''UFC 53: Heavy Hitters'' 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 June 4, 2005, at the

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlant ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. 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 later 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 kind ...

History

This event was originally scheduled to take place at the

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

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 ...

with an Interim Heavyweight Championship bout between

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

and

Mirko Filipović Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro C ...

serving as the main event. However the lack of sponsorship for the event forced the event to be moved to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. Initially, former champion

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 ...

was slated to contend for the Heavyweight Championship, but withdrew from the bout, citing complications with his training camp. Headlining the card opposite of Interim

Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...

Arlovski, instead, was Miletich protégé

Justin Eilers Justin Mark Eilers (June 28, 1978 – December 25, 2008)Eilers Shot Dead
– Sherdog.com ...

. Although there was some criticism directed at the

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 ...

for giving Eilers a title shot after coming off a knockout loss to

Paul Buentello Paul Anthony Buentello (born January 16, 1974) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Buentello competed in the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, Affliction, King of the Cage, Shark Fights, ACB, Legacy ...

at ''

UFC 51 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 MM ...

'', the

explained that Buentello was not medically cleared to fight when the main event was originally scheduled. __NOTOC__ This was

Forrest Griffin Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and currently serves as the Vice President of Athlete Development at the ...

's first fight after winning

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

show.

Results

Sources

UFC 53: Heavy Hitters Results on Sherdog.com
on Wrestling Information Archives

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 053 Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2005 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in New Jersey Sports competitions in Atlantic City, New Jersey 2005 in sports in New Jersey

History

Results

See also

Sources

References