 UFC 35 featured two title bouts, Jens Pulver faced BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title and Murilo Bustamante faced Dave Menne for the Middleweight Title.This was the first UFC event to be headlined by a Lightweight bout.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.