UFC 30

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title: "UFC 30" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ultimate-fighting-championship-flagship-events", "2001-in-mixed-martial-arts", "mixed-martial-arts-events-in-atlantic-city,-new-jersey", "february-2001-sports-events-in-the-united-states", "2001-in-sports-in-new-jersey"] description: "UFC mixed martial arts event in 2001" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_30" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary UFC mixed martial arts event in 2001 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox MMA event"]

Field	Value
name	UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk
image	UFC30vhs.JPG
promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
date	February 23, 2001
venue	Mark G. Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal
city	Atlantic City, New Jersey
previousevent	UFC 29: Defense of the Belts
followingevent	UFC 31: Locked and Loaded
::

| name = UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk | image = UFC30vhs.JPG | promotion = Ultimate Fighting Championship | date = February 23, 2001 | venue = Mark G. Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal | city = Atlantic City, New Jersey | attendance = | gate = | buyrate = | purse = | previousevent = UFC 29: Defense of the Belts | followingevent = UFC 31: Locked and Loaded UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City) in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 23, 2001. UFC 30 was the first UFC event under the new ownership of Zuffa, LLC, and also the first UFC event since UFC 22 to see a home video release.

History

The card was headlined by two title fights, a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between current champion Tito Ortiz and Evan Tanner, and the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between Jens Pulver and Caol Uno. After this event, Bantamweight was renamed "Lightweight" under the new Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, defined by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Bantamweight fighters would not again appear in the UFC until after the UFC–WEC merger in 2011. The event featured the first UFC appearances of Phil Baroni, Sean Sherk, Phil Johns, Caol Uno and Elvis Sinosic.

UFC 30 marked a major turning point for the UFC, as it was the first UFC event held by new owners Zuffa, LLC. Headed by Station Casinos owners Frank and Lorenzo Ferttita, and managed by Dana White, Zuffa acquired the UFC in January 2001 from former owners Semaphore Entertainment Group, who were on the brink of bankruptcy.

One notable change instituted by Zuffa was allowing the championship bout fighters to choose their own entry music in lieu of the standard fare UFC theme song, but that change was not implemented at UFC 30.

Results

|Light Heavyweight |Tito Ortiz (c) |def. |Evan Tanner |KO (slam) |1 |0:30 |For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |Lightweight |Jens Pulver |def. |Caol Uno |Decision (unanimous) |5 |5:00 |For the inaugural UFC Lightweight Championship. |Lightweight |Fabiano Iha |def. |Phil Johns |Submission (armbar) |1 |2:05 | |Light Heavyweight |Elvis Sinosic |def. |Jeremy Horn |Submission (triangle armbar) |1 |2:59 | |Heavyweight |Pedro Rizzo |def. |Josh Barnett |KO (punches) |2 |4:21 | |Heavyweight |Bobby Hoffman |vs. |Mark Robinson |NC (overturned) |1 |3:27 |Originally a KO win for Hoffman; overturned after he tested positive for illegal substances. |Middleweight |Phil Baroni |def. |Curtis Stout |Decision (unanimous) |2 |5:00 | |Welterweight |Sean Sherk |def. |Tiki Ghosn |Verbal submission (dislocated shoulder) |2 |4:47 |

Encyclopedia awards

The following fighters were honored in the October 2011 book titled UFC Encyclopedia.

• Fight of the Night: Pedro Rizzo vs. Josh Barnett
• Knockout of the Night: Tito Ortiz
• Submission of the Night: Elvis Sinosic

References

References

1. "UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk | MMA Event".
2. Doyle, Dave. (May 2, 2009). "UFC 30: Dawn of a new era". Yahoo Sports.
3. (2002-09-05). "Mixed Martial arts Unified Rules of Conduct". [[New Jersey State Athletic Control Board]].
4. Morris, Jessy. (May 31, 2009). "UFC Timeline: Zuffa's Early Years". Bleacher Report.
5. Snowden, Jonathan. (May 25, 2011). "Minus 100: On The Eve Of UFC 130, Looking Back At UFC 30". SBNation.com.
6. Gerbasi, Thomas. (2011-10-17). "UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship". DK.

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