History
This event marked the 10th anniversary of the UFC and to celebrate the anniversary the UFC inaugurated its Hall of Fame, with Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock as the first inductees. UFC President Dana White said; "We feel that no two individuals are more deserving than Royce and Ken to be the charter members. Their contributions to our sport, both inside and outside the Octagon, may never be equaled.”
In addition, ten fighters were chosen by fans to receive a Viewer's Choice Award during the event; they were Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture, Tank Abbott, Mark Coleman, Pat Miletich, Marco Ruas, Dan Severn, Don Frye and Oleg Taktarov.
Frank Mir was scheduled to fight Tim Sylvia in a UFC Heavyweight Championship fight, then Wes Sims in a UFC 43 rematch, and finally, UFC 1 & 2 veteran Patrick Smith at this event, but each fighter was pulled from the card, resulting in Mir's withdrawal as well.
Read more about this topic: UFC 45
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