Dan Severn is a classy dude. I attended one of his training camps years ago. He housed us and fed us and worked out with us. I also fought in some fighting events sponsored by him. He was always polite and laid back. I was late entering the ring because the matches got mixed up due to a guy dropping out. Dan says to me, take your time, don't worry about it, these people ( the audience ) can wait, it'll be fine. Awesome dude
Great post Jim, much appreciated. Trained Japanese Jiu Jitsu for five years 96 - 2001. Dan and Royce were not to be mentioned in the dojo, but we all watched the videos...And learnt everything we possibly could and trained with each other off the books. Hard. Also with a selection of "daft things to be attacked with" (knives, bottles, bats etc.) Up until the point where the least naturally talented among us wouldn't hesitate to face off local gangs solo. No muppet ever took up the challenge. It was obvious that no-one was bluffing.
Absolutely. I just randomly met him a couple weeks ago. Walked into a store and there he was(he was there for a book signing I think). Chatted a little bit. Super nice, very well spoken. Also he talks about training with Al Snow, who is another really amazing dude.
@@joecascade5105 not too weak because any of these guys today will take anyone from back then with ease. The issue is not the fighters rather the laws that came about taking out many of the original ufc rules.
@jon pork no they wouldn't. If a 170 lb Royce Gracie who only knew jui jitzu was kicking roided up 240 and up lb fighters. Imagine what these better black belt jui jitzu+striking trained fighters would do. I respect what they did because they were the first to do it but the sport revolutionized way too much which is why we have weight classes now. Royce gracie would get manhandled by someone like khabib
Dan Severn is the true testament of a grappler. The bare knuckle roots of no holds barred fighting will never forget this man . Dan imposed his will on every opponent and represented all grapplers in the original bouts of the UFC!
Erlyk Dalkien It was much more of a spectacle back in the early days, which is MUCH more entertaining. If I wanted to watch a competitive contest between two men you could always tune in to Boxing. Where as the original tournament which put style vs style is something that was only rumored to be real before the UFC came out. And sadly that style vs style tournament is no longer available. UFC of today is a hybrid of boxing. I say that because there are rules, they wear gloves, they have weight classes, and they have no sense of personality. Nothing sets modern MMA fighters apart from one another, they all look pretty much the same, dress the same, and there isnt much as far as entertainment. Pretty much the same as Boxing.
If you are not interested in watching competitive matches I think you should stick to pro wrestling. Where looking different and having distinct "personalities" is the name of the game.
pocketfullofstones There is a difference between competitive and child safe. UFC of today is what I call child safe. There are so many rules the company is just a shell of it's former self.
I have watched this video so many times. Dan's way of speaking is too calming even though the subject matter is gruesome. Whenever I feel stressed out I comeback and watch this!
Thats the thing. He would of been even better if he was meaner and threw more punches then he could of beaten some of the guys he lost to including Gracy.
elephantwig He was on top of Gracy the whole time and I believe he had opportunities to land solid punches to his face which was uncovered several times, as skilled as Gracy was.
Dan Severn was one of my favorite heels in WWF, simply because he was the strong, silent type. He was big, he was scary, he would beat the crap out of you and make you tap out. No shit-talking, no nonsense no fuss, he got in the ring, kicked ass, left. Also, he rocked dat epic moustache xD
He definitely had a style that went back to the days of guys like George Zaharias, Verne Gagne senior, etc. using his skills to make it as real as possible. But a lot of fans hated him for that, as he didn't play much into the whole over the top kayfabe thing. Still, if you watch a few matches in recent years, like the recent Lesnar-Goldberg match, which incorporated as many shoot elements as any WWE match, Dan has to be credited as one of the guys whose actual skill influenced this.
For me, Dan was the man showed that wrestling was a real fighting art. He paved the way for Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes and a host of other wrestlers.
