''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' 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 February 7, 1997 at the

Dothan Civic Center Dothan Civic Center is a 3,100-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with ...

Dothan Dothan is a place-name from the Hebrew Bible, identified with Tel Dothan. It may refer to: * Dothan, Alabama, a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties in the U.S. state of Alabama * Dani Dothan, lyricist and vocalist for the Israeli rock and ne ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The event was seen live on pay per view 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 later released on

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

History

UFC 12 was the first

UFC 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 ...

event to feature weight classes; heavyweights (200 lb and over) and lightweights (under 200 lb) battled in two separate mini tournaments, each consisting of two semifinal bouts and a finals match. The event also featured a Superfight between

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed marti ...

and

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fig ...

. The fight would unify the UFC Superfight Championship with the UFC tournament championship and determine the first ever

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

. Mark Coleman was a late substitution for

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the ''UFC 8'' and ''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' tournaments an ...

, who had earned the rematch with Severn after winning the

Ultimate Ultimate 1996 ''UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate 2'' (also known as ''Ultimate Ultimate 1996'' or ''UFC 11.5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 7, 1996. The event took place at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, A ...

, but was unable to participate in UFC 12 because of injuries he had suffered in that previous event. Frye never returned to the UFC. "Judgement Day" also featured two alternate bouts in case of tournament injury. UFC 12 marked the first UFC appearance of

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions. Belfort previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavywe ...

, who won the heavyweight tournament and was only 19 years of age. UFC 12 also marked the first appearance of commentator

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC 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 ...

, who handled backstage interviews for the event and interviewed the winners of the main events. After being removed from many pay per view carriers, and with mounting pressure from politicians such as Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, the UFC had continuing troubles finding a venue, and a state, that would host UFC 12.It was first announced that UFC 12 would be held in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

, to which it was ultimately denied sanctioning rights. Next, it was announced that UFC 12 would be held in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, which soon banned the event. Finally, the UFC returned to

, where it appeared in the small city of

, located about 200 miles southeast of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The UFC would continue to hold events exclusively in Southern US States (aside from occasional shows in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) until 2001, when the UFC was sanctioned by the

New Jersey State Athletic Commission The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (SACB) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New Jersey, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, mixed martial arts fighters, second ...

Results

''UFC 12'' Lightweight Tournament Bracket

*a. Nick Sanzo replaced Yoshiki Takahashi.

''UFC 12'' Heavyweight Tournament Bracket

References

External links