Dana White knew that changes needed to be made after a notoriously lackluster UFC event on this day in 2001.
The UFC’s recent return to Perth was heavily criticized by fans before the event at the RAC Arena in Australia had gotten underway.
While the overall strength of the card was big topic of conversation, sometimes there are events that look strong on paper that end up massively underperforming.
There have been examples already this year of fans labelling a matchup as the ‘worst fight ever’, but when it comes to the worst UFC event in the promotion’s history, White has usually referred to one specific card.
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Dana White and the UFC stopped putting three title fights on one card for 15 years after UFC 33
Dana White has often referred to the UFC’s first event in Las Vegas, UFC 33, as the worst card in the history of the promotion.
Just last year, at a post-fight press conference following a Power Slap event, he made reference to September 28 of 2001, stating that they couldn’t possibly do any worse.
All of the fights on the main card went to decisions, including three title fights, resulting in an overrun that led to some audience members’ broadcast cutting off during the light heavyweight main event between Tito Ortiz and Vladimir Matyushenko.
| UFC 33 main card fights | Results |
| Tito Ortiz (c) vs Vladimir Matyushenko – light heavyweight title | Ortiz via unanimous decision |
| Jens Pulver (c) vs Dennis Hallman – lightweight title | Pulver via unanimous decision |
| Dave Menne vs Gil Castillo – inaugural middleweight title | Menne via unanimous decision |
| Chuck Liddell vs Murilo Bustamante | Liddell via unanimous decision |
| Matt Serra vs Yves Edwards | Serra via majority decision |
The UFC made several changes to stop history from repeating itself.
Along with only having five live fights, the promotion didn’t put on another card that boasted three world title fights until the iconic UFC 205 event 16 years later.
With White promoting the Octagon’s debut at Madison Square Garden as the biggest event in company history, Conor McGregor closed out the evening in the last of three titles by becoming the first simultaneous two-weight world champion.
UFC have held seven three-title fight cards since UFC 205 in 2016
After a 15-year gap in UFC events that featured three title fights, we have had seven more take place in the space of nine years.
It doesn’t look like we’re going to get one of these blockbuster showcases take place in 2025, though the next three PPV events all feature two title fights.
| UFC event with 3 title fights | Date | Title fights |
| UFC 214 | July 29, 2017 | Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones Tyron Woodley vs Demian Maia Cris Cyborg vs Tonya Evinger |
| UFC 217 | November 4, 2017 | Michael Bisping vs Georges St-Pierre Cody Garbrandt vs TJ Dillashaw Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Rose Namajunas |
| UFC 245 | December 14, 2019 | Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington Max Holloway vs Alexander Volkanovski Amanda Nunes vs Germaine de Randamie |
| UFC 251 | July 12, 2020 | Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway Petr Yan vs Jose Aldo |
| UFC 259 | March 6, 2021 | Jan Blachowicz vs Israel Adesanya Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling |
| UFC 261 | April 24, 2021 | Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal Zhang Weili vs Rose Namajunas Valentina Shevchenko vs Jessica Andrade |
| UFC 300 | April 13, 2024 | Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway |
Some of these huge three-title fight cards, most notably UFC 205 and UFC 217, have produced some of the most iconic and acclaimed events in the history of the promotion.
The disaster that was UFC 33 is now a long way back in the rear-view mirror.