Dan was a phenomenal wrestler too. Won the world in 86. He was WAY past his prime when UFC came around tho. Had the UFC existed as it does back in the late 70's/early 80's, he would have been a beast. He is the type of guy that could have been champ today as he was a world champ wrestler and a physical specimen. He also never juiced and would have fit right into the current drug testing program where a guy like Coleman or Shamrock wouldn't have
What? With his lack of striking and no submissions??? Once he got the takedown he was like a dog that caught a car it was chasing! Had no idea what to do
@@gunsharckhe won ufc 5 and won all of his fights by submission or tko. What are you talking about? His style was primitive but so was everyone else’s.
Thanks Dan ! It is very refreshing to see this video , GREAT JOB ! ….sitting down for a dinner in Arizona reaffirmed my love of old cage fights.. I will always remember and admire you for the commitment and inner strength ..unbelievable to meet you !
All these men from the old NHB ufcs such as Dan Severn had balls of steel. They were more tougher than any of these mult-ruled/gloved mma fighters of today. It will never be as dangerous or as entertaining like it was in the first 10 or so NHB ufcs. It was the purest forms of fighting against another. Now it's just a hybrid. Everyone doing the same mma style which caters to rounds, rules and gloves. Not all the time the victor would have really been the winner had it been like the NHB days.
This is such a great interview. Dan Severn doesn't get the recognition for the great role he played in early UFC progress. He's a great guy and is often treated with disrespect because it's trendy.
Dan was a great score for the early UFC. Personality and skill galore. I saw UFC 7 live in the Buffalo Auditorium in 1995. Strangely the toughest looking guy there was Jim Kelly, the Bills QB. Huge brawl in the foyer after.
Well yeah grappling can keep you from trading blows with some striker......which will save you if you dont have fast hands or feet. It allows you to gradually learn without getting smashed.
he looks great. looks like he's still in the gym regularly. saw all the first UFC in vancouver BC on a "black box" PPV-pirating rig and i recall always rooting against dan, because i always root for the little guy.
I've seen his podcasts, what a genuine nice and humble dude. From this old video, I can admit I'd underestimate Dan. Even today in UK wrestling vs USA standards are miserably Low! Hard to find a tough guy like Dan these days sadly ❤
Dan is soooooooooo right when he talks about the unethical behavior of the athletic commissions being headed up by boxing people(I actually wrote a paper in college on 'NHB, or No-Holds Barred fighting', as it was known back then). The UFC was the primary competitor for PPV dollars(at that time there was not as much crossover with pro-wrestling as there is today), and it just so happened that the primary sponsor of big-time boxing shows was Budweiser- and guess who was a major shareholder(he might have even held part-ownership of a distributorship, it's been so long I forget) in said beer company? Arizona Senator John McCain, the very guy in Washington DC doing everything he could to destroy the UFC! Nooooo, no conflict of interest at all! Politics in a nutshell, right fucking there.
Watching the video, I started to wonder "what was McCain's angle in fighting the UFC?"...thanks for the info. You know politicians only work for their own benefit.
Damn he looks fine and he got over 100 MMA fights :o But i guess his grappling have helped him not taking to much damage if you look at Mark Coleman he is slower and talk abit slurry.
Tjocksnorris äventyr Dan didn’t abuse alcohol, drugs, performance-enhancing drugs. Coleman also took a lot more damage because he was more susceptible to strikes then Severn. Mark Coleman put his body through the ringer with damage from fightsAnd a steroid abuse
You would never understand why they call this class act the beast, until you watch his UFC RETURN. His first tournament was great but he came back so ruthless. Some of nastiest blows ever struck were from this man
This is one unique and accomplished talent. It would have been nice to watch him nowadays to see how his skill set would have transferred into today's fight game/competition.
I met both Ken and Dan when they were in the WWF. Both guys were very nice. I know Mick Foley and would go to shows with him when he was in town. I got to meet all the guys from the Attitude era. To be honest other than a few guys most were really nice.
This was a wonderful video, and I'm excited to see that there are other, shorter, interviews with Dan Severn that youtube is recommending to me. Thank you for this production. I hope that one day I get the chance to ask someone as important as Dan Severn the questions I want to ask. Onagaiishimasu.
Still my favorite MMA or NHB or whatever fighter of all time, I know it's come a long way and fighters are more skilled now but those old cats were tough and Dan the Beast was brutal and viscous, watched him drop knees on some guy's face on the ground ( think it was a Russian dude) and Jim Brown was commentating and was saying somebody stop the fight!, Brutal S.O.B. back in the day. And I still say if it was still NHB he'd kick the shit out of most of these new UFC fighters.
