UFC 10: The Tournament

Author

Camron Gieschen
November 18, 2022

Setting The Stage:

Date: Friday 07.12.1996

Venue: Fairgrounds Arena

TV Announcers: Bruce Beck, Jeff Blatnick

Ring Announcer: Bruce Buffer

Attendance: 4,300

PPV Buys: 96,000

MMA Bouts: 9

Preview:

The tournament is back! After a disastrous main event at UFC 8, they bring back the tournament with no “super fights” on the docket. If you've been reading the last few write-ups, you're well aware of our friend John McCain and his crusade against our beloved sport. UFC 10 was initially scheduled for the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island but was relocated to the south in Birmingham, Alabama, where McCain's efforts went to die.

This is also the first event for Bruce Buffer, which I know will bring a smile to all my readers!

Fight #1 Alternate Bout:

Geza Kalman defeats Dieusel Berto via KO/TKO at 5:57 of Round 1

Fight #2 Alternate Bout:

Sam Adkins defeats Felix Mitchell via 1 Round Decision.

Fight #3:

Two familiar faces here to start us off as UFC 8 champ Don Frye (4-0) goes up against a man fresh off breaking a Sumo wrestler's nose in Mark Hall (3-1).

The fight starts, and Hall throws a spinning back kick to the body that lands; Frye immediately grabs Hall and slams him to the mat, landing in half guard. Frye then unleashes some heavy shots to the body before posturing and landing back into Hall's full guard. Frye goes to work, landing a ton of short shots to the ribs, causing some significant bruising. This continues for the rest of the round as you can hear Frye talking to Hall, saying “You need to quit,” with Hall replying, “I can’t”. Frye then focuses on McCarthy pleading, “You need to stop this fight, John” and McCarthy steps in and calls the fight.

A dominant win for Frye, where he had to expend a lot of energy to get his opponent out of there. Hall showed his toughness but was ultimately beaten down by Frye over 10 minutes.

Don Frye defeats Mark Hall via KO/TKO at 10:21 of Round 1

Fight #4:

Two fresh faces here in our second evening bout as Brian Johnston is set to face Scott Fiedler. Johnston is a kickboxer who stands 6’4 222 lbs. & Fiedler is also a kickboxer standing 6’4 235lbs. Striker against Striker, let's see how this bout shakes out.

The fight starts, and Fiedler lands a kick to the calf of Johnston as Johnston grabs hold of him and violently hip-tosses him to the mat, Fiedler pops back up, and Johnston throws him again, landing awkwardly as Fiedler takes his back! After eating some shots, Johnston is able to slip out the back and ground & pound his way to a finish!

I was expecting a kickboxing match and got just the opposite. The lack of grappling experience failed Fiedler in the end, as he lost position and got smashed.

Brian Johnston defeats Scott Fiedler via TKO at 2:25 of Round 1

Fight #5:

Two newcomers to the UFC though I’m sure you recognize one of them. Coleman comes in as a decorated wrestler from Ohio State and tries his hand at MMA after failing to make the USA Olympic team. You don’t have to be an Olympian to succeed in the UFC in 1996, that's for sure. His opponent is Moti Horenstein, whose fighting style is “survival” he comes in fresh off his team USA Shidokan Karate Heavyweight championship he won in Chicago. We will see how long he can survive against “The Hammer.”

The fight starts, and Horenstein throws a front kick that misses as Coleman takes him down and begins to ground and pound. True to his style, Horenstein survives for about a minute but a few heavy blows from half-guard finish the job.

No surprise here as Coleman cruises to victory after landing the takedown.

Mark Coleman defeats Moti Horenstein via Submission at 2:43 of Round 1

Fight #6:

“Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge returns to the Octagon with a UFC record of 2-2. His opponent John Campatella is making his UFC debut; his style is Kempo Karate, with a background in wrestling. Physically he's built like a bowling ball at 5’9, 235lbs let’s see if he can roll his way through Big Daddy.

The fight starts, and Campatella storms ahead, eating some shots trying to initiate a clinch. Pushing Goodridge up against the fence, he's able to get him down, but they both pop right back up in the clinch. Campatella lands some nice uppercuts that make Gary face the fence, and a right hook to the side of his face turns Gary again. Gary then appears to pull guard, a strange tactic as he's struggled on his back in the past. Near the fence, Gary turns and uses the fence to pull himself over and reverse position! Gary lands the huge right hand, and McCarthy steps in and stops the fight!

