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 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, structurally, closer to

 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 Mark Coleman — dominat

 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 — and to the shirt he wo

 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-fight unbeaten streak i

 Introduction UFC 17: Redemption. May 15, 1998. Mobile Civic Center, Alabama. The title referred to Mark Coleman's return after losing the Heavyweight Championship to Maurice Smith at UFC 14. Coleman had been scheduled to face Randy Couture for the title on this card — a rematch that would have put the Hammer back where he thought he belonged. Couture withdrew injured. A last-minute Lion's Den replacement named Pete Williams took the fight instead. At 12:38, Williams connected with a head kick t

 Introduction UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou. March 13, 1998. Pontchartrain Center, Kenner, Louisiana. The night produced one of the most spectacular finishes the UFC had ever seen: Frank Shamrock retained the Middleweight Championship by picking up Igor Zinoviev and slamming him headfirst into the canvas in 22 seconds. Zinoviev's collarbone shattered on impact. He never fought again. The finish became one of the defining images of Shamrock's brief but dominant title reign. Elsewhere on the card, t

 Introduction UFC 15: Collision Course. October 17, 1997. Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi — held in a circus tent adjacent to the casino. Three things defined the night. Randy Couture dismantled Vitor Belfort in a Heavyweight Title Eliminator that nobody expected him to win, establishing himself as the sport's most dangerous emerging wrestler. Maurice Smith successfully defended the Heavyweight Championship against a last-minute Tank Abbott replacement. And the UFC introduced its most s

 Introduction UFC 14: Showdown. July 27, 1997. Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, Alabama. Everyone assumed Mark Coleman was unbeatable. The first UFC Heavyweight Champion had gone six fights undefeated, three tournament titles, and had just won the belt by submitting Dan Severn in under three minutes. His opponent, Maurice Smith, arrived with a 5–7 MMA record. A kickboxer. Thirty-five years old. A massive underdog by every measure anyone could apply. Before the fight, Coleman told interviewer Joe

 Introduction UFC 13: The Ultimate Force. May 30, 1997. Augusta Civic Center, Georgia. The card drew approximately 5,100 fans and produced two UFC debuts that would define the sport for the next decade. Randy Couture — a three-time All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State — submitted Tony Halme in under a minute, then stopped Steven Graham in the final to win the Heavyweight Tournament on his UFC debut. Tito Ortiz, 22 years old and competing as an alternate, fought his way to the Lightweight fi

 Introduction UFC 12: Judgement Day was a night of firsts. February 7, 1997, Dothan Civic Center, Alabama. Weight classes arrived in the UFC for the first time — Heavyweight and Lightweight — giving the sport a structural foundation it had lacked since its inception. Mark Coleman submitted Dan Severn in 2 minutes and 57 seconds to become the first UFC Heavyweight Champion in history, unifying the Superfight title with the tournament championship into a single belt. And a 19-year-old Brazilian na

 Introduction UFC 11: The Proving Ground is the only event in UFC history where a tournament was won by default. Held on September 20, 1996 at the Augusta Civic Center in Georgia, the card drew 92,000 PPV buys and ended with Mark Coleman declared champion without fighting the final. His opponent Scott Ferrozzo could not continue after an 18-minute semi-final war against Tank Abbott left him with a severe eye cut and complete exhaustion. The designated alternate Roberto Traven had broken his hand

MMA has evolved into a mainstream sport, combining various martial arts styles such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling, and boxing.