Dan Severn is a classy dude. I attended one of his training camps years ago. He housed us and fed us and worked out with us.
I also fought in some fighting events sponsored by him.
He was always polite and laid back. I was late entering the ring because the matches got mixed up due to a guy dropping out. Dan says to me, take your time, don't worry about it, these people ( the audience ) can wait, it'll be fine.
Awesome dude
Great post Jim, much appreciated. Trained Japanese Jiu Jitsu for five years 96 - 2001. Dan and Royce were not to be mentioned in the dojo, but we all watched the videos...And learnt everything we possibly could and trained with each other off the books. Hard. Also with a selection of "daft things to be attacked with" (knives, bottles, bats etc.) Up until the point where the least naturally talented among us wouldn't hesitate to face off local gangs solo. No muppet ever took up the challenge. It was obvious that no-one was bluffing.
Absolutely. I just randomly met him a couple weeks ago. Walked into a store and there he was(he was there for a book signing I think). Chatted a little bit. Super nice, very well spoken. Also he talks about training with Al Snow, who is another really amazing dude.
Dan Severn, Don Frye and Tom Selleck. The three kings of mustaches
Frank White what no Sam Elliott?
.... And Rick Rude...
He looks good. My father had moustaches. You need the right face for it.
And Freddy Mercury.
No Burt Reynolds? Charles Bronson?
I wish UFC would bring back the 8 man tournament format. That was so awesome back in the day
guys are too weak now
@@joecascade5105 not too weak because any of these guys today will take anyone from back then with ease. The issue is not the fighters rather the laws that came about taking out many of the original ufc rules.
They should do a yearly tournament that starts off at the beginning of the year and we have championship of the year every year
are you kidding? you can't make a fixed title fight with Mcgregor having to actually qualify for it
@jon pork no they wouldn't. If a 170 lb Royce Gracie who only knew jui jitzu was kicking roided up 240 and up lb fighters. Imagine what these better black belt jui jitzu+striking trained fighters would do. I respect what they did because they were the first to do it but the sport revolutionized way too much which is why we have weight classes now. Royce gracie would get manhandled by someone like khabib
Dan Severn is a real legend
Mustache
I met him fifteen years or so ago and he was the nicest guy you could ever imagine.
you just know Dan has that OLD MAN POWER
Had the privilege to roll with Dan when he did some training with the Tripp Academy in Detroit. A complete gentleman and a total bad ass.
me too in jersey-$40
Dan Severn is the true testament of a grappler. The bare knuckle roots of no holds barred fighting will never forget this man . Dan imposed his will on every opponent and represented all grapplers in the original bouts of the UFC!
I didn't knew the Great Dan was also a judo black belt along with the pro wrestling ...
What a guy ... awesome fighter. ..
The original UFC tournaments reminded me of the movie Bloodsport. It was just so Awesome and so much better than what it is today.
I like style vs style
I watched from UFC 2 on............no it wasn't really better. Just different.
Erlyk Dalkien It was much more of a spectacle back in the early days, which is MUCH more entertaining. If I wanted to watch a competitive contest between two men you could always tune in to Boxing. Where as the original tournament which put style vs style is something that was only rumored to be real before the UFC came out. And sadly that style vs style tournament is no longer available.
UFC of today is a hybrid of boxing. I say that because there are rules, they wear gloves, they have weight classes, and they have no sense of personality. Nothing sets modern MMA fighters apart from one another, they all look pretty much the same, dress the same, and there isnt much as far as entertainment. Pretty much the same as Boxing.
If you are not interested in watching competitive matches I think you should stick to pro wrestling. Where looking different and having distinct "personalities" is the name of the game.
pocketfullofstones There is a difference between competitive and child safe. UFC of today is what I call child safe. There are so many rules the company is just a shell of it's former self.
