UFC Events

Introduction UFC 37: High Impact. May 10, 2002. CenturyTel Center, Bossier City, Louisiana. The headline event was the most controversial Middleweight Championship fight the UFC had produced. Murilo Bustamante had Matt Lindland in a deep armbar in the first round. Lindland tapped. John McCarthy stopped the fight. Lindland protested that the tap was involuntary. McCarthy restarted the bout. Bustamante eventually finished with a guillotine choke in the third round. The armbar

Introduction UFC 36: Worlds Collide. March 22, 2002. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Josh Barnett, 24 years old, became the youngest UFC Heavyweight Champion in history by stopping Randy Couture in the second round. Four months later, Barnett tested positive for three anabolic steroids. The UFC stripped him of the title, suspended him for six months, and vacated the Heavyweight Championship. The fight stood; the title did not. The card was also notable for what

Introduction UFC 35: Throwdown. January 11, 2002. Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut. One of the more unusual events in early UFC history — the entire show was conducted while a flu-like illness swept through the venue. Fighters, trainers, and production staff all reported symptoms ranging from vomiting to hallucinations. Despite widespread illness across the roster, the card ran as planned. Two title fights headlined. Jens Pulver defended the Lightweight Champion

Introduction UFC 34: High Voltage. November 2, 2001. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the most memorable early UFC cards — memorable for the right reasons. Two championship fights, both producing moments that would be discussed for decades. Randy Couture stopped Pedro Rizzo in the third round to complete a dominant trilogy. Matt Hughes slam-knocked Carlos Newton unconscious to win the Welterweight Championship, in a finish so ambiguous that both men were si

Introduction UFC 33: Victory in Vegas. September 28, 2001. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC’s first event in Las Vegas, and the first under the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s sanctioning of mixed martial arts. Seventeen days after the September 11 attacks, the promotion ran its most ambitious card yet: three title fights, 9,500 fans, and a gate of $816,660. It did not go well. The card was widely criticised for delivering too many decisions in fi

Introduction UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands. June 29, 2001. Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey. The card was headlined by the first Light Heavyweight Championship bout under the division’s new name — the weight class had previously been called Middleweight. Tito Ortiz stopped Elvis Sinosic with punches and elbows from the mount in 3:32 of the first round, extending his dominant run at the top of the division. B.J. Penn stopped Din Thomas in the f

Introduction UFC 31: Locked and Loaded. May 4, 2001. Mark G. Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The second event under Zuffa ownership, and the card that introduced the modern UFC weight class structure. Bantamweight was renamed Lightweight and raised from 150 to 155 pounds. Welterweight became fixed at 170, Middleweight at 185, Light Heavyweight at 205. The new UFC logo appeared on the Octagon canvas for the first time. The card featured two title fights and a gener

Introduction UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk. February 23, 2001. Mark G. Etess Arena at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first UFC event under Zuffa ownership. On January 11, 2001, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White had purchased the UFC from SEG for $2 million. Six weeks later, UFC 30 was their opening statement. It was also the first UFC event since UFC 22 to receive a home video release — five consecutive cards under SEG had gone unreleased. T

Introduction UFC 29: Defense of the Belts. December 16, 2000. Differ Ariake Arena, Tokyo. The last UFC event held in Japan — the promotion would not return until UFC 144 in 2012. Two title defences headlined: Tito Ortiz submitted Yuki Kondo in 1:52 to retain the Light Heavyweight Championship; Pat Miletich submitted Kenichi Yamamoto in the second round to defend the Welterweight title. The first UFC card with music between rounds, and Frank Shamrock again in the broadcast b

Introduction UFC 28: High Stakes. November 17, 2000. Mark G. Etess Arena at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The first UFC event sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board — the body whose approval produced the framework that would become the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Fighters were required to wear trunks and gloves. Strict weight classes were enforced. A Super Heavyweight division appeared for the only time in UFC history. The sport

