Ballet of Violence

As metaphors go, the one that describes the state of MMA as the ’00s began is almost too perfect to believe. Because as the calendar turned the page to the year 2000, the sport lay injured and ignored in a Louisiana hospital bed, a victim of its own hand.

On March 10, 2000, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, MMA ran its first major event of the decade in the United States. The UFC 24 card, christened “First Defense,” was scheduled to pit newly crowned heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman against challenger Pedro Rizzo.

In the bowels of the Lake Charles Civic Center, while preliminary fights took place in the cage before 4,000 fans, Randleman began to prepare for his bout. During his warm-up session, however, all hell broke loose. Randleman somehow stepped on a pipe, lost his balance and fell, smashing his head on the ground. Immediately, it was clear he was badly injured. As the broadcast continued on and UFC executives panicked, Randleman was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion, forcing him out of the match and leaving the night without a main event.

With little option, the UFC announcers embarrassedly informed the fans in the arena and those watching on pay-per-view that the event was over, without so much as a peek at the champion. The scenario was nothing short of a debacle. Yet somehow, MMA would rebound, grow and thrive into a billion-dollar business.

Mike Chiappetta covers the arc of MMA in the Aughts, and the possibilities for the next decade.