Dan Severn is articulate and well educated. In his day he demonstrated the importance of wrestling as a tool of mma.
i never liked dan but now i love him.. so intellegent and so kind
+Damon Jones What? How could you ever not like him? Is it because he punched Ken S. in the nut sack? lol
Hahaha
+SheepDog7071 lmao
thats bad
+In_Vas_Por proof?
Dan is one of my favorite fighters from the early gauntlet style UFC.
Those consecutive suplexes from UFC 4 was raw and badass!
On a man half his size. Be like me and your ma, on second thought i couldnt suplex godzilla
Yes I like this guy, he has a quiet calm about him, and he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously
I am happy to see Dan looking so good after that many fights. Guy is my hero.
Hearing him, he sounds like a really nice person.
I have watched this video so many times. Dan's way of speaking is too calming even though the subject matter is gruesome. Whenever I feel stressed out I comeback and watch this!
dan is a legend
Mr. Dan "The Beast" Severn till this day have always been my all time favorite UFC fighter!!!
Very softly spoken is Dan...amazing considering he's an absolute beast!!!
Thats the thing. He would of been even better if he was meaner and threw more punches then he could of beaten some of the guys he lost to including Gracy.
I wondered that myself, he probably could have. Dan is a beast, a brute of a athlete even at his age now.
elephantwig He was on top of Gracy the whole time and I believe he had opportunities to land solid punches to his face which was uncovered several times, as skilled as Gracy was.
Dan himself was evolving quickly. Every fight you could see him doing new things.
Yea say what they will, he started mma at 37. When most are bout done. He was a master
dan is in amazing condition for a guy who is close to 60
Gotta love and respect Dan Severn. A true legend! What great insight and perspective. I could listen to him talk about it all for hours.
Dan Severn was one of my favorite heels in WWF, simply because he was the strong, silent type. He was big, he was scary, he would beat the crap out of you and make you tap out. No shit-talking, no nonsense no fuss, he got in the ring, kicked ass, left.
Also, he rocked dat epic moustache xD
He definitely had a style that went back to the days of guys like George Zaharias, Verne Gagne senior, etc. using his skills to make it as real as possible. But a lot of fans hated him for that, as he didn't play much into the whole over the top kayfabe thing.
Still, if you watch a few matches in recent years, like the recent Lesnar-Goldberg match, which incorporated as many shoot elements as any WWE match, Dan has to be credited as one of the guys whose actual skill influenced this.
Come on, hes got excellent ability but has less personality than Lance Storm
@@gunsharck He didn't NEED personality, he just smashed the crap out of you and left you a broken heap.
For me, Dan was the man showed that wrestling was a real fighting art. He paved the way for Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes and a host of other wrestlers.
He was the first and set the benchmark.
Dan was a phenomenal wrestler too. Won the world in 86. He was WAY past his prime when UFC came around tho. Had the UFC existed as it does back in the late 70's/early 80's, he would have been a beast. He is the type of guy that could have been champ today as he was a world champ wrestler and a physical specimen. He also never juiced and would have fit right into the current drug testing program where a guy like Coleman or Shamrock wouldn't have
I remember being around 10 and watching the 1st UFC with my dad on VHS. Good times....
he has always reminded me of the Freddy Mercury of MMA, lol!
Gape Licker I like your profile pic lol
Marlin Farr thanks :)
Put ur tongue up
He paid his dues Time After Time.
Tank described fighting Dan as getting raped by Freddie Mercury...
I remember when he showed up in UFC4. He blew our minds.
What? With his lack of striking and no submissions??? Once he got the takedown he was like a dog that caught a car it was chasing! Had no idea what to do
@@gunsharckhe won ufc 5 and won all of his fights by submission or tko. What are you talking about? His style was primitive but so was everyone else’s.
Thanks Dan ! It is very refreshing to see this video , GREAT JOB ! ….sitting down for a dinner in Arizona reaffirmed my love of old cage fights.. I will always remember and admire you for the commitment and inner strength ..unbelievable to meet you !
All these men from the old NHB ufcs such as Dan Severn had balls of steel. They were more tougher than any of these mult-ruled/gloved mma fighters of today. It will never be as dangerous or as entertaining like it was in the first 10 or so NHB ufcs. It was the purest forms of fighting against another. Now it's just a hybrid. Everyone doing the same mma style which caters to rounds, rules and gloves. Not all the time the victor would have really been the winner had it been like the NHB days.
p4horror I agree with being tough but modern day UFC fighters would absolutely murder everybody from that era.
