UFC 14: Showdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 27, 1997 in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video.

UFC 14 featured two separate tournaments: a heavyweight tournament for fighters 200 lb or more, and a lightweight tournament for fighters under 200 lb. The event also featured a Heavyweight Championship "Superfight" between Mark Coleman and Maurice Smith, as well as two alternate bouts in case of tournament injury.

Showdown was the first UFC event to require all fighters to wear padded gloves, weighing between four and six ounces. Up until then, it was the fighter's option. (Melton Bowen was the first UFC fighter to choose to wear UFC gloves, back in UFC 4.) It was also the first UFC appearance of champion kickboxer Maurice Smith and champion collegiate wrestler Mark Kerr, who was encouraged to try mixed martial arts competition by his friend and training partner, Mark Coleman.

Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo (born May 17, 1975), more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He currently trains with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and formerly Michael Bisping at the Wolfslair MMA Academy, and holds notable wins over Mirko Filipović, Paul Buentello, Antoni Hardonk, Matt Mitrione, and Pat Barry. He is also the only fighter to have ever gone to a decision with former heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. Kongo is ranked the 10th best heavyweight in the world by ESPN.

Born to a Burkinabé father and a Congolese mother with his brother, Ben Millard, Kongo began training in martial arts when he was 5 years old, learning Kendo and Karate. As he grew older, he began to expand his repertoire and trained in Muay Thai, kickboxing and Greco-Roman wrestling. At age 19, he learned of Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial art, and was coached by Charles Joussot, Franck Roppers and his brother Ben. He's also a cousin of rugby star Fulgence Ouedraogo, the French back-rower. Cheick is also a columnist for the French MMA magazine, Top Fight.

Cain Velasquez Ramirez (born July 28, 1982) is a Mexican American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa Central Community College. He is a two-time 5A state champion in Arizona, compiling a record of 110–10 for Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona. Cain Velasquez is ranked #2 in the heavyweight division.

Velasquez, a Mexican American, was born on July 28, 1982 in Salinas, California to Efrain and Isabel Velasquez. Velasquez's father, Efrain, came from Mexico to the United States illegally. Efrain met his wife Isabel, married her, and gained US citizenship. Velasquez has two siblings, Efrain, Jr., and Adela. He was raised in Yuma, Arizona. He graduated from Kofa High School, where he compiled a record of 110–10 in four years of wrestling, including winning the 5A Arizona Wrestling Championship twice. Velasquez also played football for three years. As a senior, he served as Captain of both his wrestling and football teams.

Kevin Ferguson (born February 8, 1974), better known as Kimbo Slice, is a Bahamian-American professional boxer, mixed martial artist and occasional actor. He became famous for street fights which were spread on the Internet, leading Rolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".

Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. After EliteXC declared bankruptcy in 2008, Slice became a free agent. Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, where he lost in his first fight to veteran fighter, and eventual series winner, Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale, but lost in his second UFC fight to Matt Mitrione at UFC 113.

Ferguson was born in Nassau, Bahamas, but moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cutler Ridge, Florida. Ferguson was raised with his two brothers by mother Rosemary Clarke. He went to Bel-Air Elementary School, where Ferguson was reportedly involved in his first fight at 13 as he tried to defend a friend. He continued his studies with Cutler Ridge Middle School and later with Richmond Heights Middle School. He attended Miami Palmetto High School, where he was the star middle linebacker. In 1992, his house in Perrine, Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, forcing him to live in his 1987 Nissan Pathfinder for a month.

Sean McCorkle (born July 17, 1976) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, McCorkle fought for King of the Cage and local promotions in Indiana before signing with the UFC.

McCorkle is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and fights out of C-4 MMA. He has fought at Super Heavyweight for most of his career, weighing as much as 320 lb. He currently weighs 312. McCorkle has several nicknames. His best known moniker is "Big Sexy." MMA journalist Ariel Helwani coined his other main nickname "The Curtain Jerker" during a post-fight interview. He was also known as "The Hater" early on in his career.

McCorkle began his MMA training with jiu-jitsu and soon met Chris Lytle and Jake O'Brien who talked him into starting a career in MMA . After winning his first four fights, McCorkle faced Jeremy Norton on New Year's Eve 2006. During the bout, McCorkle dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm, but was able to continue and took a split decision victory. Due to the injury, he was out of action for fourteen months of physical therapy before he could return to MMA.