UFC 33

UFC 33: Victory in Vegas was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Mandalay Bay Events Center 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.

UFC 33: Victory in Vegas
The poster for UFC 33: Victory in Vegas
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateSeptember 28, 2001
VenueMandalay Bay Events Center
CityLas Vegas, Nevada
Attendance9,500
Total gate$816,660
Buyrate75,000
Event chronology
UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands UFC 33: Victory in Vegas UFC 34: High Voltage

History

The card was headlined by three title bouts, Tito Ortiz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko for the Light Heavyweight Title (Vitor Belfort was unable to fight due to arm injury while training),[1] Dave Menne vs Gil Castillo for the new Middleweight Title and Jens Pulver vs Dennis Hallman for the Lightweight Title.[2]

UFC 33 was the first mixed martial arts event sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,[3] under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, which were first established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board in April 2001.[4]

UFC 33 is commonly pointed to as one of the worst in UFC history,[5] failing to captivate the new pay-per-view audience due to the large number of decisions on the card – UFC 33 was in fact the first event where all main card fights went to a decision. The Ortiz-Matyushenko and Pulver-Hallman fights in particular have been judged the two most uneventful five-round title fights in UFC history, up to at least 2009, by some metrics.[6] Additionally, the broadcast ran over and cut out early on many cable systems (in the middle of the Ortiz-Matyushenko fight).[5] After this event, the UFC reduced the number of live fights to five and didn't schedule an event with 3 title fights for over 15 years.

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."[7][8]

Years later at the UFC 149 post-fight press conference, after a similarly lackluster card, Dana White quipped, "It felt like I was at UFC 33 again".[9][10]

In 2013, following UFC on Fox 6 post-fight press conference, Dana White once again referenced UFC 33 as "The worst show we've ever had".[11]

Results
Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Light Heavyweight Tito Ortiz (c) def. Vladimir Matyushenko Decision (unanimous) (50–43, 50–44, 50–44) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 1]
Lightweight Jens Pulver (c) def. Dennis Hallman Decision (unanimous) (49–47, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 2]
Middleweight Dave Menne def. Gil Castillo Decision (unanimous) (49–43, 49–44, 49–45) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 3]
Light Heavyweight Chuck Liddell def. Murilo Bustamante Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Welterweight Matt Serra def. Yves Edwards Decision (majority) (30–26, 30–27, 29–29) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card
Welterweight Jutaro Nakao def. Tony DeSouza KO (punch) 2 0:15
Middleweight Ricardo Almeida def. Eugene Jackson Submission (triangle choke) 1 4:06
Lightweight Din Thomas def. Fabiano Iha Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
  1. For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
  2. For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
  3. For the inaugural UFC Middleweight Championship.

See also

References
  1. Snowden, Jonathan (January 24, 2011). "The UFC's Long Love Affair With Vitor Belfort: A History". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  2. "The Fray At Mandalay Bay | Full Contact Fighter".
  3. Morris, Jessy (May 31, 2009). "UFC Timeline: Zuffa's Early Years". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. "Mixed Martial arts Unified Rules of Conduct". New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. 2002-09-05. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  5. Rodina, Steven (August 3, 2012). "UFC 149 and the 10 Worst Cards in UFC History". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. "Worst Title Fight Ever? Check the Numbers"
  7. "UFC 111 Post Fight Press Conference Part 3 - George St. Pierre". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  8. Roth, Matthew (May 1, 2011). "UFC 129 Results: Zuffa and the UFC Finally Hit It Big". bloodyelbow.com.
  9. "Dana White 'Embarrassed' at UFC 149 Post-Fight Press Conference". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. Martin, Damon (July 22, 2012). "Dana White 'Embarrassed' by UFC 149 Main Card, Praises Undercard Fighters". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  11. "UFC on FOX: Johnson vs Dodson Post-fight Press Conference". youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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