UFC 39
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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.
History
Headlining the event was a Heavyweight Title bout between Randy Couture and Ricco Rodriguez for the vacant title. Originally Ricco Rodriguez was scheduled to fight Josh Barnett for the UFC title but Barnett was stripped following a positive test for steroids.
The event marked the octagon debut of future UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. This fight saw Sylvia's opponent, Wesley Correira, take several straight punches, knees, and kicks to the head without ever falling before his corner eventually threw in the towel.
Results
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Ricco Rodriguez | def. | Randy Couture | TKO (submission due to elbows) | 5 | 3:04 | |
| Heavyweight | Tim Sylvia | def. | Wesley Correira | TKO (corner stoppage) | 2 | 1:43 | |
| Lightweight | B.J. Penn | def. | Matt Serra | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Caol Uno | def. | Din Thomas | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Gan McGee | def. | Pedro Rizzo | TKO (corner stoppage) | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Phil Baroni | def. | Dave Menne | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:18 | |
| Preliminary card | |||||||
| Middleweight | Matt Lindland | def. | Ivan Salaverry | Decision (unanimous) (30–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Sean Sherk | def. | Benji Radach | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 1 | 4:16 |
Lightweight tournament bracket
| Semifinals | Finals (UFC 41) | ||||||||
| United States | B.J. Penn | UD | |||||||
| United States | Matt Serra | 3 | |||||||
| United States | B.J. Penn | D1 | |||||||
| Japan | Caol Uno | 15:00 | |||||||
| Japan | Caol Uno | UD | |||||||
| United States | Din Thomas | 3 |
1 At UFC 41, B.J. Penn vs. Caol Uno ended in a split draw. (48-46, 47-48, 48-48). The title remained vacant.
Encyclopedia awards
The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.
- Fight of the Night: Ricco Rodriguez vs. Randy Couture
- Knockout of the Night: Phil Baroni