The fight card was headlined by a bout between top contenders, returning
Vitor Belfort, and
Chuck Liddell. UFC 37.5 was the first UFC event to feature
Joe Rogan as a
color commentator (he had previously done backstage interviews) but he would leave again to host
Fear Factor, and return at
UFC 40. Joe made several UFC appearances prior to UFC 37.5 as the behind-the-scenes interviewer starting at
UFC 12. UFC 37.5 was a last-minute event specifically held to promote the UFC on
Fox Sports Net's
The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where the "best fight" of the night was to air during the
BDSSP's "All Star Summer" celebration in June 2002. The fight aired was
Steve Berger vs
Robbie Lawler, which has the distinction of being the first
mixed martial arts (MMA) fight to be aired on US cable television. It also aired in
Free-to-Air television in Brazil for first time at
SBT, Vitor Belfort had previously participated at the network's
reality show Casa dos Artistas (
The House of Artists). The event featured only six fights, which is a much smaller card than others under the UFC banner at the time, and was not broadcast on Pay-per-view until August 16th. The number 37.5 was used because
UFC 38 had already been announced and marketed in England, where the UFC was making their debut just three weeks later. ==Results==