UFC 9
| UFC 9: Motor City Madness | ||||
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A poster or logo for UFC 9: Motor City Madness.
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| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | May 17, 1996 | |||
| Venue | Cobo Arena | |||
| City | Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Attendance | 10,000 | |||
| Buyrate | 141,000 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
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UFC 9: Motor City Madness was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.
UFC 9 was the first UFC production not to feature the tournament format (which was brought back by popular demand at UFC 10). Instead, it featured an entire card of regular bouts. The card featured seven bouts and an alternate bout to fill time for the pay-per-view broadcast.
The main event was the highly anticipated rematch between reigning UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock and number one contender Dan Severn, who had fought one year earlier at UFC 6 for the UFC Superfight Championship, with Shamrock reigning victorious.
The UFC drew national criticism leading up to the event, due in large part to Arizona Senator John McCain's letter writing campaign against the "brutal spectacle" of no holds barred fighting. After a legal battle in the Detroit courts up until 4:30 p.m. on the day of the show, the UFC was allowed to continue, but with modified rules.
The special rules included no closed fisted strikes to the head and no headbutts – a rule that referee John McCarthy attempted to enforce, but with little success. Before the show, fighters were warned not to use closed fisted strikes under penalty of arrest. Although many fights that night included closed fisted striking, no fighters were arrested.
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