Search - Ultimate Fighting Championship Classics, Vol. 4 on DVD

Gracie v. Severn

Matt | NJ | 05/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1994..



Royce Gracie is back after not being able to complete the competition at UFC 3, where he won a fight against Kimo, but became dehydrated and could not continue on to the next fight. 51-year-old Ron Van Clief takes on Royce in the first round. Royce takes him down and imposes his will on him, softening him up with elbows and punches until Van Clief opens himself up for the choke... it's a standard Royce Gracie fight.



Joe Son v. Keith Hackney. Son is freakishly religious.. almost scary. This fight is a true callback and testament to when there really were "no rules" in the UFC. While on the ground, Hackney punches Joe Son directly in the nuggets maybe 3-5 times... and it's completely legal.



At this UFC event, we get our first look at Dan Severn, who would later come to be nicknamed "The Beast". You can see that he is a wrestler, through and through. In his fights, he manhandles his opponents, but only thinks to strike them occasionally. His fight with Royce in the finals is a 16-minute cuddling session. He lies on top of Royce for what feels like an eternity until Royce is finally able to submit him from the bottom. Gracie is patient and composed, as always, and again it pays great dividends to his legacy in the UFC.



Before the final fight, however, there is an exhibition/qualifying match to determine which of 2 ponytailed fighters will be able to fight in the coming UFC 5. It's Guy Metzger v. Jason Fairn. All I can recall about this fight is two ponytails flailing about for a few minutes, until the fight ends with Metzger winning, although not looking all that impressive in victory. It looked like the lead singers from Poison and Warrant got together and fought inside the octagon... Pretty funny, but entertaining.



This UFC marks the beginning of the emergence of stars other than Royce Gracie in mixed martial arts. This is a fine piece of MMA history to add to your collection.



Bonus features include: A Dan Severn hall of fame interview and a UFC 4 retrospective given by a MMA journalist."

EXCELLENT EVENT, GREAT GROUND WORK

fmwaalex | Austin, TX USA | 02/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"UFC 4

REVENGE OF THE WARRIORS



I was so happy when I learned that they were releasing the original UFC events, this one in particular because this was when Dan "The Beast" Severn debuted in the UFC. Dan is one of my all time favorite mixed martial arts fighters, and this one in particular was amazing.



1.ROYCE GRACIE VS RON VAN CLIEF-this fight was the typical Gracie fight in that it was a quick dominant fight. As soon as they went at each other Royce had him on the ground and tore into him until making Ron tap to a rear naked choke hold. Over all exactly what you would think happen back during the reign of the Gracie's.5/5



2.JOE SON VS KEITH HACKNEY-this has to be one of the dirtiest, but funniest fights ever recorded on video. And I have to say that Hackney is a cold messed up dude. Joe Son basically controlled the entire bout, so Keith decided to punch Joe in the crotch repeatedly until Joe Son taped to a choke. This fight was definitely messed up on Hackney's part.5/5



3.MELTON BOWEN VS STEVE JENNUM-this was am interesting fight, simply because Steve and Melton trade some nice blows. Even though Steve controls most of the fight at the beginning Melton still found his way back to his feet. But it seemed as soon as he got up, he was slammed right back down. And at about the five minute mark Melton tapped out to a killer arm bar.5/5



4.DAN SEVERN VS ANTHONY MACIAS-finally we come to the last of the first round fights, and it happens to be the debut of the Beast. You can't really call this one a fight because it was over at one minute and forty five seconds. But even though it was a short bout it was still exciting, after to vicious belly to back suplexes to Anthony from Severn, Anthony tapped to a rear naked choke.5/5



5.ROYCE GRACIE VS KEITH HACKNEY-Gracie had a harder time this time around in the second round against Hackney. In fact Hackney tore up Royce's face a little with some nice strikes. But Gracie still took the fight after applying a killer arm bar to Hackney.5/5



6.MARCUS BOSSETT VS DAN SEVERN-apparently Steve Jennum could not continue that night so Bossett won a toss to face Severn. This was another quick fight, soon after Severn took him down Bossett tapped out.5/5



7.JASON FAIRN VS GUY MEZGER-that's right a young Guy Mezger fought at UFC 4 in a fight before the main event of the evening. This was a great fight to view because Mezger dominated this fight, he beat this guy so bad that they threw in the towel for Fairn.5/5



8.ROYCE GRACIE VS DAN SEVERN-this fight is definitely a classic in my mind, this was 16 minutes of two greats going at it. Sure this fight took place on the ground for most of the fight, but this was still an excellent bout. Gracie would end up winning the tournament that night but Severn proved he belonged in there with a legend.5/5



Over all this was an excellent event, and is worth your money. Plus there is a great interview with Severn in the special features.

"

More history in the making!

death | USA | 04/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The release of these classic events has been an incredibly exciting thing to me (since I have been a fan of this sport since it was in its earliest stages). These events have been faithfully reproduced from start to finish... all between fights commentating has been left intact so it retains the same feel as if you were actually watching the pay per view event for the first time.



Honestly, if you are a fan of the sport you owe it to yourself to pick this DVD up along with the first three UFC classics. This is history in the making... and for only a few dollars you can have a slice of it!"

Gracie v. Severn- A True UFC Classic

K. Bankston | 07/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Gracie-Severn bout may not be the most explosive bout ever, but it shows what a true Martial Artist Royce Gracie is. After watching these two go at it, with Severn seemingly having the upper hand throughout, the ending is pure Gracie: calm, quiet and effective. Royce is so methodical through this entire bout it is a blast to watch. While many of the other bouts may feature more explosive punches & kicks, this one shows that perseverance is just as important as any other element. In my opinion, this is what truly solidified Royce Gracie as a legend.



If you like the UFC and you haven't seen this one, get it!"