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This weekend sees the UFC head to the state of Iowa for a Fight Night event. Despite being an MMA hotbed, this will be the first event in Iowa since 2000.
A lot has changed since UFC 26, which took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nearly 25 years ago.
The event took place at the peak of the promotion's so-called 'Dark Ages', and for years, wasn't even available to view on home video or DVD.
With that considered, then, here are five things you probably didn't know about the UFC's last event in Iowa.
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#5. The event had maybe the worst subtitle in UFC history
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It wasn't too long ago that, rather than be subtitled with the names of the headlining fighters, all UFC events featured a catchy subtitle.
At points, these subtitles - which were largely retired around 15 years ago - made sense. UFC 40, for instance, which featured a headline bout between bitter rivals Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, was subtitled 'Vendetta'.
Other subtitles, such as 'Relentless', 'Unstoppable' and 'Bad Intentions' didn't exactly fit the event, but still sounded pretty cool.
The promotion's last trip to Iowa, though, had arguably the worst subtitle ever. Bafflingly, UFC 26 was subtitled 'Ultimate Field of Dreams'.
The subtitle was clearly a reference to the famous 1989 Kevin Costner movie, which is also set in Iowa, but quite why it was chosen remains a mystery. After all, the movie is a fantasy which deals with baseball, not MMA!
Thankfully, the event subtitles did improve after this one, but it still sounds jarring whenever it's mentioned 25 years on.
#4. The event featured the UFC's first disqualification, for a very unique reason
The UFC's early days saw fights promoted as having "no rules". While this wasn't strictly true, it shouldn't be a surprise that no fight in the promotion's first seven years ended in disqualification.
That changed at UFC 26. The Iowa-based event saw the first disqualification in octagon history, and for a truly unique reason, too.
The middleweight clash between Amaury Bitetti and Alex Andrade saw the latter decide to wear wrestling shoes in the octagon. This was something that was allowed under the more primitive rules used at the time, but also came with a caveat.
Due to his decision to wear the shoes, Andrade was prohibited from using any kicks in the fight.
Unfortunately, it seemed that 'El Toro' either didn't know about this rule, or didn't care about it.
After decking Bitetti in the first round, he threw a soccer kick to the head, managing to break two rules in one move. This forced ref John McCarthy to deduct a point, and if anything, Andrade was lucky not to be disqualified there.
Remarkably, though, Andrade ended the round with a low kick - again earning a warning - and was finally disqualified when he opened the second round with a high kick.
Quite what he was thinking remains a mystery, particularly as his kicks looked effective. If this were the case, then why wear the shoes in the first place?
Even 25 years on, then, this fight remains a major historical curiosity of the octagon's 'Dark Ages'.
#3. The event featured the UFC's first bantamweight fight - but not in the way you might imagine
Ask most fans when the UFC's first bantamweight bout took place, and they'd probably tell you it was in February 2011, when Chris Cariaso outpointed Will Campuzano following the WEC merger.
However, that's not exactly true. Cariaso vs. Campuzano was the promotion's first 135-pound fight, but the first bout to be labeled a bantamweight one came at in 2000, at UFC 26 in Iowa.
That's because the event took place prior to the 2001 adoption of the Unified Rules, which introduced the weight divisions fans are familiar with today.
Prior to this, the promotion featured three weight classes: heavyweight, for fighters weighing 200 pounds and above, middleweight, for those between 170 and 199 pounds, and lightweight, for fighters between 155 and 169 pounds.
The newly-created bantamweight division, then, for fighters below 155 pounds, debuted at UFC 26 with a clash between Jens Pulver and Joao Roque.
The fight was underwhelming, with Pulver winning a tepid decision. It was hardly a signpost that pointed to a division that would later produce some all-time classic fights.
Pulver at least went onto achieve plenty of success, though. 'Little Evil' claimed the promotion's newly-minted 155-pound title in 2001, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023.
#2. The co-headliner featured Iowa's greatest MMA export
The UFC's decision to stay away from Iowa for 25 years until this weekend has always been a curious one, primarily because the Midwest state was once considered an MMA hotbed.
The reason for that was largely down to one legendary fighter - former welterweight champion Pat Miletich.
'The Croatian Sensation' co-headlined the promotion's 2000 event in Cedar Rapids, defeating John Alessio to defend his title successfully for the third time. The fight ended in the second round, when Miletich submitted Alessio with an armbar.
Miletich's reign as champion ended in 2001, as he lost his title to Carlos Newton in his fifth defense. Despite his accomplishments as a fighter, though, it would be his accomplishments as a coach that really turned him into Iowa's greatest MMA export.
After forming the Miletich Fighting Systems team in Bettendorf, Iowa, 'The Croatian Sensation' churned out an astonishing number of future champions and MMA legends.
Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin and Tim Sylvia all won UFC titles under the Miletich banner, while the camp also produced the likes of Robbie Lawler, Jeremy Horn and Spencer Fisher.
Miletich retired (outside of a couple of short comebacks) in 2002, and was entered into the promotion's Hall of Fame in 2014. With respect to Lawler, he remains Iowa's greatest MMA fighter.
#1. The headline bout should've happened at an earlier event - and is largely remembered as a terrible fight
This weekend's event in Iowa will feature a headline bout pitting top-ranked bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo against one another.
However this fight turns out, it feels highly likely that it'll be better received than the last main event that fans in Iowa were treated to. That's because UFC 26 was headlined by the infamous heavyweight title fight between Kevin Randleman and Pedro Rizzo.
The fight was already notorious by the time the event came around, as it'd been scheduled to take place two events prior, only to be cancelled on the night.
According to most accounts, Randleman slipped on some metal pipes while warming up, hitting his head on the concrete floor and knocking himself out.
Unfortunately, UFC 24's loss did not turn out to be Iowa's gain. 'The Monster' and 'The Rock' put on a tepid five-round affair that saw more circling and staring than anything else.
In the end, Randleman was given a decision win by the judges, allowing him to retain his title, but it hardly felt like a victory. With just 29 significant strikes landed between them, the bout was one of the most damaging fights in octagon history.
The fight also turned out to be Randleman's last successful defense, too. He was beaten by Randy Couture two events later, and departed the promotion after two more bouts.
