1997 in Sports - Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 1997 in chronological order.

Date Event Alternate Name/s Location Attendance PPV Buyrate Notes
February 7 UFC 12: Judgement Day Dothan, Alabama, US 3,100 UFC rule change, split main tournament into heavyweight (200lbs+) and lightweight (Under 200lbs) divisions. Eight-man tournament ceases. Introduction of titles. Superfights cease.
May 30 UFC 13: Ultimate Force Augusta, Georgia, US 5,100 Closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only.
July 27 UFC 14: Showdown Birmingham, Alabama, US 5,000 UFC rule change, requires fighters to use 4-6 oz gloves.
October 11 Pride 1 Tokyo, Japan 47,860 Pride FC's first event.

The event featured one kickboxing bout between Branko Cikatić and Ralph White.

October 17 UFC 15: Collision Course Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, US UFC rule change, redefined permissible striking areas.
December 21 UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan UFC 15.5 Yokohama, Japan 5,000 This event featured the first appearance of longtime UFC announcer Mike Goldberg.

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Famous quotes containing the words mixed, martial and/or arts:

    When truth is nothing but the truth, it’s unnatural, it’s an abstraction that resembles nothing in the real world. In nature there are always so many other irrelevant things mixed up with the essential truth. That’s why art moves you—precisely because it’s unadulterated with all the irrelevancies of real life.
    Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)

    What, then, does a chaste girl do?
    She does not offer, yet she does not say “No.”
    —Marcus Valerius Martial (c. 40–104)

    ... the creator of the new composition in the arts is an outlaw until he is a classic.
    Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)