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By ALEX MARVEZ
January 22, 2004

"The Beast" is still hungry.

Even at age 45, Dan "The Beast" Severn maintains a schedule that would
exhaust athletes half his age. Severn continues to compete as both a
professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter and has
successfully branched out in a host of other endeavors.

Besides speaking engagements and the promotion of independent pro
wrestling shows, Severn has produced such positive results through his
own training facility in Coldwater, Mich. that police agencies have
started hiring him to show officers how to defend themselves if taken
to the ground by a suspect.

"I think I bring something totally different to the table than the
normal fighter," said Severn, who is just as proud of the academic
honors he received while earning a bachelor's degree at Arizona State
University as his won-loss record. "I push education all the time and
there are a lot of different aspects to me. The fight game is just the
tip of the iceberg."

One of the world's most accomplished amateur wrestlers in the 1980s
and 1990s, the 6-2, 260-pound Severn didn't become involved in MMA
fighting until he was 36 years old. While older than most of his
peers, Severn quickly became one of the top fighters in the Ultimate
Fighting Championships, which popularized a style of caged combat that
combines wrestling, boxing and martial arts disciplines.

As MMA competition became increasingly popular worldwide, Severn
embarked on an exhaustive fighting schedule. Severn, who was in Guam
last weekend for a bout and will compete Saturday night on a King of
the Cage show in Sunrise, Fla., said he has lost track of how many MMA
matches he has competed in.

"I've only had seven losses since 1994, which is not bad since I've
been competing on almost a monthly basis since then," said Severn, who
was recently honored as one of the top 10 fighters in UFC history.
"Sometimes, I'll work double or triple 'bangers' in a month. I've even
had four (fights) before in one month.

"One Web site e-mailed me to ask what my record was and I told them
I've got seven losses. I figure I've had between 100 to 120 (fights)
total. I do have them documented, but I don't want to take time out
and dig through the archives."

Severn's MMA success helped him branch into pro wrestling. Originally
trained by current World Wrestling Entertainment announcer Al Snow,
Severn became a two-time National Wrestling Alliance heavyweight
champion while working for promotions in the U.S. and Japan.

Severn's biggest exposure came in 1998 when debuting in WWE. While
lacking the same charisma as many of his more eccentric cohorts,
Severn did have matches against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the late
Owen Hart while also teaming with fellow MMA specialist Steve
Blackman.

But Severn decided to leave WWE in 1999 shortly after being asked to
join a group of "cult members" being led by The Undertaker (Mark
Callaway). Severn said not even persuasion from WWE owner Vince
McMahon could change his mind.

"They wanted me to put '666' on my forehead and make me an Undertaker
disciple and all this goofy stuff," Severn said. "I said no. I live in
a small community. I want to know I can go to a restaurant in a public
setting and not have some patron come up to me and say, 'Hey Dan, you
blankety-blank,' because some fans get can't separate fantasy from
reality.

"Vince said, 'Dan, do you know what type of money you can make by
doing this?' I said, 'Vince, I've already made money. That's not why
I'm here.' I was looking for exposure because the MMA world is such a
niche market."

In 1994, Severn said he only wanted to fight for 10 years before
retiring.

But the fact he has remained relatively healthy despite such a
rigorous schedule has prompted Severn to alter his timetable.

"I hate to be one of those athletes who keeps saying he's going to
retire and comes back," Severn said. "It's kind of like I should have
never said anything in the first place. It all depends on how I feel.
It's not like I've been injured, and I do things on a successful note
for the most part.

"I know I can rely upon 30 years of an amateur wrestling background.
If I can lay my hands on an opponent, I'm usually pretty good to go."

For more information on Severn, visit www.the-beast.com 


Despite the recent kidnapping of his sister in Brazil, Vitor Belfort
is still planning to face Randy Couture on January 31 in the main
event of the UFC 46 pay-per-view show emanating from Las Vegas. The
promotion also recently released UFC Ultimate Knockouts 1 and 2, which
is a collection of more than 40 of the more memorable fight finishes
in UFC history.

Information on both is available at www.ufc.tv.


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q: Whatever happened to Stephanie McMahon? - Paul Fowler, Ft
Lauderdale, Fla.

A: McMahon removed herself from WWE television in October just before
her real-life marriage to Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Expect McMahon to
resurface in an on-air role before Wrestlemania XX in March.

More of the Dan Severn interview can be found at
www.wrestlingobserver.com.

Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301, or
e-mailed to amarvez(at)sun-sentinel.com. Please include your full name
and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be
accepted and letters will not receive a written reply.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com)


--- Internet Rex 2.29