Don Frye & Dan Severn: The Wild Early Days of the UFC

Aug 21, 2026

Recorded live at FreedomFest 2026 in Las Vegas. Lou Perez sits down with two UFC Hall of Famers — Don Frye (The Predator) and Dan Severn (The Beast) — alongside host Eric Carroll of Dad Talk Today, to talk about the early days of MMA, the wild west of the original UFC, and what it took to compete when nobody knew the rules.

Topics include: how Don and Dan each got into the Octagon in the mid-90s (Don needed an outlet during a rough divorce; Dan saw an opportunity when wrestling had nowhere left to go); what it was like to fight in a tournament format — three fights in one night, no idea who your next opponent was, and the whole event might be illegal; Dan starting his UFC career at 37 using Just For Men Number 45 to look more intimidating; the legendary Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama brawl at Pride FC and how it almost didn't happen; Pride FC's testing policy (there wasn't one); Dan Severn at 68 still going to the gym every day with both ACLs gone; how neither of them had ever heard of Brazilian jiu jitsu when they stepped into the Octagon; Don fighting a 600-pound grand sumo champion; and Don Frye's extremely candid prediction on the McGregor vs. Holloway rematch.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 — Intro — Lou Perez with Don Frye and Dan Severn at FreedomFest 2026
0:27 — 33 years of the UFC — how Don and Dan first got into the Octagon
1:00 — Don Frye: going through a divorce, needed an outlet, got in the cage
1:56 — Dan Severn: wrestling had no professional outlet — MMA filled the gap
3:22 — Dan started fighting at 37 — and used Just For Men to look more intimidating
4:36 — Early UFC: no weight classes, no idea who you'd fight, three fights in one night
5:47 — The UFC was illegal — Indian reservations, no guaranteed payouts
6:10 — Dan Severn: 120+ fights, no training camps, never told anyone about his injuries
7:39 — Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama — the legendary Pride FC brawl explained
9:32 — Pride FC didn't test for anything
10:18 — Dan Severn at 68 still goes to the gym every day
11:44 — The evolution of MMA — no Google, no footage of opponents, style vs. style
12:46 — Dan Severn had never heard of Brazilian jiu jitsu when he entered the Octagon
14:42 — From the cage to entertainment — pro wrestling, movies, and the cowboy look
15:30 — Q&A: Have the Beast and the Predator ever fought each other?
17:15 — McGregor vs. Holloway prediction — Don Frye's honest take
18:17 — No weight classes in early UFC — imagine fighting a 600-pound sumo champion
18:36 — Don Frye fought Akebono — 6'11", nearly 600 pounds, grand sumo champion
20:06 — Obesity in America — Dan Severn on the food pyramid and standards
21:23 — Dan Severn shows off an original UFC belt
22:09 — How sports can push back on division — capitalism and the dollar
23:30 — One moment you'd want to relive — both legends answer
24:46 — Outro

Watch full episodes on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Vb53s4I0A&list=PLb5trMQQvT077-L1roE0iZyAgT4dD4EtJ
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