This Week’s MMA Birthdays: Dan Severn Turns 56

Dan “The Beast” Severn turns 56 this week. | Jim Page/Sherdog.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famer Dan Severn will celebrate his 56th birthday on June 8.

Severn completed his remarkable mixed martial arts career with a 101-19-7 record. He last fought at a Blueblood MMA event in April 2012, when he took a unanimous decision from Alex Rozman at the Rivercenter in Davenport, Iowa. A two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, “The Beast” transitioned to MMA in 1994 and mad his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at UFC 4. Severn went on two win two UFC tournaments and compiled a 9-4 mark inside the Octagon. He fought for the heavyweight championship at UFC 12, submitting to a neck crank from Mark Coleman.

A Coldwater, Mich., native, Severn was an alternate for three United States wrestling teams in the Olympics: 1980, 1984 and 1988. He was inducted into the UFC hall of fame in April 2005.

Those in MMA celebrating a birthday during the week covering June 8-June 14:

JUNE 8
Dan Severn (56)
Marvin Eastman (43)
Hirotaka Yokoi (36)

JUNE 9
Dion Staring (36)
Thales Leites (33)

JUNE 10
Cyrille Diabate (41)
Luiz Azeredo (38)
Hiroyuki Takaya (37)
Walter Harris (31)

JUNE 11
Tsuneo Kimura (32)
Daron Cruickshank (29)
Artur Kadlubek (29)

JUNE 12
Andy Ologun (31)
James Chaney (27)

JUNE 13
Brian Hall (32)

JUNE 14
Claude Patrick (34)
Danny Martinez (29)
Chris Barnett (28)