UFC 35: Throwdown was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on January 11, 2002. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video.

UFC 35 was headlined by two Title Bouts, Jens Pulver faced BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title and Murilo Bustamante faced Dave Menne for the Middleweight Title.

According to a December 2008 Sherdog interview with Pat Miletich, the event was plagued by a flu-like illness that spread throughout the fighters, trainers, and production staff.

Despite a number of fighters suffering from such symptoms as diarrhea, dehydration, hallucinations, and vomiting, the event proceeded as planned.

Shonie Carter was originally scheduled to face Gil Castillo at this event, but was pulled due to outside contractual obligations with another promotion. Chris Brennan stepped in as his replacement.

Shortly after this event, Jens Pulver would leave UFC due to a contract dispute.

Luke Rockhold (born October 17, 1984 in Santa Cruz, California) is an American mixed martial artist. He is the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Rockhold holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo.

Luke Rockhold comes from an athletic family. Growing up in Santa Cruz, Luke and his brother, pro surfer Matt Rockhold, surfed their local breaks together. His father, Steve Rockhold, was a professional basketball player in Europe and with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

Luke started training in Judo at 6-years-old but quit upon turning ten. When he entered the seventh grade, he joined his school's wrestling team and stuck with the sport all through high school while taking jiu-jitsu classes.

Rockhold tried wrestling for a local community college but felt the sport wasn't for him, instead he took jiu-jitsu on full time. After winning a few BJJ tournaments, he decided to look into mixed martial arts. A few of Rockhold's friends convinced him to come down and train with the American Kickboxing Academy and he did.

Constantinos Philippou (born November 29, 1979) is a Greek Cypriot mixed martial artist. He is currently fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the middleweight division.

Philippou made his professional MMA debut in May 2008 for the Ring of Combat promotion, losing to fellow UFC veteran Ricardo Romero by split decision. However, he subsequently amassed a record of 7 wins, 1 loss and 1 no contest within that promotion.

Philippou first made his appearance in the UFC on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. However, he never made it as part of the cast to move into the house after losing to Joseph Henle via submission in the opening elimination bout.

Philippou got a second chance in the UFC after stepping in as a late replacement for Dan Miller, who was moved up the card to face Nate Marquardt. He faced Nick Catone at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones in a catchweight bout of 195 pounds. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Philippou was expected to face Rafael Natal on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133, replacing an injured Riki Fukuda. However, an injury forced Alessio Sakara out of his main card bout against Jorge Rivera, and Philippou was pulled from his bout with Natal and named as Sakara's replacement. Philippou won the fight via split decision, earning his first UFC win.

Rich Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion.

Franklin was born to Richard Sr. and Vaila Franklin. The couple divorced when Rich was five years old. He has one biological brother, Greg, and five step-siblings.

Prior to becoming a full time MMA fighter, Franklin graduated from William Henry Harrison High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and later earned a master's degree in education at the University of Cincinnati, and taught mathematics at the Oak Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Franklin and American Fighter President Jeff Adler created The Keep It In The Ring Foundation to advocate non-violence and build character in youth. This is done through after school sports, martial arts and life skills programs. His nickname "Ace" comes from his resemblance to Jim Carrey, who played the character Ace Ventura. Joe Rogan once called him "An angry Jim Carrey". Franklin made his acting debut in a film called Cyborg Soldier where he plays an escaped super soldier and partners with Tiffani Thiessen.

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.