1996 in sports
1996 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
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- For an extensive coverage see 1996 in Association football
- January 8; For the first time in 25 years, no one garners 75 percent of the votes needed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Phil Niekro comes closest with 68 percent.
- The New York Yankees won 1996 World Series defeating the Atlanta Braves.
- Olympic Games Men's Competition: Netherlands
- Olympic Games Women's Competition: Australia
Men's professional
Men's amateur
Women's professional
- Men's European Championship: Russia
- Women's European Championship: Denmark
Steeplechases
Flat races
The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 1996 in chronological order.
It should be noted that before 1997, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was considered the only major MMA organization in the world and featured much fewer rules then are used in modern MMA.
| Date |
Event |
Alternate Name/s |
Location |
Attendance |
PPV Buyrate |
Notes |
| February 16 |
UFC 8: David vs. Goliath |
N/A |
Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
13,000 |
160,000 |
UFC rule change, timed rounds were changed to two 10 minute rounds for first two rounds of the tournament and a single 15 minute round in the tournament final and superfights. Introduction of judges. First MMA event to draw criticism from politicians. |
| May 17 |
UFC 9: Motor City Madness |
N/A |
Detroit, Michigan, USA |
10,000 |
N/A |
First UFC event not to feature a tournament, however it was not the last.
Closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only, however this was not enforced.
Following this event the UFC was removed from airing events on numerous cable systems, including TCI cable.
|
| July 12 |
UFC 10: The Tournament |
N/A |
Birmingham, Alabama, USA |
4,300 |
N/A |
This event was originally going to be held at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. |
| September 20 |
UFC 11: The Proving Ground |
N/A |
Augusta, Georgia, USA |
4,500 |
N/A |
N/A |
| December 7 |
The Ultimate Ultimate 2 |
Ultimate Ultimate 1996
UFC 11.5 |
Birmingham, Alabama, USA |
6,000 |
N/A |
UFC rule change, introduction of "no grabbing of the fence" rule.
In promotion for this event, Ken Shamrock appeared as a guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Following this event Ken Shamrock would leave the UFC until 2002. And marked the last UFC fight of Don Frye.
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- January: England - The 1995–96 Rugby Football League season ends with Wigan declared champions.
- March 29: Paris – the new Super League competition, the first ever season of professional rugby to be played in summer, begins with new team Paris Saint-Germain's first match: a 30-24 win over Sheffield Eagles at Charlety Stadium before 17,873.
- August 31: Salford, England - The 1996 Student Rugby League World Cup culminates in Australia's 28 - 16 defeat of Samoa
- September 29: Sydney, Australia - The 1996 ARL season culminates the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles' 20–8 grand final victory over the St. George Dragons at the Sydney Football Stadium before a crowd of 40,985
- June 26: Cardiff, Wales - The 1996 European Rugby League Championship is won by England who defeated Wales 26-12 at Cardiff Arms Park before a crowd of 5,245
- The 1996 Queensland Cup Season is won by the Toowoomba Clydesdales
- June 3: Sydney, Australia - The 1996 State of Origin series is wrapped up as New South Wales defeat Queensland 18–6 in Game II at the Sydney Football Stadium before a crowd of 41,955.
- Super League I ends with St. Helens being crowned champions for finishing on top of the League
- Men's World League: Netherlands
- Women's World Grand Prix: Brazil
- Olympic Games Men's Competition: Netherlands
- Olympic Games Women's Competition: Cuba
- Olympic Games Men's Competition: Spain
- Olympic Games Women's Competition: Netherlands
Awards
References
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Sports by year 1951 – 2000
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to 1850 • 1851 – 1900 • 1901 – 1950 • 1951 – 2000 • from 2001
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