UFC 3

UFC 3: The American Dream
Event information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	September 9, 1994
Venue	Grady Cole Center
City	Charlotte, North Carolina
Previous event	UFC 2: No Way Out
Following event	UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
Other information
	UFC 3 at Sherdog

UFC 3: The American Dream, commonly referred to as simply UFC 3, was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship 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, on both VHS and, eventually, DVD.

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[]

Keith Hackney vs Emmanuel Yarborough

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

Ken Shamrock vs Christophe Leninger

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

Harold Howard vs Roland Payne

Howard wins via knockout at 0:46.

Royce Gracie vs 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[]

Ken Shamrock vs 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.

Harold Howard vs 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: Steve Jennum vs 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. Subsequent media coverage has suggested that Shamrock pulled out of the tournament as he had no interest in fighting the final against anyone but Royce Gracie.

UFC 3 bracket[]

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Keith Hackney

W

Emmanuel Yarborough

L

Felix Lee Mitchell^[1]

L

Ken Shamrock

W

Ken Shamrock

W

Christopher Leninger

L

Steve Jennum^[2]

C

Harold Howard

L

Harold Howard

W

Roland Payne

L

Harold Howard

W

Royce Gracie^[3]

L

Royce Gracie

W

Kimo Leopoldo

L

Notes and references[]

↑ Keith Hackney was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by Felix Lee Mitchell.
↑ Ken Shamrock was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Steve Jennum.
↑ Royce 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.

External links[]

[1] Keith Hackney was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by Felix Lee Mitchell.

[2] Ken Shamrock was forced to withdraw due to injury and was replaced by Steve Jennum.

[3] Royce 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.

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