On June 12, 2003, the day before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the MGM Hotel Center was not idle.
Utilizing the popularity of the NBA Finals, Las Vegas hosted the UFC 2003 pay-per-view event on this day, UFC 43, with the main event being Randy Couture versus Chuck Liddell, a light heavyweight interim championship fight.
This match was originally scheduled to take place at the Thomas-Mac Center, but was moved to the MGM Hotel Center to expand its impact and sell more tickets.
Riding the wave of the NBA Finals' popularity, the atmosphere for commercial sports events in Las Vegas was extremely lively, which also led to the revival of the UFC in 2002-2003.
None of this could have happened without three individuals: one was Gan Guoyang, who purchased the UFC for 2.5 million US Dollars in 2001, becoming the behind-the-scenes owner of the mixed martial arts event.
