''UFC 39: The Warriors Return'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on September 27, 2002, at the

Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...

Uncasville Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The event was broadcast live on

pay per view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and was the first UFC event to be released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

History

Headlining the event was a Heavyweight Title bout between

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former United States Army, U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman ...

and

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

for the vacant title. Originally Ricco Rodriguez was scheduled to fight

Josh Barnett Joshua Lawrence Barnett (born November 10, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, submission grappler, professional wrestler and color commentator currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he competes in their Heavyweight division. Barnett p ...

for the UFC tile but Barnett was stripped following a positive test for steroids. The event marked the octagon debut of future UFC Heavyweight Champion

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kno ...

. This fight saw Sylvia's opponent,

Wesley Correira Wesley John Correira Jr. (born November 11, 1978), nicknamed Cabbage, is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. An iron chinned brawler, Correira began his career in 2000 and came to p ...

, take several straight punches, knees, and kicks to the head without ever falling before his corner eventually threw in the towel.

Results

Lightweight tournament bracket

¹ At

UFC 41 ''UFC 41: Onslaught'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 28, 2003, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and late ...

B.J. Penn Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American Go ...

vs.

Caol Uno (born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's el ...

ended in a split draw. (48-46, 47-48, 48-48). The title remained vacant.

External links

Official UFC Website

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Sodom, Gomorrah and the UFC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 039 Ultimate Fighting Championship events Events in Uncasville, Connecticut 2002 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Connecticut Sports in Uncasville, Connecticut 2002 in sports in Connecticut

History

Results

Lightweight tournament bracket

See also

External links