Issue 217
May 2025
6 June 2003
Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC 43: Meltdown
By Brad Wharton
It was supposed to be the night that British and American MMA icons collided. On one side, Ken Shamrock, the ostensible the World’s Most Dangerous Man. On the other, Ian Freeman, the man who’d blazed the trail for UKMMA on the world stage. By the time fate had played its hand, Freeman found himself facing the student instead of the master. Ian Freeman didn’t have any choice when it came to being a pioneer. Along with the likes of Lee Hasdell, he was at the forefront of the tiny handful of British fighters to gain international notoriety. Freeman had boxed a little as a young man and earned his stripes as a doorman in the UK. These were the good old days when nightclubs were safe, largely because bouncers could get away with giving the undesirable element a concrete re-education. After one such lesson, a friend of Freeman’s suggested grappling to him because a broken arm was a far more efficient way of imparting knowledge than a right hand to the jaw.
FREEMAN’S BEGINNINGS
The first Brit to compete in the UFC, Freeman went 3-2 in the organization (including his legendary victory over Frank Mir in London, a story for another day) before getting the call for what would have been his highest-profile fight to date, a showdown with Ken Shamrock. Both were true mixed martial artists, smaller heavyweights, now better suited to the 205lb division, and hard men from hard backgrounds. Just weeks removed from the event, disaster struck. Shamrock was out with an injury. In truth, the troubled legend was dealing with serious personal issues, and Freeman was without a dance partner. In a twist of fate, Shamrock’s misfortune would prove to be his good friend’s opportunity.
TIGER STYLE
Nobody knew about hard work quite like Vernon ‘Tiger’ White. He was the epitome of an MMA journeyman. White traveled the world, fighting anyone anytime, anywhere. A Taekwondo practitioner, he could bang with the best. What separated him in an era dominated by grapplers was his willingness to throw down. White was an original acolyte of Shamrock’s, accompanying him to early Pancrase tournaments in Japan and standing proudly as an OG member of the ragtag group that became the Lion’s Den. Suppose you discount his Pancrase ‘fights’ (which, according to his old website biography, White absolutely does). By the time he was called to face Freeman in the UFC, he was sporting a record of twelve wins against six losses. He’d made the finals of a World Vale Tudo tournament in Brazil, suffered a couple of spirited losses in PRIDE, and had a stint as King of the Cage’s light heavyweight champion. In fact, it was just twenty-one days removed from dropping said title to Jeremy Horn that the Lion’s Den man stepped into the world-famous Octagon for the first time, looking to defend his mentor’s honor and step out of his shadow.
THE MELTDOWN
White scored first blood with a deep kick to the outside of Freeman’s lead leg, only for the Brit to clock him with a clubbing right hook in return. The exchange clearly bothered ‘The Tiger,’ who forced a takedown. Freeman shrimped out, eating a couple of shots as White punched his way back. ‘The Machine’ powered his way back to a standing position, trading knees and using his upper body strength advantage to defend the takedown. Freeman slammed his man to the mat and spent the remaining two minutes uncorking piston-like ground ‘n’ pounds that reverberated around the arena. White exploded back to his feet in the dying seconds, but his only significant strike landed after the bell. The Lion’s Den man refused to touch gloves as the second frame got underway, landing a clutch of nice kicks and weaving away from the massive hooks thrown his way by the Englishman. White’s refusal to touch ‘em up wasn’t the only mind game being played. Freeman was cornered by the Horn mentioned above (and welterweight champion Matt Hughes) after a stint spent training at Iowa’s Miletich Fighting Systems.
ROUND TWO
The Brit landed a couple of knees in close before collapsing onto his counterpart’s back, hanging onto the position after a failed scramble. ‘The Machine’ once again let rip with a salvo of massive hooks from behind, but the Lion’s Den man was able to reverse the position and let go of some shots of his own. ‘The Tiger’ came out on top of half guard, chipping away with sporadic elbows and punches. Eventually striking his way to half guard, then back control, White briefly attempted a rear naked choke before landing in mount. ‘The Machine’ effortlessly forced him off, eventually regaining guard. White passed again but Freeman revered into a single leg, which his opponent countered with a Kimura. As the final seconds ticked away, Vernon fired up a head kick that slapped Freeman across the face, eating a volley of stiff hooks in return. With both men taking a while to get back to their feet following their efforts in the second round, the final frame would always be as much of a battle of wills as a battle of skills.
FINAL ROUND
White opened up with a series of spinning kicks and punches that flew well shy of the mark, while Freeman countered with a couple of Saturday night specials and a big knee up the center that thudded into his man’s head and torso. Freeman looked to secure a takedown but ended up pulling White into mount. The American scored with some punches before attempting to fall back into a heel hook that wasn’t quite on. This mistake allowed ‘The Machine’ to counter with one of his own, but he could not elicit the tap. They scrambled back to their feet and plowed into each other again. Freeman landed the heavier blows as White replied with surgical knees. With a minute to go, referee Larry Landless separated the pair for inactivity, but as White attempted to make the most of the distance, Freeman exploded with a flurry of punches that sent him staggering backward into the fence. With seconds on the clock, the pair unloaded again. Freeman slugged with all he had left as White dug in with knees to the body. The judges were seemingly flummoxed, turning in a rare split draw on the cards. Cecil Peoples gave White all three rounds. Abe Belardo saw Freeman up by two. Tony Weeks had the bout even. In retrospect, it’s tough to decide which was the bigger crime: that Freeman didn’t win at UFC 43 or that he’d never get his hands on Shamrock to settle the score.
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