ColorBlindBoxing certain ones not all.
taaj howell they would definitely murder 90% of them.
p4horror your nostalgia is appreciated...but it was also sloppy, undisciplined, and prone to long stall-fests. Let’s not dramatize it too much. Lol
p4horror most of the time the winner was the one with the best doctor
The fact that he kept his front chompers through more then 100 fights speaks volumes of his skill. One of the GOAT's if not The GOAT
@Yo Momma who in their right mind would put that Freddie Mercury implants in tjeir mouth ahhahahh
Those are his real chompers. Look at his matches❤
Coldwater Michigan thank you Dan
This is such a great interview. Dan Severn doesn't get the recognition for the great role he played in early UFC progress. He's a great guy and is often treated with disrespect because it's trendy.
Its amazing that such a polite, well mannered, and soft spoken individual, could rip your limbs off at the drop of a coin.
I just watched this guys fight clips. He was such a maniac. He was such an impressive fighter.
Dan was a great score for the early UFC. Personality and skill galore.
I saw UFC 7 live in the Buffalo Auditorium in 1995. Strangely the toughest looking guy there was Jim Kelly, the Bills QB. Huge brawl in the foyer after.
Dan severn's face is meek and his voice is gentle but you dont know inside of him is a ruthless and fierce beast!
Haggar from Final Fight.
The Engineer Don Frye is more Haggar
😂😂😂😂
Omg I just spat out my drink reading this hahaha
Indeed!
OMG you are right!
Fantastic interview with The Beast.
I remember when both he and Shamrock were in the WWF/E for a while.
Dan Severn is a legitimate bad ass and still a gentleman.....kind of like Chuck.
Seems like a pretty down to earth kinda guy. You wouldn't think this guy was a savage in the ring.
Dan is a very down to earth all around great guy. We live n the same town. See each other time to time, chat fer a few and such.
Some of the biggest and toughest badass' in history were very unassuming.
I love Dan, he made my WWE friends convince me that Wrestling is the best discipline haha.. Great stuff. I agree its the best base to start with.
yo ricky funny seeing you here
Ricky J giving compliments to every grappling gorilla? :)
Well yeah grappling can keep you from trading blows with some striker......which will save you if you dont have fast hands or feet. It allows you to gradually learn without getting smashed.
Kickboxing
I'm 34 and I remember the early days of the UFC. Daniel the beast Severen was one of my favorite fighters
The beast! Legend, hero,....
Thanks
He has had soooo many fights - all things considered, he has a pretty nice record
Most down to earth fighter ever.
Respect for his defense and definition of professional wrestling.
I'll never forget the way he rag dolled Macias, yeah there was a big weight difference but it still looked cool.
+Victor Partridge Yeah that was crazy. And more impressive because despite Hendo's wresting pedigree he still got manhandled.
he looks great. looks like he's still in the gym regularly. saw all the first UFC in vancouver BC on a "black box" PPV-pirating rig and i recall always rooting against dan, because i always root for the little guy.
Still live in BC? Poco here lol, still watching these clips 4 years later lol
I love how he put the NWA belt over. Wrestling is serious business on your body.
This guy looks and sounds like the type of guy I’d be talking to come April 15
One of the OG Kings of the ring. This guy, Don Frye, and Tank A. Were my first fav's.
I've seen his podcasts, what a genuine nice and humble dude.
From this old video, I can admit I'd underestimate Dan.
Even today in UK wrestling vs USA standards are miserably Low!
Hard to find a tough guy like Dan these days sadly ❤
Dan is soooooooooo right when he talks about the unethical behavior of the athletic commissions being headed up by boxing people(I actually wrote a paper in college on 'NHB, or No-Holds Barred fighting', as it was known back then). The UFC was the primary competitor for PPV dollars(at that time there was not as much crossover with pro-wrestling as there is today), and it just so happened that the primary sponsor of big-time boxing shows was Budweiser- and guess who was a major shareholder(he might have even held part-ownership of a distributorship, it's been so long I forget) in said beer company? Arizona Senator John McCain, the very guy in Washington DC doing everything he could to destroy the UFC! Nooooo, no conflict of interest at all! Politics in a nutshell, right fucking there.
