UFC 39
| UFC 39: The Warriors Return | ||||
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| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 27, 2002 | |||
| Venue | Mohegan Sun Arena | |||
| City |  Uncasville, Connecticut, USA |
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| Attendance | 7,800 | |||
| Buyrate | 45,000 | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
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UFC 39: The Warriors Return was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 27, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was broadcast live on pay per view in the United States, and was the first UFC event to be released on DVD.
Contents |
[edit] History
Headlining the event was a Heavyweight Title bout between Randy Couture and Ricco Rodriguez for the vacant title, which was stripped from Josh Barnett following a positive test for steroids.
The event marked the octagon debut of future UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. This fight saw Tim's opponent, Correira, take several straight punches, knees and kicks to the head without ever falling before his corner eventually threw in the towel.
The Rodriguez/Couture fight was one of only three fights in UFC history to end in the 5th round. The others were BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 and Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.
[edit] Results
[edit] Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout:
Sean Sherk vs. Benji Radach
- Sherk wins by TKO (Cut) at 4:16 of round 1.
- Middleweight bout: Matt Lindland vs.
Ivan Salaverry
- Lindland wins by Unanimous Decision (15.00)
[edit] Main card
- Middleweight bout: Phil Baroni vs. Dave Menne
- Baroni wins by KO (Punches) at 0:18 of round 1.
- Heavyweight bout: Gan McGee vs.
Pedro Rizzo
- McGee wins by TKO (Corner Stoppage) after completion of round one (5:00). Rizzo took a straight right hand to the nose with twelve seconds left in the First Round. After examining Rizzo's nose between rounds, his corner decided to throw in the towel.
- Lightweight bout:
Caol Uno vs. Din Thomas
- Uno wins by Unanimous Decision (15.00). This is the first bout of a two-round tournament to fill the vacant UFC lightweight championship, and Uno advanced to the finals at UFC 41.
- Lightweight bout: B.J. Penn vs. Matt Serra
- Penn wins by Unanimous Decision (15.00). This bout completes the first round of the lightweight tournament, and Penn advanced to the finals at UFC 41.
- Heavyweight bout: Tim Sylvia vs. Wesley Correira
- Sylvia wins by TKO (Corner Stoppage) 1:43 into Round 2.
- Rodriguez wins by Submission (Elbow Strikes) at 3:04 of round 5. This is one of only three fights in UFC history to end in the 5th round. The others were BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 and Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117.
| Semifinals | Finals (UFC 41) | |||||
| Caol Uno | ||||||
| Din Thomas | ||||||
| Caol Uno | ||||||
| BJ Penn | ||||||
| BJ Penn | ||||||
| Matt Serra | ||||||