Introduction UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz. September 22, 2000. Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana. The main event was a demonstration of how far the sport had evolved. Dan Severn — the original UFC Superfight Champion, a multiple-time title contender, one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers in American history — faced Pedro Rizzo, a Brazilian kickboxer who had been building toward the heavyweight title across his last four fights. Rizzo stopped Severn at 1:33 of the f

Introduction UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams. June 9, 2000. Five Seasons Events Center (U.S. Cellular Center), Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kevin Randleman finally got his title defence, three months after he knocked himself unconscious on a concrete floor before UFC 24. He defeated Pedro Rizzo by unanimous decision over five rounds, retaining the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Pat Miletich defended the Welterweight Championship. And Jens Pulver fought in the first-ever UFC bantamwe

Introduction UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3. April 14, 2000. Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo. Frank Shamrock had vacated the Middleweight Championship after UFC 22, citing a lack of competition. The belt sat vacant for months while two of the sport’s emerging stars were matched to determine his successor. Tito Ortiz, fresh off three dominant UFC wins, faced Wanderlei Silva, the Brazilian knockout artist who had made his UFC debut at UFC 20. Ortiz won by unanimous decision afte

Introduction UFC 24: First Defense. March 10, 2000. Lake Charles Civic Center, Louisiana. The name referred to a scheduled Heavyweight Championship bout between Kevin Randleman and Pedro Rizzo — Randleman’s first title defence since winning the belt at UFC 23. It never happened. While warming up backstage, Randleman slipped on the concrete floor, struck his head, and knocked himself unconscious. He was taken by ambulance to hospital, diagnosed with a concussion, and declare

Introduction UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2. November 19, 1999. Tokyo Bay NK Hall, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan. Kevin Randleman, who most of the MMA world believed had won his title fight against Bas Rutten at UFC 20 only to be denied by the judges, got his second chance. Opposite Pete Williams, the man who had shocked Mark Coleman with a head kick at UFC 17, Randleman went five full rounds and won the Heavyweight Championship on a unanimous decision. Justice, or at least a version of

Introduction UFC 22: There Can Be Only One Champion. September 24, 1999. Lake Charles Civic Center, Louisiana. The main event between Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz was immediately recognised as one of the greatest fights in MMA history. It had everything: Ortiz's size and wrestling, Shamrock’s movement and kickboxing, a brutal back-and-forth over four rounds, and a finish that came from a sustained offensive sequence of punches, elbows, and hammerfists to the temple that ev

Introduction UFC 21: Return of the Champions. July 16, 1999. Five Seasons Events Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The most structurally significant event in UFC history since the open-weight era ended. The 10-point must system — the scoring method boxing had used for decades — was adopted by the UFC for the first time. Rounds were formally introduced: two five-minute rounds for preliminary bouts, three for main card fights, and five for championship fights. The sport looked, str

Introduction UFC 20: Battle for the Gold. May 7, 1999. Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, Alabama. The Road to the Heavyweight Title tournament was finally over. Bas Rutten and Kevin Randleman stepped into the Octagon for 21 minutes of heavyweight action to crown the first undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion since Randy Couture vacated the belt. What followed was one of the most disputed results in early UFC history. Randleman — a two-time NCAA wrestling champion trained by

Introduction UFC 19: Ultimate Young Guns. March 5, 1999. Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The card introduced a generation of fighters who would define the sport for the next decade. Kevin Randleman made his UFC debut and won on the Road to the Heavyweight Title. Evan Tanner continued building his career. And Chuck Liddell appeared on a UFC PPV broadcast for the first time — only to be submitted by Jeremy Horn in 12 minutes. But the night belonged to Tito Ortiz —

Introduction UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title. January 8, 1999. Pontchartrain Center, New Orleans. Randy Couture had vacated the Heavyweight Championship due to a contract dispute rather than lose it in the Octagon. The belt was vacant. The UFC created a four-event tournament called 'The Road to the Heavyweight Title' to crown a new champion. UFC 18 was the second leg, and its main event introduced the sport to Bas Rutten — the Dutch kickboxer who had built a 19-fi