Whats unethical is how he allegedly raped a man and gave him scabies.
I never knew that. Not a big surprise though.
Watching the video, I started to wonder "what was McCain's angle in fighting the UFC?"...thanks for the info. You know politicians only work for their own benefit.
Its always money!!!
Remembering his old fight from the early days as THE BEAST I never would have guessed he was so calm. He used to break people, badly and in a hurry.
Dan is a great wrestler loved watching him compete in early UFC. True warrier
Seems like a respectful guy...
Thanks a lot for posting.
Gotta love Dan.
Dan the beast was a great fighter
What a gentleman.
Damn he looks fine and he got over 100 MMA fights :o But i guess his grappling have helped him not taking to much damage if you look at Mark Coleman he is slower and talk abit slurry.
Dan wasn't soaked in roids
Tjocksnorris äventyr Dan didn’t abuse alcohol, drugs, performance-enhancing drugs. Coleman also took a lot more damage because he was more susceptible to strikes then Severn. Mark Coleman put his body through the ringer with damage from fightsAnd a steroid abuse
@@reedrex1 Headbutts gotta factor in there somewhere...
You would never understand why they call this class act the beast, until you watch his UFC RETURN. His first tournament was great but he came back so ruthless. Some of nastiest blows ever struck were from this man
It was a honor meeting him in real life a very nice man.
What a great interview!
This is one unique and accomplished talent.
It would have been nice to watch him nowadays to see how his skill set would have transferred into today's fight game/competition.
LEGEND!!!!!!
Very articulate guy.
He looks great!
true gentleman and so humble
I love to hear the ole "crazy" Beast talk with that Michigan accent. He was awesome.
As a former wrestler myself, it is so true that you pin your opponent when he is already beaten
Hey Big Dan, you forgot to mention that Anthony Macias was basically a kid who weighed 160 lbs. He was an alternate in that tournament as well.
The first memories I have of ufc were Dan Severn
Dan is a class act
I met both Ken and Dan when they were in the WWF. Both guys were very nice. I know Mick Foley and would go to shows with him when he was in town. I got to meet all the guys from the Attitude era. To be honest other than a few guys most were really nice.
He seems like a nice guy.
Cool guy and still a dangerous man. Respect.
I loved him as marv in home alone..
my left ear enjoyed this video
Dan Severn. Legend.
This was a wonderful video, and I'm excited to see that there are other, shorter, interviews with Dan Severn that youtube is recommending to me. Thank you for this production. I hope that one day I get the chance to ask someone as important as Dan Severn the questions I want to ask. Onagaiishimasu.
Grow up
When Paul Newman talks about UFC.
Such a intelligent man 👌🏻chillingly cool when it comes to taking about violence…
You have some really interesting content. Mixed bag
The original Suplex City
see him and watching him....then hear how soft spoken he is
Severn is a *legend*.... always liked him
wrestling really is the best base for mma
An awesome dude
Classy man. Respect.
Great Stuff!
Still my favorite MMA or NHB or whatever fighter of all time, I know it's come a long way and fighters are more skilled now but those old cats were tough and Dan the Beast was brutal and viscous, watched him drop knees on some guy's face on the ground ( think it was a Russian dude) and Jim Brown was commentating and was saying somebody stop the fight!, Brutal S.O.B. back in the day. And I still say if it was still NHB he'd kick the shit out of most of these new UFC fighters.
Great interview!
Severn looks like a cop that pulls you over and smirks as he writes you a ticket
9:29
By his face turning beet azz red on that particular subject, he's *defenity* was telling the truth
I met him last year. I belly to belly suplexed him.
Even dudes I’ve met who’ve gotten a beat down love this guy.
Dare I say it Dan Severn for president?
*Fun Fact* Capcom's Beat em up Final Fight character The mayor Mike Haggar was created after Dan's likeness.