UFC 23
UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 1999 at Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
History
UFC 23 was the second UFC event to take place in Japan, where the newly formed PRIDE Fighting Championships were enjoying massive success. UFC 23 was headlined by a Heavyweight Championship Title bout between Kevin Randleman and Pete Williams, held to determine the champion after Bas Rutten's retirement.
The event also featured a four man "Japanese" tournament, held to crown the first ever UFC Japan Champion. The tournament was the first in the UFC since UFC 17, and the last ever tournament held by the UFC. SEG originally intended UFC Japan to be a separate company, run by local promoters, but due to mounting financial problems, and the rise of the popular PRIDE and K-1 organizations, the idea was scrapped following UFC 25: Ultimate Japan 3.
UFC 23 was the first UFC event to not see a home video release, as SEG was nearing bankruptcy and struggling to keep the UFC alive through extremely limited pay per view in the US, as well as minor coverage in Brazil and Japan. UFC 23 has now been released as part of a DVD collection (UFC 21–30).
Main card
Middleweight bout: United States Eugene Jackson vs. Japan Keiichiro Yamamiya
Jackson wins by KO at 3:12 of the third round.
Middleweight bout: United States Joe Slick vs. United States Jason Delucia
Slick wins by TKO (verbal submission due to knee injury) at 1:28 of the first round.
Heavyweight bout: Brazil Pedro Rizzo vs. Japan Tsuyoshi Kosaka
Rizzo wins by TKO (referee stoppage due to strikes) at 1:17 of the third round.
Heavyweight Championship Title bout: United States Kevin Randleman vs. United States Pete Williams
Randleman wins by unanimous decision at 5:00 of the fifth round to claim the vacant UFC Heavyweight title.
UFC Japan Tournament
| Semi-finals | Finals | |||||
 Katsuhisa Fujii |
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| Masutatsu Yano |
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| Kenichi Yamamoto |
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| Katsuhisa Fujii |
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| Kenichi Yamamoto |
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| Daiju Takase |
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Semifinals
* Japan Katsuhisa Fujii vs. Japan Masutatsu Yano
Fuji wins by TKO (referee stoppage due to strikes) at 3:14 of the second round.
* Japan Kenichi Yamamoto vs. Japan Daiju Takase
Yamamoto wins by unanimous decision at 15:00.
Finals
* UFC Japan Tournament Final bout: Japan Kenichi Yamamoto vs. Japan Katsuhisa Fujii
Yamamoto wins the UFC Japan Tournament by submission (kneebar) at 4:15 of the second round.
