- Friday 06.06.2003
- U.S. Broadcast: Pay Per View
- Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Ownership: Zuffa, LLC
- Venue: Thomas and Mack Center
- Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
- Enclosure: Octagon
- TV Announcers: Mike Goldberg, Joe Rogan
- Ring Announcer: Bruce Buffer
- Post-Fight Interviews: Eddie Bravo
- Ticket Revenue (live gate): $645,140
- Attendance: 9,800
- PPV Buys / Buyrate: 49,000 | TV Ratings:
- MMA Bouts: 8
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Promotion Links:
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Event Links:
Fight Card
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UFC Interim Light Heavyweight Championship
KO/TKO, Punches
2:39 Round 3 of 5, 12:39 Total8Main Event
205
5 x 5 | Pro
Cancelled & Fizzled Bouts
Referees
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John McCarthy
Couture vs. Liddell I (8), Belfort vs. Eastman (6), Vitale vs. Lindland (2) -
Larry Landless
Leopoldo vs. Abbott (7), White vs. Freeman (5), Rizzo vs. Telligman (1) -
Nelson Hamilton
Mir vs. Sims I (4), Edwards vs. Ruiz (3)
Wiki
UFC 43 Wiki
In what was a slight improvement over the dismal Pay Per View performance of UFC 42, UFC 43, which drew approximately 49,000 buys, featured an Interim Light Heavyweight Championship bout between former Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and future Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell.
Although it was just another fight at the time, the bout between Couture and Liddell would be their first in what became one of the highest-grossing rivalries in MMA history. Although there was no bad blood between the two, Couture's second-round TKO victory was considered an upset, one that Liddell would avenge in the rematch two years later.