Steve Jennum (born 23 September 1963) is an American police officer from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

and retired

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter. He is notable for winning the

UFC 3 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship III'' (later renamed ''UFC 3: The American Dream'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 9, 1994, at Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Caro ...

tournament in 1994.

Mixed martial arts career

Jennum entered the

tournament as an alternate.

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

made it to the finals of

but withdrew due to injuries received in the earlier fight against Felix Mitchell. Jennum then stepped in as a replacement and subsequently won his fight, winning the tournament. Therefore, Jennum only needed one fight to win the

tournament (normally a fighter would have had to participate in three matches to win). This anomaly prompted the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

to change its rules, requiring alternates to win a preliminary fight to balance the advantage of being an alternate. After

, Steve Jennum would go on to win only one more fight in his career, defeating Melton Bowen in

UFC 4 ''UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The event was seen live on pay-per-vie ...

, who was 31-6 as a professional boxer going into the bout. Jennum performed a high profile

O goshi is one of the original 40 throws of judo as compiled by Jigoro Kano. It belongs to the of the , of Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 throws of Kodokan Judo. It is classified as a . Technique description ''O-goshi's'' classifi ...

hip throw on the boxer, much to the delight of the crowd, eventually forcing him to submit to a straight

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

. Jennum could not continue in UFC 4 due to swelling of his hands after hitting Bowen repeatedly in the head when Jennum was on full mount. Prior to his debut in the ring, Jennum was a high ranking Black Belt Instructor in Robert Bussey's Warrior International (RBWI). Jennum also started his own martial arts school in Omaha, NE. Former

UFC Welterweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

mentioned that watching Jennum win UFC 3 contributed to his decision to compete in mixed martial arts.UFC 48: Georges St-Pierre MMA News Written by Arnold "The Sushiboy" Lim
(Tuesday, 15 June 2004)

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Ultimate Fighting Champion

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 2–3 , Jason Godsey , Submission (choke) , Extreme Challenge 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 ,

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, submission wrestling, submission wrestler, kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the List of UFC champions#Tournament winners, UFC 7 Tournament ...

, TKO (submission to punches) , World Vale Tudo Championship 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

Tank Abbott David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...

, Submission (neck crank) , Ultimate Ultimate 1995 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Melton Bowen , Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:47 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 ,

Harold Howard Harold Clarence Howard (born 1958) is a Canadian retired martial artist who earned a blackbelt in Jujutsu under Steve Reynolds and in Gōjū-Ryū Karate under Yogi Israel and was the first World Sport Jujutsu Heavyweight Champion in 1984. Howar ...

, TKO (submission to punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennum, Steve Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing ninjutsu Mixed martial artists from Nebraska Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska American ninjutsu practitioners American police officers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 1963 births 20th-century American sportsmen