The Beast (nickname) as he was popularly known in his heyday or Dan Severn (his stage name) is a wrestler who set records that can only be broken by twice as strong and fearless as when he was in the ring. Dan Severn was the first man to compete simultaneously in the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he easily crushed many of his opponents.
Here is an account of his identity and five interesting things to know about this voracious fighter who refused to retire despite his old age.
Who is Dan Severn?
Few wrestlers were born on June 8, 1958, but for one born in Coldwater, Michigan, raised on a farm, Severn has proven to represent his birthday mates well in combat sports.
Growing up like most other kids then and even now, Dan Severn started playing basketball and was very good at it. As a teenager, the young boy transitioned into combat sports, including amateur wrestling and Jujutsu (a Japanese martial art that involves fighting an armed and armored opponent up close with or without a short weapon). While attending Hill McCloy HS in Montrose, Michigan, he was approached by one of his coaches about signing up for amateur wrestling after a shortage of competitors from their school. This marked his first contact with the sport as he seized the opportunity and began to train in amateur wrestling.
In his high school wrestling days, Dan showed first signs of his fighting quality. He was a three-time All American at Arizona State University in Wrestling. After school, Dan Severn began his career as a Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestler. He fought in various wrestling promotions between 1982 and 1994 in countries including France, Japan, Turkey, Cuba and Hungary, winning various titles as he worked his way to stardom.
The Michigan fighter started his professional career fighting as a wrestler in 1992 for UWF-I (Universal Wrestling Federation International). In 2017, he fought in the Gladiator Wrestling and Glory Wrestling Championships.
In MMA, he made his debut in UFC 4 in the year 1994 and beat his opponents before retiring in 2013. Dan made a comeback in hopes of contending for promotion with URFight, but his opponents; Ken Shamrock and Tank Abbott at different times failed to present themselves as combat fit. He still hopes for a future URFight event. Dan Severn has yet to officially retire from wrestling.
Here are 5 fast facts you need to know about him
- birth sign
Dan Serven was born on June 28. Her birth sign is Gemini.
- Family and tradition of wrestling
The names of his parents are not known at this time, however, we have in good books that Dan Severn has 4 brothers; Dave, Mike, Mark and Rod, American high school and college wrestlers.
The Severn’s second generation also has Dan’s son David Severn become a two-time state champion at Bronson High School, while Dave’s son Jake won an Arizona title, while Rod’s son , Austin, was a two-time state champion for New Lothrop.
- Body measurements
The beast stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m), weighing 250 lbs (113 kg). His chest measures 1.27m and his waist measures 37 inches and one meter. He has brown eyes which suit his black hair color perfectly.
- Laurels
Dan Severn holds a professional MMA record of 101 wins 19 draws and 7 losses. He was a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and UFC Champion, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) V 8-Man Tournament, World Extreme Super Heavyweight, Toughman Kickboxing Champion, and Continental Freefighting Alliance Champion. In all, he has 13 championships and is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and also a member of the Arizona State University Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 1995, he was listed on the Top 500 Solo Wrestlers list with Shawn Michaels.
- Acting career
The Beast has starred in numerous movies and TV series starting in 1993 with his last screen work being in 2016. His first screen appearance was in the movie Rudy where he played the character of a football player. In the Bridges of Nash series, Dan Severn appeared in two episodes of it in 1998 and 1999, while in 2010 he starred as The Beast in an action movie called Kill Factor. Dan Severn’s last work was on the character of Rich Chandler in a sports/action/romance film titled The Struggle Inside
