UFC 33
Encyclopedia
UFC 33: Victory in Vegas was a mixed martial arts
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center
on the Las Vegas Strip
in Las Vegas
, Nevada
on September 28, 2001. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States
, and later released on home video
.
vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
for the Light Heavyweight Title (Vitor Belfort
was unable to fight due to arm injury while training), Dave Menne
vs Gil Castillo
for the new Middleweight Title and Jens Pulver
vs Dennis Hallman
for the Lightweight Title.
UFC 33 was the first mixed martial arts event sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, under the Unified Rules Of Mixed Martial Arts Combat, which was first established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in 2000.
UFC 33 was considered a disaster by many, failing to captivate the new pay-per-view audience due to the large number of decisions on the card. The Ortiz-Matyushenko and Pulver-Hallman fights in particular have been judged the two most uneventful five-round title fights in UFC history by some metrics. Additionally, the broadcast ran over and cut out early on many cable systems (in the middle of the Ortiz-Matyushenko fight). After this event, the UFC reduced the number of live fights to five and never again scheduled three title matches on a UFC card.
During the post fight press conference for UFC 111
, in response to questions about a perceived boring fight between Georges St. Pierre
and Dan Hardy
, UFC president Dana White
commented that "UFC 33 is the only one I can remember where every fight sucked."
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Mandalay Bay Events Center is a 12,000 seat indoor arena, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Resorts International.It has hosted many music, boxing and mixed martial arts events....
on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
on September 28, 2001. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and later released on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
.
History
The card was headlined by three Title Bouts, Tito OrtizTito Ortiz
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Vladimir Matyushenko
Vladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko is a Belarusian mixed martial artist and the first and only International Fight League light heavyweight champion...
for the Light Heavyweight Title (Vitor Belfort
Vitor Belfort
Vítor Vieira Belfort is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in...
was unable to fight due to arm injury while training), Dave Menne
Dave Menne
David Jeremy Menne is an American mixed martial artist who has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rumble on the Rock. He was the first ever UFC Middleweight Champion and is known for his fight against Phil Baroni in which he got knocked out and tried to fall to the ground, only to...
vs Gil Castillo
Gil Castillo
Gil Philip Castillo is a retired American mixed martial artist who has studied under Cesar Gracie. He made his UFC debut at UFC 33 where he suffered a loss from Dave Menne via unanimous decision in a match to crown the first UFC Middleweight Champion...
for the new Middleweight Title and Jens Pulver
Jens Pulver
Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...
vs Dennis Hallman
Dennis Hallman
Dennis Lloyd Hallman is an American professional mixed martial artist from the U.S. state of Washington. A former state champion wrestler, Hallman is known best for his expertise as a grappler. He has appeared in many fight organizations, including UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, Shooto, Rumble on the...
for the Lightweight Title.
UFC 33 was the first mixed martial arts event sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, under the Unified Rules Of Mixed Martial Arts Combat, which was first established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in 2000.
UFC 33 was considered a disaster by many, failing to captivate the new pay-per-view audience due to the large number of decisions on the card. The Ortiz-Matyushenko and Pulver-Hallman fights in particular have been judged the two most uneventful five-round title fights in UFC history by some metrics. Additionally, the broadcast ran over and cut out early on many cable systems (in the middle of the Ortiz-Matyushenko fight). After this event, the UFC reduced the number of live fights to five and never again scheduled three title matches on a UFC card.
During the post fight press conference for UFC 111
UFC 111
UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 27, 2010 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, United States.-Background:...
, in response to questions about a perceived boring fight between Georges St. Pierre
Georges St. Pierre
Georges St-Pierre , often referred to as GSP, is a Canadian mixed martial artist and the current Welterweight Champion of the UFC. St-Pierre is ranked as the No. 1 Welterweight in the world according to Sherdog, MMAWeekly and numerous other publications. St-Pierre is ranked the No. 2 pound for...
and Dan Hardy
Dan Hardy
Dan Hardy is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2004, Hardy fought in various promotions such as Cage Force and Cage Warriors before signing a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2008. He was...
, UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
commented that "UFC 33 is the only one I can remember where every fight sucked."
Preliminary card
- Lightweight bout:
Din ThomasDin ThomasDin Yero Thomas is an American mixed martial arts fighter and part time break dancer, who was featured on The Ultimate Fighter 4. He currently runs two successful Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA academies in Port St. Lucie, Florida and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ricardo Liborio...
vs.
Fabiano IhaFabiano IhaFabiano Iha is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He competes in the Lightweight division. He won his last fight at LIP 1 - Lockdown in Paradise 1 against John Cox on March 19, 2005...
- Thomas wins by unanimous decision at 15:00.
- Middleweight bout: Ricardo AlmeidaRicardo AlmeidaRicardo Almeida is a retired Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey.-Background:...
vs. Eugene JacksonEugene Jackson (fighter)Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson is a retired American mixed martial artist. He fought at Middleweight, and is a former Strikeforce U.S. middleweight champion...
- Almeida wins by submission (triangle choke) at 4:06 of the first round.
- Welterweight bout:
Jutaro Nakao vs. Tony DeSouza.svg.png)
- Nakao wins by KO (Punch) at :15 of the second round.
Main card
- Middleweight Championship bout: Dave MenneDave MenneDavid Jeremy Menne is an American mixed martial artist who has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rumble on the Rock. He was the first ever UFC Middleweight Champion and is known for his fight against Phil Baroni in which he got knocked out and tried to fall to the ground, only to...
vs. Gil CastilloGil CastilloGil Philip Castillo is a retired American mixed martial artist who has studied under Cesar Gracie. He made his UFC debut at UFC 33 where he suffered a loss from Dave Menne via unanimous decision in a match to crown the first UFC Middleweight Champion...
- Menne wins by unanimous decision at 25:00 to become the first UFC Middleweight champion.
- Welterweight Bouts: Matt SerraMatt SerraMatthew John Serra is an American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medalist. He began practicing martial arts at an early age, first studying kung fu...
vs.
Yves EdwardsYves Edwards|-| Win| align="center" | 41-17-1| Rafaello Oliveira| TKO | UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson| | align="center" | 2| align="center" | 2:44| Washington, D.C||-| Loss| align="center" | 40-17-1| Sam Stout| KO...
- Serra wins by majority decision at 15:00.
- Light Heavyweight bout: Chuck LiddellChuck LiddellCharles David "Chuck" Liddell is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling.As of his...
vs. Murilo BustamanteMurilo BustamanteMurilo Bustamante |Lion's Den]], Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryuta Sakurai , Dave Menne and undefeated top ranked Middleweight Matt Lindland .-Instructor lineage:Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr...
- Liddell wins by unanimous decision at 15:00.
- Lightweight Championship bout: Jens PulverJens PulverJens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...
(c) vs. Dennis HallmanDennis HallmanDennis Lloyd Hallman is an American professional mixed martial artist from the U.S. state of Washington. A former state champion wrestler, Hallman is known best for his expertise as a grappler. He has appeared in many fight organizations, including UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, Shooto, Rumble on the...
- Pulver wins by unanimous decision at 25:00 to defend the UFC Lightweight Championship.
- Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Tito OrtizTito OrtizJacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000 to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars...
(c) vs.
Vladimir MatyushenkoVladimir MatyushenkoVladimir Vladimirovich Matyushenko is a Belarusian mixed martial artist and the first and only International Fight League light heavyweight champion...
- Ortiz wins by unanimous decision at 25:00 to defend the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.