UFC 12: Judgement Day was held on February 7, 1997, at the Dothan Civic Center in Dothan, Alabama. It featured a number of firsts:
•First UFC event to feature weight - heavyweights (200 lbs+) and lightweights (-199 lbs);
•First ever UFC Heavyweight Champion - superfight champion Dan Severn vs. tournament champion Mark Coleman;
•First UFC appearance of Vitor Belfort, who won the heavyweight tournament at just 19; and,
•First appearance of Joe Rogan.
UFC events scrambling to find a location today in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic had a parallel with UFC 12. The event was originally scheduled for Buffalo, New York, which was denied due to Sen. John McCain’s “human cockfighting” effort to ban the sport, then was scheduled for Oregon and ended up in Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is not as cool a concept as Fight Island.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIOOribOaxY&feature=emb_title