UFC 14: Maurice Smith Stuns Coleman
UFC 13 preceded UFC 14: Showdown, which took place on July 27, 1997, at Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama. The event included heavyweight and middleweight tournaments, two alternate bouts, and a separate UFC Heavyweight Championship superfight between champion Mark Coleman and challenger Maurice Smith.
Smith takes the heavyweight title from Coleman
In the main event, kickboxing champion Maurice Smith used his striking to outpoint wrestler Mark Coleman over 21 minutes. Smith won by unanimous decision and became UFC heavyweight champion. This was a separate title superfight; it was not the heavyweight tournament final. Mark Kerr won that bracket by submitting Dan Bobish in 1:38.
Jackson wins the middleweight tournament
Kevin Jackson won the middleweight tournament. He stopped Todd Butler in the first round and then faced alternate Tony Fryklund in the final after Joe Moreira could not continue following his semifinal. Jackson submitted Fryklund with a rear-naked choke in 44 seconds.
UFC 14 results
- Alex Hunter def. Sam Fulton — TKO (punches), 2:22.
- Joe Moreira def. Yuri Vaulin — unanimous decision, 15:00.
- Kevin Jackson def. Todd Butler — TKO (punches), 1:27.
- Dan Bobish def. Brian Johnston — submission (forearm choke), 2:10.
- Mark Kerr def. Moti Horenstein — TKO (punches), 2:22.
- Tony Fryklund def. Donnie Chappell — submission (choke), 1:31; middleweight alternate bout.
- Mark Kerr def. Dan Bobish — submission (chin to the eye), 1:38; heavyweight tournament final.
- Kevin Jackson def. Tony Fryklund — submission (rear-naked choke), 0:44; middleweight tournament final.
- Maurice Smith def. Mark Coleman — unanimous decision, 21:00; heavyweight title superfight.
A night of separate tournament and title stories
UFC 14 is notable for Smith’s title win over Coleman, Kerr’s heavyweight tournament victory, and Jackson’s middleweight tournament win. Kerr carried that momentum into UFC 15. Keeping the superfight separate from the brackets is key to understanding the card: Smith did not fight Kerr, and Coleman did not fight in the tournament.
UFC 14’s title superfight and its tournaments were separate competitions. Smith’s decision over Coleman transferred the heavyweight championship, while Kerr and Jackson won their respective brackets. That distinction is easy to miss in summaries that place every result in one list, but the event format required it: the champions were determined by the title bout and tournament finals independently. The official results and UFC retrospective preserve those separate outcomes. official UFC 14 results.
Sources
Article Tags
UFC 14, MMA History, Championship Results, Historical UFC Events