An early stoppage if you ask me, but Campatella was in a bad spot and his eye closed right up after the fight was stopped. Semi-finals are set with Frye vs. Johnston & Coleman vs. Goodridge.

Gary Goodridge defeats John Campatella via KO/TKO at 1:28 of Round 1

Fight #7:

Frye is coming off a grueling match in his first bout; he didn't take any damage but expended a lot of energy putting Mark Hall away; we will see how the cardio holds up. On the other hand, Johnston was able to finish his opponent in under three minutes. He should be fresh. The longer it goes, the more it favors Johnston, but a wrestle-heavy approach could spell trouble for the kickboxer.

The fight starts and Frye pushes forward and initiates a clinch up against the cage. Johnston is able to reverse position on the cage and gets off a few punches and knees to the body. Moving away from the cage and still clinched, Johnston continues to get off some big strikes on Frye. The two separate and then get back together as Frye trips Johnston down to his knees and jumps on his back securing one hook and landing shots to the ribs. Johnston tries to post up and roll but fails and Frye lands on top landing strikes to the head and Johnston taps!

Frye looked really tired in this match as Johnston got some big shots off but his prowess in the grappling department paid off as Johnston tapped while he was in side control landing strikes.

Don Frye defeats Brian Johnston via Submission due to Stikes/Position at 4:37 of Round 1

Fight #8:

Coleman & Goodridge come into this matchup having dispatched their previous opponents in a timely manner. Goodridge has shown some weakness in the past vs. wrestlers of less caliber than Coleman So he will need to keep this on the feet if he has any chance to win. Goodridge comes in the bigger man at 6’3 263 lbs. with Coleman coming in 6’1 245 lbs.

The fight starts and Goodridge puts on the pressure before being taken down by Coleman who lands in full guard. Coleman lands some ground & pound as Gary scoots his way toward the cage. Up against the cage Goodridge is able to get up to his feet and facing the cage he walks Coleman away from his corner. Coleman lands some big uppercuts and hooks to the head as Gary turns and faces. Goodridge then reverses position but Coleman quickly regains it landing shots against the cage. Coleman lets go and Gary puts on the pressure and lands a left hook before Coleman shoots and lands a takedown. After taking some ground & pound Goodridge rolls over and as soon as Coleman flattens him out he taps!

A pretty predictable finish though it took a lot longer than I thought. Coleman started to gas near the end we will see what he has left in the final!

Mark Coleman defeats Gary Goodridge via Submission at 7:00 of Round 1

Fight #9:

A great matchup here in the final, these two were by far and away the best fighters in the tournament and they meet here in the final for a chance to etch their names into the history books by winning the 10th installment of the UFC. Both men are 6’1 but Coleman has 31 lbs. on Frye. Cardio will likely be an issue for both men in this fight as it’s their 3rd fight of the night. Let’s get into the action!

The fight starts and Coleman shoots but is stuffed briefly by Frye before Coleman gets a short drag off the front headlock and ends up with one hook in on Frye's back. Frye is able to roll over into full guard but is met with some vicious ground & pound from Coleman. A cut opens up on Frye's face as Coleman continues to work landing headbutts along with short shots to the face. Coleman moves to side control and goes for a choke but it slips out and Frye is able to get back to his feet! (4:24) Both men look exhausted as they both take a second to catch their breath. On the feet, Frye advances and fires some shots but Coleman is able to get him down against the cage and on his back! Frye rolls over into side control and McCarthy stands them up to have a doctor examine his cut. After being cleared they resume on the feet where Frye advances and shoots for a double where he is stuffed by Coleman and Coleman ends up on his back again. Waiting patiently Frye takes his chance and explodes out of the position ending up on top for the first time! Coleman works for sprawl and picks Frye up straight into the air! Frye grabbing the fence save him from a slam and he lands on his feet up against the cage! Coleman lands a big combination before shooting and landing another takedown landing in full guard. Coleman lands some big shots to the chin before moving to side control where he lands a big knee to the head! In side control, Coleman lands two thudding headbutts and McCarthy stops the fight! Mark Coleman is your UFC 10 Champ!

What a war! The size of Coleman proved to be too much for Frye as time and time again Coleman was able to power in and out of positions no matter how tired he was. Frye gave it everything he had and his face was a mess by the end of it McCarthy did the right thing by calling the fight.

Mark Coleman defeats Don Frye via KO/TKO at 11:34 of Round 1