Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [67]
In Royce’s quarterfinal match, he choked out debut fighter Ron Van Clief with a rear-naked choke less than four minutes in. At fifty-one years old, Van Clief, a tenth dan in Chinese goju and a five-time world karate champion, was and is to this day the oldest UFC competitor to enter the Octagon.
Arizona State University Hall of Famer and three-time Olympic freestyle wrestling alternate Dan Severn also advanced to the semifinals after a thrilling display in his first bout against muay Thai striker Anthony Macias. The forty-year-old mustached, all-business Severn, the first fighter to wear wrestling shoes in the cage, caught Macias early with a perfectly executed double-leg takedown.
The display delighted commentator Jeff Blatnick, a 1984 Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling gold medalist who’d been brought in with future NBC sportscaster Bruce Beck to fill the broadcast booth with returning Jim Brown.
Severn had his way with Macias, hurling him over his head two times in the fight with violent-looking belly-to-back suplexes, before he took Macias’ back and fumbled around his neck with a makeshift choke until Macias submitted.
I think what was so exciting about Severn’s debut is that the fans were watching real technique, timing, and precision in his movements, and they could really see the difference.
“The Beast” made it to the finals with Royce, where he shot in on Royce and planted him exactly where Royce wanted to be: on his back. Would they ever learn?
Severn attempted to hit Royce, though I doubt he’d ever really thrown hands before; his punches were more like hesitant slaps. Severn was tough, though. There was no doubt about that.
The fight dragged on for nearly sixteen minutes before Royce submitted Severn with a triangle choke, giving Royce his third tournament victory in four UFCs.
There was one problem with UFC 4. While Royce and Severn had battled to the bitter end, SEG’s allotted pay-per-view time slot had run out. Twelve minutes into the fight, subscribers’ TV screens went black. Thousands missed the fight’s conclusion and demanded their money back.
As a result, at UFC 5 “Return of the Beast,” to be held nearly four months later back in Charlotte, North Carolina, WOW and SEG would institute yet more changes. The first was time limits: twenty minutes for the quarterfinal and semifinal matches, thirty minutes for the final bout and the first ever superfight.
The one fight that had eluded the UFC had been the rematch between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock, and the promotion knew it would be the most anticipated fight ever. They decided to take the reins and make it its own nontournament, stand-alone featured fight.
Time limits and a superfight weren’t the only adjustments. The show was also put on a strict timetable that accounted for fighter walkouts, pre- and postfight interviews, and everything in between. Whatever couldn’t be left to chance wouldn’t be.
The first four UFCs had been held over thirteen months, so the schedule hadn’t put much of a strain on our family at all. Elaine helped Kathy Kidd prepare for the events from our home, and we were never gone for more than a week at a time. I accrued overtime at the academy, so I could string a couple days off together or budget my vacation time to cover the missed days. Elaine’s mother or sometimes my dad would watch the kids, and Elaine and I certainly looked forward to our excursions.
For UFC 5, we were heading back to Charlotte, North Carolina. The promotion wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. Though the state had no athletic commission, the district attorney tried to argue that the event was illegal and couldn’t be held there. WOW and SEG managed to talk their way around this days before the show, but the aversion was a sign of things to come. The UFC was gaining a reputation in mainstream culture, for sure, but I wouldn’t have described it as a positive one with everyone.
WOW decided to add another referee to the roster at