''UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate 2'' (also known as ''Ultimate Ultimate 1996'' or ''UFC 11.5'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on December 7, 1996. The event took place at the

Fair Park Arena The W. F. "Bill" Harris State Fair Arena (called Bill Harris Arena or Fair Park Arena) is a 5,000-seat multipurpose indoor arena located at the Alabama State Fairgrounds. The arena is used primarily for basketball, but also hosts concerts and oth ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, and was broadcast live on

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and released on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

History

The card featured an eight man

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

with two alternate bouts, and was the UFC's second "Ultimate Ultimate" tournament, held to find the best of the winners and runners up from past

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

events. This event was the first to introduce the "no grabbing of the fence" rule.

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

appeared as a guest on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' on the mainstream network

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

to promote the event, a groundbreaking moment for the young sport of

UFC 10 ''UFC 10: The Tournament'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 12, 1996, at the Fairgrounds Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later r ...

and

UFC 11 ''UFC 11: The Proving Ground'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 20, 1996, at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Georgia. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and ...

champion

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fig ...

was originally scheduled to compete in the tournament but was forced to withdraw from the event due to a virus. The Ultimate Ultimate 1996 also marked the final appearance of

Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock before leaving the

to go to the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. Shamrock would not return to the

until 2002 at

UFC 40 ''UFC 40: Vendetta'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay per view in the United Sta ...

. The event would also be the last time

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the ''UFC 8'' and ''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' tournaments an ...

fought in the

, as he would also transition into pro wrestling, signing with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

. Mark Hall, who Frye defeated in the semifinals, would later claim that Don Frye and manager Robert DePersia came into his dressing room during the tournament and convinced him to

throw Throwing is an action which consists in accelerating a projectile and then releasing it so that it follows a ballistic trajectory, usually with the aim of impacting a remote target. This action is best characterized for animals with prehensile l ...

the two fighters' upcoming semi-final match. Hall says that since

Tank Abbott David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...

had already advanced to the final after two relatively easy wins, Frye – who’d logged eleven minutes of cage time already that night – wanted to save his energy for the championship match. Because he'd already suffered two defeats to Frye earlier in his career (and therefore probably wasn't going to win anyway) and DePersia implied that saying no would have a disastrous impact on his future, Hall says he reluctantly agreed to go along with the plot. Frye won by

Achilles lock A compression lock, muscle lock, muscle slicer or muscle crusher, is a grappling hold that causes severe pain by pressing a muscle into a bone. A compression lock can cause a joint lock in a nearby joint when it is applied by squeezing a limb over ...

submission in twenty seconds.Top 10 MMA Conspiracy Theories
/ref> Referee John McCarthy later wrote in his autobiography ''Let's Get It On!'':

Results

''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' bracket

withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by alternate Steve Nelmark. ²

Kimo Leopoldo Kimo Leopoldo (born January 4, 1968), or simply Kimo, is an American retired mixed martial artist and actor. He made his MMA debut at ''UFC 3'' in 1994 losing to Royce Gracie by submission. A professional from 1994 until 2011, he also competed in ...

withdrew due to fatigue, and was replaced by alternate Mark Hall.

References

External links

UU 96 results at Sherdog.comOfficial UFC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 011.5 Ultimate Fighting Championship events 1996 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Alabama Sports in Birmingham, Alabama 1996 in sports in Alabama

History

Results

''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' bracket

See also

References

External links