UFC 3: The American Dream | ||||
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![]() The poster for UFC 3: The American Dream | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | September 9, 1994[1] | |||
Venue | Grady Cole Center | |||
City | Charlotte,North Carolina | |||
Attendance | 3,000 | |||
Buyrate | 90,000 | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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The Ultimate Fighting Championship III (later renamedUFC 3: The American Dream) was amixed martial arts (MMA) event held by theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 9, 1994, atGrady Cole Center inCharlotte,North Carolina, United States. The event was seen live onpay-per-view in theUnited States, and was later released onhome video.
UFC 3 used an eight-mantournament 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 bysubmission, throwing in the towel,knockout, or referee stoppage. This event marked the first time the referee was given the authority to stop the contest. Thereferee for the night was once again"Big" John McCarthy.
Replacement fighterSteve Jennum won the tournament by defeatingHarold Howard via submission due to strikes, despite only fighting in the finals. Jennum was a replacement forKen Shamrock, who made it to the finals but withdrew due to injury.[2] This was the firstUFC tournament that was not won byRoyce Gracie, who won his quarterfinal fight but withdrew as the semifinal fight was about to start, likely due to fatigue from the previous round.[3] After Jennum wonUFC 3 as an alternate,UFC instituted alternate qualifying bouts to balance out fatigue, and to lessen the advantage that alternates previously had entering the tournament without fighting quarterfinal bouts.
Final | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
N/A | Steve Jennum | def. | Harold Howard | TKO (submission to punches) | 1:27 | [a] | |
Semifinals | |||||||
N/A | Ken Shamrock | def. | Felix Mitchell | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 4:34 | [b] | |
Quarterfinals | |||||||
N/A | Keith Hackney | def. | Emmanuel Yarbrough | TKO (punches) | 1:59 | ||
N/A | Ken Shamrock | def. | Christophe Leininger | TKO (submission to punches) | 4:49 | ||
N/A | Harold Howard | def. | Roland Payne | KO (punch) | 0:46 | ||
N/A | Royce Gracie | def. | Kimo Leopoldo | Submission (armlock) | 4:40 | [c] |
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
![]() (Kenpo) | TKO | |||||||||||||
![]() (Sumo) | 1:59 | |||||||||||||
![]() 1(Kung fu) | 4:34 | |||||||||||||
![]() | SUB | |||||||||||||
![]() (Shootfighting) | TKO | |||||||||||||
![]() (Judo) | 4:49 | |||||||||||||
![]() 3(Ninjutsu) | TKO | |||||||||||||
![]() | 1:27 | |||||||||||||
![]() (Gōjū-ryū) | KO | |||||||||||||
![]() (Muay Thai) | 0:46 | |||||||||||||
![]() | — | |||||||||||||
![]() 2 | — | |||||||||||||
![]() (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) | SUB | |||||||||||||
![]() (Taekwondo) | 4:40 |
1Keith Hackney was forced to withdraw due to injury. He was replaced by Felix Mitchell.
2Royce Gracie's corner threw in the towel before the fight, soHarold Howard was given a bye into the final.
3It was announced thatKen Shamrock was injured at the event and could not continue.Steve Jennum replaced him.
The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titledUFC Encyclopedia.[4]