen the advantage that alternates previously had entering the tournament without fighting quarterfinal bouts.

Results

 

Quarterfinals

* United States Keith Hackney vs United States Emmanuel Yarborough

Hackney wins via submission due to strikes at 1:59.

* United States Ken Shamrock vs United States Christophe Leninger

Shamrock wins via submission due to strikes at 4:49.

* Canada Harold Howard vs United States Roland Payne

Howard wins via knockout at 0:46.

* Brazil Royce Gracie vs United States Kimo Leopoldo

Gracie wins via submission due to an armbar at 4:40. Due to fatigue and dehydration sustained during the fight, Gracie was unable to continue in the tournament.

Semifinals

* United States Ken Shamrock vs United States Felix Lee Mitchell

Shamrock wins via submission due to a rear naked choke at 4:36. Mitchell was a replacement for Hackney, who could not continue due to injury.

* Canada Harold Howard vs Brazil Royce Gracie

Howard wins by forfeit due to Gracie withdrawing from the tournament. With no additional alternate fighters remaining, Howard automatically advanced to the final round of the tournament.

Finals

* Finals Bout: United States Steve Jennum vs Canada Harold Howard

Jennum defeated Howard via submission due to strikes at 1:31. Jennum was a replacement for Ken Shamrock. Shamrock made it to the finals, but withdrew due to injury.

UFC 3 bracket

  Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
                           
   Keith Hackney W  
 Emmanuel Yarborough  
     Felix Lee Mitchell1  
     Ken Shamrock W  
 Ken Shamrock W
   Christopher Leninger  
       Steve Jennum3 C
     Harold Howard
   Harold Howard W  
 Roland Payne  
     Harold Howard W
     Royce Gracie2  
 Royce Gracie W
   Kimo Leopoldo  

1Keith Hackney was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by Felix Lee Mitchell.
2Royce Gracie was forced to withdraw due to fatigue. His corner threw in the towel just as the fight was about to start. Because he didn't withdraw, but conceded after entering the ring, no alternate was used.
3Ken Shamrock was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Steve Jennum.

UFC 3 results at Sherdog.com
UFC 3 fights reviews

EVENTS