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| UFC 8: David vs. Goliath | |
|---|---|
| Event information | |
| Promotion | |
| Date |
February 16, 1996 |
| Venue |
Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum |
| City |
|
| Attendance |
13,000 |
| Buyrate |
160,000 |
| Previous event | |
| Following event | |
| Other information | |
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|
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 16, 1996, at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The event was broadcast live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.
History[]
UFC 8 featured an eight-man tournament, and a UFC Superfight Championship fight between reigning UFC Champion Ken Shamrock and the challenger Kimo Leopoldo. The event also featured one alternate fight, which was not shown on the live pay-per-view broadcast. The tournament had no weight classes, or weight limits. A ten minute time limit was imposed for all matches in the tournament.
Also, this was the first UFC where three judges scored the fights - in order to eliminate any potential draws - possibly in response to UFC 7 where a draw was declared after thirty-three minutes of the Superfight where Ken Shamrock fought Oleg Taktarov. The referee for the night was John McCarthy. The event's matchups pitted larger fighters against smaller fighters, hence the term "David vs. Goliath".
Local promoter for the historical first and only professional mixed martial arts event was Richy Miranda-Cortese, whos company Sports & Entertainment Ltd had to take local Government officials to Federal Court in order to avoid cancellation of the event by the Government.Among those government officials was Governor Pedro Rosello and Sports and Recreation Director Erick Labrador. The presentation of the event developed into a new boxing commission rules and regulations and Imposition of a banning Law that was later overturned after Miranda-Cortese fought it in court.
UFC 8 was the first appearance of fighters Don Frye and Gary Goodridge, who both scored stunning knockouts that would be featured extensively on future UFC highlight reels. The championship fight featured Frye vs. Goodridge, with Frye taking the victory via strikes 2:14 into the fight.
VHS cover for UFC 8
The event is also notable as being the first MMA event to draw criticism, including local politician Calvin McCard’s on site protests at UFC 8. These protests would spark the nationwide movement against MMA in 1996, spearheaded by Arizona Senator John McCain, which would later temporarily push the sport in the United States underground in 1997.
Results[]
Alternate bouts[]
Sam Adkins vs. Keith Mielke
- Adkins wins by submission due to strikes at 0:50.
Quarterfinals[]
- Don Frye vs. Thomas Ramirez
- Frye wins by KO at 0:08.
- Varelans wins by unanimous decision at 10:00. Due to injury sustained in this fight, Varelans was unable to continue in the tournament and was replaced by Sam Adkins.
- Bohlander wins by submission (guillotine choke) at 9:05.
- Gary Goodridge vs. Paul Herrera
- Goodridge wins by KO due to elbow strikes at 0:13.
Semifinals[]
- Don Frye vs. Sam Adkins
- Frye wins by TKO (doctor stoppage due to cut) at 0:48. Adkins replaced Paul Varelans, who was injured in his Quarterfinal bout.
- Goodridge wins by TKO (referee stoppage due to strikes) at 5:32.
Superfight[]
- Superfight Championship bout: Ken Shamrock (c) vs. Kimo Leopoldo
- Shamrock wins by submission (kneebar) at 4:24 to retain the UFC Superfight Championship.
Finals[]
- Don Frye wins the UFC 8 Tournament by submission due to strikes at 2:14.
Tournament bracket[]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
 Don Frye
|
W | ||||||||||||
 Thomas Ramirez
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Don Frye
|
W | ||||||||||||
| Sam Adkins[1]
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Paul Varelans
|
W | ||||||||||||
 Joe Moreira
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Don Frye
|
C | ||||||||||||
 Gary Goodridge
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Jerry Bohlander
|
W | ||||||||||||
| Scott Ferrozzo
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Gary Goodridge
|
W | ||||||||||||
| Jerry Bohlander
|
L | ||||||||||||
| Gary Goodridge
|
W | ||||||||||||
| Paul Herrera
|
L | ||||||||||||
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Due to injury sustained in this fight, Varelans was unable to continue in the tournament and was replaced by Sam Adkins.
External links[]
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