UFC 37’s Submission Controversy: Bustamante Finishes
UFC 37: High Impact was held on May 10, 2002, at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, Louisiana. The main event paired middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante with Matt Lindland in a bout that became famous for its controversial sequence of apparent taps and the eventual finish. Bustamante retained the title by guillotine choke at 1:33 of round three.
Bustamante defends through a disputed restart
The controversy unfolded within this one championship fight. Bustamante caught Lindland in an armbar in the first round and released the hold after an apparent tap and the referee’s intervention. Lindland disputed that he had submitted, and John McCarthy allowed the bout to resume. Bustamante then secured a guillotine choke in the third round to retain his belt. These were two submission sequences in the same contest, rather than separate meetings or a title rematch.
The rest of the eight-fight card mixed established names with new arrivals. Ricco Rodriguez stopped Tsuyoshi Kosaka with punches in round two. B.J. Penn also won by second-round TKO, defeating Paul Creighton. Phil Baroni stopped Amar Suloev in the opening round, while Caol Uno earned a unanimous decision over Yves Edwards. Ivan Salaverry finished Andrei Semenov with punches in round three. Robbie Lawler made his UFC debut with a unanimous decision over Aaron Riley. Benji Radach and Steve Berger’s bout was later ruled a no contest by the state commission.
UFC 37: High Impact results
- Middleweight title: Murilo Bustamante def. Matt Lindland by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 1:33.
- Ricco Rodriguez def. Tsuyoshi Kosaka by TKO (punches), Round 2, 3:25.
- B.J. Penn def. Paul Creighton by TKO (punches), Round 2, 3:23.
- Phil Baroni def. Amar Suloev by TKO (punches), Round 1, 2:59.
- Caol Uno def. Yves Edwards by unanimous decision.
- Ivan Salaverry def. Andrei Semenov by TKO (punches), Round 3, 2:27.
- Benji Radach vs. Steve Berger was ruled a no contest (overturned by the state commission), Round 1, 0:27.
- Robbie Lawler def. Aaron Riley by unanimous decision.
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Article Tags
Murilo Bustamante, Matt Lindland, Robbie Lawler, UFC 37, MMA History, Fight Results
