UFC 31

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title: "UFC 31" 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", "may-2001-sports-events-in-the-united-states", "mixed-martial-arts-events-in-atlantic-city,-new-jersey", "2001-in-sports-in-new-jersey"] description: "UFC mixed martial arts event in 2001" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_31" 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 31: Locked and Loaded
image	UFC31.JPG
promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
date	May 4, 2001
venue	Mark G. Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal
city	Atlantic City, New Jersey
previousevent	UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk
followingevent	UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands
::

| name = UFC 31: Locked and Loaded | image = UFC31.JPG | promotion = Ultimate Fighting Championship | date = May 4, 2001 | venue = Mark G. Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal | city = Atlantic City, New Jersey | attendance = | gate = | buyrate = | purse = | previousevent = UFC 30: Battle on the Boardwalk | followingevent = UFC 32: Showdown in the Meadowlands ***UFC 31: Locked and Loaded *** was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 4, 2001. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video.

History

The card was headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Randy Couture and Pedro Rizzo. A welterweight title bout between Pat Miletich and Carlos Newton also occurred. The card featured the first appearance of future UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra, the professional debut of future multi-divisional UFC Champion B.J. Penn, and Kevin Randleman's first fight in Light Heavyweight.

UFC 31 again saw reformed weight classes, adopting the current standard under the new Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts, set by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board a month earlier in April 2001. Bantamweight was renamed Lightweight and raised from 150 to 155. Welterweights were now at 170, Middleweights at 185, and Light Heavyweights at 205.

Dana White has said on many occasions that this was one of the best fight cards ever mainly due to the main event and the bout between Matt Serra and Shonie Carter which involved the infamous backfist finish.

Results

| Heavyweight | Randy Couture (c) | def. | Pedro Rizzo | Decision (unanimous) | 5 | 5:00 | For the UFC Heavyweight Championship. | Welterweight | Carlos Newton | def. | Pat Miletich (c) | Submission (bulldog choke) | 3 | 2:50 | For the UFC Welterweight Championship. | Light Heavyweight | Chuck Liddell | def. | Kevin Randleman | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:18 | | Welterweight | Shonie Carter | def. | Matt Serra | KO (spinning back fist) | 3 | 4:51 | | Heavyweight | Semmy Schilt | def. | Pete Williams | TKO (body kick and punches) | 2 | 1:26 | | Light Heavyweight | Matt Lindland | def. | Ricardo Almeida | DQ (repeated fouls) | 3 | 4:21 | | Lightweight | B.J. Penn | def. | Joey Gilbert | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:58 | | Welterweight | Tony DeSouza | def. | Steve Berger | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 |

Encyclopedia awards

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

• Fight of the Night: Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo
• Knockout of the Night: Shonie Carter
• Submission of the Night: Carlos Newton

References

References

1. (2002-09-05). "Mixed Martial arts Unified Rules of Conduct". [[New Jersey State Athletic Control Board]].
2. Gerbasi, Thomas. (2011-10-17). "UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship". DK.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::