UFC 46: Supernatural

From CageWiki

1 Background
2 Fight Card
3 Pre-Event Notes
4 Results
5 UFC Event Chronology
6 External Links

Background

UFC 46: Supernatural was an 8-bout fight card that was held on January 31, 2004 at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The card aired live on pay-per-view and was headlined by a light heavyweight championship bout between champion, Randy Couture and UFC 12 heavyweight tournament winner, Vitor Belfort.

A welterweight championship bout between champion, Matt Hughes and former two-time lightweight title challenger, BJ Penn will serve as a co-main event.

Fight Card

Preliminary Card

Lightweight Bout: Josh Thomson vs. Hermes Franca
Lightweight Bout: Matt Serra vs. Jeff Curran
Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre vs. Karo Parisyan

Main Card

Catchweight (175 lbs.) Bout: Carlos Newton vs. Renato Verissimo
Middleweight Bout: Lee Murray vs. Jorge Rivera
Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims
Welterweight Championship Bout: Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort

Pre-Event Notes

Couture vs. Belfort is a rematch from UFC 15 in 1997 where Couture pulled off what was deemed a huge upset when he stopped Belfort with strikes at 8:16 of the fight, where before Belfort had looked unstoppable.

Penn makes his first foray into the UFC welterweight division when he takes on highly decorated champion, Matt Hughes.

Mir and Sims face each other in a rematch from their UFC 43 bout that ended in a disqualification loss for Sims after he stomped Mir's head repeatedly.

Carlos Newton was unable to get into Las Vegas until the Thursday night before the event and was therefore without sufficient time to cut down to 170. He and his opponent, Verissimo agreed upon a 175 lbs. catchweight.

Results

Preliminary Card

Lightweight Bout: Josh Thomson defs. Hermes Franca via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Lightweight Bout: Matt Serra defs. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre defs. Karo Parisyan via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).

Main Card

Catchweight (175 lbs.) Bout: Renato Verissimo defs. Carlos Newton via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
Middleweight Bout: Lee Murray defs. Jorge Rivera via submission (triangle choke/armbar) at 1:45 of round 1.
Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir defs. Wes Sims via KO (punches) at 4:21 of round 2.
Welterweight Championship Bout: BJ Penn defs. Matt Hughes via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:39 of round 1 to become the new UFC welterweight champion.

Penn was a considerable underdog heading into the bout but looked calm and collected as he systematically scored a takedown on Hughes and moved to his back where he easily slipped in the choke to force the tap and capture the belt.

Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Vitor Belfort defs. Randy Couture via TKO (cut) at :49 of round 1 to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

In a highly disappointing bout, Belfort threw a punch with the lacing of the glove slicing Couture's eyelid open. The bout was halted and then after a doctor had a look at it, the bout was stopped giving Belfort the title.