''UFC 37.5: As Real As It Gets'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on June 22, 2002.

Background

The fight card was headlined by a bout between top contenders, returning

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

, and

Chuck Liddell Charles David Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is an American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 to 2018, Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (from 2005 to 2007) and i ...

. UFC 37.5 was the first UFC event to feature

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

but he would leave again to host

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

, and return at

UFC 40 ''UFC 40: Vendetta'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay per view in the Unit ...

. Joe made several UFC appearances prior to UFC 37.5 as the behind-the-scenes interviewer starting at

UFC 12 ''UFC 12: Judgement Day'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997 at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later releas ...

. UFC 37.5 was a last-minute event specifically held to promote the UFC on

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

's ''

The Best Damn Sports Show Period ''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'' was an American sports television show that aired on Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. The show regularly featured irreverent and opinionated interviews with top athletes, coaches, celebrities, and entert ...

'', where the "best fight" of the night was to air during the ''BDSSPs "All Star Summer" celebration in June 2002. The fight aired was

Steve Berger Stephen Richard Berger (born May 20, 1973) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. Berger is probably best known for fighting in the UFC, most notably participating in the first mixed ...

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

, which has the distinction of being the first

(MMA) fight to be aired on US cable television. It also aired in

Free-to-Air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

television in Brazil for first time at SBT, Vitor Belfort had previously participated at the network's

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

Casa dos Artistas ''Casa dos Artistas'' (lit. "House of Artists") is a Brazilian reality show that was broadcast by SBT. Similar to '' Big Brother'' and hosted by Silvio Santos, the series followed a group Brazilian celebrities living together in a specialised hous ...

'' (''The House of Artists''). The event featured only six fights, which is a much smaller card than others under the UFC banner at the time, and was not broadcast on Pay-per-view until August 16th. The number 37.5 was used because

UFC 38 ''UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom, on July 13, 2002. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United Sta ...

had already been announced and marketed in England, where the UFC was making their debut just three weeks later.

Results

Encyclopedia awards

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled '' UFC Encyclopedia''. *Fight of the Night: Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort *Knockout of the Night: Robbie Lawler *Submission of the Night: Pete Spratt

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 037.5 Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2002 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events in Paradise, Nevada 2002 in sports in Nevada June 2002 sports events in the United States

Background

Results

Encyclopedia awards

See also

References

External links