UFC 15

UFC 15: Collision Course was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 17, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video.

UFC 15: Collision Course
The poster for UFC 15: Collision Course.
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateOctober 17, 1997
VenueCasino Magic Bay St. Louis
CityBay St. Louis, Mississippi
Event chronology
UFC 14: Showdown UFC 15: Collision Course UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan

History

UFC 15 was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between Maurice Smith and Tank Abbott. Abbott was brought in as a last-minute replacement for Dan Severn, who couldn't fight because of an injured hand.

UFC 15 featured a Superfight between Randy Couture and Vitor Belfort, a Heavyweight Tournament, and two alternate bouts. The Superfight was billed as a Heavyweight Title Elimination bout, which can be described as a #1 Contender's match, meaning the winner would advance to compete for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at the next event, UFC Japan.

The show also marked the last event to feature Bruce Beck, who had been the main play-by-play announcer starting with UFC 4. He was replaced by Mike Goldberg in UFC Japan. While it was the last event to feature Beck, it marked the first and only appearance of James Ladner, better known as the "Just Bleed Guy."

Collision Course marked a major change in the UFC's rules, with limitations set on permissible striking areas. Headbutts, groin strikes, strikes to the back of the neck and head, knees to a downed opponent, heads stomps, kicks to a downed opponent, small joint manipulation, and hair pulling all became officially illegal.

Results
Heavyweight Championship
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Maurice Smith (c) def. Tank Abbott Submission (exhaustion) 8:08 [lower-alpha 1]
Heavyweight Superfight
Heavyweight Randy Couture def. Vitor Belfort TKO (punches) 8:16
Finals
Heavyweight Mark Kerr def. Dwayne Cason Submission (rear-naked choke) 0:53 [lower-alpha 2]
Semifinals
Heavyweight Mark Kerr def. Greg Stott KO (knee) 0:17
Heavyweight Dave Beneteau def. Carlos Barreto Decision (unanimous) 15:00 [lower-alpha 3]
Alternate bouts
Heavyweight Alex Hunter def. Harry Moskowitz Decision (split) 12:00
Heavyweight Dwayne Cason def. Houston Dorr TKO (punches) 3:43
  1. Smith defeated Abbott to remain the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
  2. Cason replaced Dave Beneteau who could not continue due to fatigue.
  3. Due to fatigue, Beneteau was unable to continue in the tournament.

UFC 15 Heavyweight Tournament Bracket
Semifinals Finals
      
Mark Kerr KO
Greg Stott 0:17
Mark Kerr SUB
Dwayne Cason1 0:53
Dave Beneteau DEC
Carlos Barreto 15:00

1 Dwayne Cason replaced Dave Beneteau who withdrew due to fatigue.

See also
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