By the Numbers: Dan Severn

Mark RaymundoOct 21, 2018



Dan Severn is a true legend with an insane record of 101-19-7. He was exceptional in every combat sport he engaged in, and is even more remarkable as a human being. Not many fighters can say that they fought in their 50s and Severn did it multiple times. He won several titles, and by any standard, the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer is a tough act to follow. Let these numbers bring you back to the phenomenal career of one of MMA’s brightest living legends.

2: Back suplexes executed on Anthony Macias in their match at UFC 4, which followed a tournament-style format. Severn defeated Marcus Bossett to earn a spot in the finals opposite Royce Gracie. He lost by triangle choke after staying in the Brazilian’s guard for 15 minutes.

3: Fighters defeated to take the UFC 5 tournament championship. On his way to submitting Dave Beneteau in the finals, he ran into Oleg Taktarov and Joe Charles.

3: Fighters defeated to snatch the Ultimate Ultimate 95 tournament. He submitted Paul Varelans and decisioned Tank Abbott and again, Taktarov.

2: Times he shared the cage with Ken Shamrock. He lost to Shamrock via guillotine choke at UFC 6 but evened things out at UFC 9 with a split-decision victory. With the win, he captured the UFC superfight championship.

1: Round lasted against Mark Coleman in a fight that crowned the first ever UFC heavyweight champion. The end came at 2:57 after Severn tapped to a neck crank.

90: Minutes combined time with Taktarov (Ultimate 95), Shamrock (UFC 9) and Kimo Leopoldo (Pride 1). His fight with Leopoldo, which was his lone appearance in Pride Fighting Championships, had both fighters landing 53 significant strikes, as Fightmetric records show.

21: Fight winning streak, the longest in his career. Amid that long stretch of triumphs, he drew with Leopoldo, Jeremy Horn and Pat Miletich.

4: Rounds lasted with Josh Barnett. They clashed at SuperBrawl 16 in Honolulu. The end came at 1:21 as Severn succumbed to an armbar.

3: Rounds with Forrest Griffin. Severn defeated the future UFC light heavyweight champion by decision at RSF 5: New Blood Conflict.

1: Second before time expired in round 1 when he choked out Scott Fraser to win the Elite-1 MMA heavyweight title.

60: Wins by submission. The black belt in judo and international master in sambo has a ton of submissions in his arsenal and made good use of them in MMA.

17: Wins by KO or TKO. Severn is more popular for his wrestling but he does have a string of knockout victories.

15: Fights wherein he was officially in his 50s. Severn went 12-3 from January 2009 to April 2012. He was born on June 8, 1958 and is now 60 years old.

54: Years old at the time of his last fight and was two months short of turning 55. He won by unanimous decision over a much younger Alex Rozman.