UFC 43: Meltdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on DVD.

Headlining the card was the Interim Light Heavyweight Championship match between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell.

Ken Shamrock was originally slated to face Ian Freeman at this event, but was forced from the card with a torn ACL. Vernon White would step in as his replacement.

Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.

Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.

White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.

While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.

Vítor Vieira Belfort (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvitoʁ viˈejɾɐ bɛwˈfɔʁ]; born April 1, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Belfort was born in Rio de Janeiro and studied jiu-jitsu with the Gracie family, namely Carlson Gracie. He received a black belt under Carlson and currently trains with Xtreme Couture, fighting in the middleweight division. He is currently ranked as the #3 middleweight in the world by MMA Weekly.

Vítor was born on April 1, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to a French father and a Greek mother. Belfort is married to Joana Prado and together they have three children, a son named Davi (born February 5, 2005), a daughter named Victoria (born October 31, 2007), and a daughter named Kyara (born June 7, 2009).

Belfort also had a small part in a reality show on Brazilian television and appeared next to his wife when she was photographed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy.

On January 9, 2004, Vítor's sister, Priscila Belfort disappeared and the relatives received no information about her. In August 2007, a woman (identified as Elaine Paiva) confessed that she participated in her kidnapping and killing and that she was kidnapped to pay off a four thousand dollar debt Paiva had with drug dealers. Paiva was arrested along with three others alleged to be involved in the kidnapping. The group allegedly buried her body in the woods in Rio de Janeiro where police conducted searches but her remains have never been found. Her family however do not accept this version and believe that Priscila is still alive somewhere. Vítor still maintains a missing sign in the Brazilian version of his website.

Francisco Santos Miranda, III (born May 24, 1979), better known as Frank Mir, is an American mixed martial artist, as well as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Kenpō Karate.

Mir, one of the most accomplished heavyweights in MMA history, is a two time UFC Heavyweight Champion . He currently holds the record for most victories in the heavyweight division of the UFC with 14 and most wins by submission in UFC Heavyweight division history with 8. He is also the only man in UFC history to win a bout by toe hold. As of January 2012 he is ranked the #4 In the ESPN MMA Power Rankings.He holds the distinction of being the first and only man to both knock out and submit MMA legend Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir is the only person to submit former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NCAA Division I wrestler Brock Lesnar and highly regarded striker Cheick Kongo. Frank Mir has had more fights in the UFC than anyone else currently competing in the heavyweight division.

His father convinced him to begin wrestling, on the basis that it could help him avoid submissions. Mir then began wrestling at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where during his junior year he lost his first nine matches. During his senior year (1998) he went 44–1 and won the state championship. He was also on the school's football team that reached the Southern Zone semifinals in 1997 and where he played as fullback and defensive end. He also took up track and field in 1998 where his discus throw of 177 feet, 10 inches is still a Sunset Regional record.

Tracy Telligman (usually known as "Tra" Telligman  /ˈtreɪ/; born February 7, 1965) is a retired American mixed martial artist and boxer who has fought in Japan, Russia and the USA. He is best known for his bouts in the UFC, and for fighting despite having only one pectoral muscle.

Tra Telligman's career in Mixed Martial Arts started in 1996 and has spanned a great deal of the sport's history. His record is highlighted by wins over Brad Kohler and Igor Vovchanchyn. He trained with the Lion's Den gym, home to such other well-known MMA practitioners as Ken Shamrock and Guy Mezger. He started his professional MMA career in Russia, fighting at Absolute Fighting Championship 1 in Moscow.

Tra bears a notable distinguishing physical mark; he is missing his right pectoral, leaving a deep recess in his chest. Tra was involved in a car accident as a young child and has lived with the deformity ever since.

Tra's first major fight was against popular Brazilian fighter Vitor Belfort at UFC 12. Tra lost due to a verbal submission due to strikes. He would return to the UFC that same year to beat Brad Kohler by armbar at UFC Japan. During the next few years Tra would fight in both PRIDE and the UFC, with his most notable accomplishment being an upset win over powerful Ukrainian striker Igor Vovchanchyn at PRIDE 13. Tra took the fight on two weeks notice, replacing teammate Ken Shamrock after Shamrock suffered a neck injury in training. As described by noted writer Dave Meltzer, "Telligman’s footwork and boxing technique completely threw Vovchanchyn off, and in one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history at the time, Telligman won a unanimous decision."