Issue 160
October 2017
UFC 20: Battle for the Gold – May 7th 1999. A heavyweight showcase ends with one of the most controversial judges’ calls in mixed martial arts history.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship XX was the final event of ‘The Road to the Heavyweight Title’, a pseudo-tournament designed to decide the successor to Randy Couture. ‘The Natural’ had vacated the belt after a contract dispute, but there were a couple of potential heirs who seemed perfect to fill his void.
However, like most things in the UFC’s Semaphore Entertainment Group era, nothing was quite that simple.
BREAD AND BUTTER
Pete Williams might be best known for his head kick KO of Mark Coleman at UFC 17, but the Hammer House product was always a grappling specialist at heart. He made 21-year-old Travis Fulton – who already had 76 fights to his name – tap to an armbar in the first round, and then took part in a very sweaty post-fight interview.
'THE ROCK' IN A HARD PLACE
Pedro Rizzo was supposed to fight for the championship after beating Mark Coleman at UFC 18, but the Brazilian refused to fight Bas Rutten because they were friends and training partners. Instead, he fought one-pec’ed Tra Telligman and knocked him out with a trademark vicious combination.
FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
The result of this fight is still debated to this day after the UFC’s latest poster boy, Bas Rutten – who bore a striking resemblance to the promotion’s new logo – had his hand raised. Kevin Randleman didn’t have a scratch on him. ‘The Monster’ dominated most of the bout on the ground, causing the doctors to step in to check ‘El Guapo’ three times.
He could barely see because of the blood in his eyes and a lost contact lens, but elbows and submission attempts from his back and a late rally on the feet swayed the judges. “I saw a blur and I just started hitting it,” he said.
MAGIC WAND
Though he already had seven first-round KOs by the age of 22, Wanderlei Silva was yet to make his mark in the UFC. His only previous appearance was the infamous 44-second blitzkrieg he suffered at the hands of Vitor Belfort, but he finally got his first win on this night, taking out Tony Petarra with trademark knees from the clinch.
CHISELED
Talk about a physical specimen and you talk about Ron Waterman. ‘H2O’ was 6'2" and looked every bit of his 259lb hulking physique. His opponent, Chris Condo, was a very un-svelte 336lb. It’s often foolish to judge a book by its cover – just ask Roy Nelson – but this played out exactly how the casual observer would have predicted. Waterman won via KO in 28 seconds.
THREE MORE UFC 20 GOLDEN BOYS
- After 170lb champ Pat Miletich cornered LaVerne Clark, to victory, Mike Goldberg rudely asked him why his own fights were so boring.
- Joining ‘Big’ Jon McCarthy on referee duties for the first time was Mario Yamasaki – though he didn’t make his trademark heart gesture.
- Brazilian Marcelo Mello made his MMA debut and submitted Dave Roberts in 83 seconds. He never fought again.
