UFC 66
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| UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Details | ||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |
| Date | December 30, 2006 | |
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Attendance | 13,761 (12,191 paid) [1] | |
| Total Gate | $5,397,300[1] | |
| Buyrate | 1,050,000 [2] | |
| Total Purse | $767,000 (disclosed)[2] | |
| Event chronology | ||
| UFC 65: Bad Intentions | UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 | UFC 67: All or Nothing |
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006. UFC 66's main event was a championship fight with two of the UFC's biggest light heavyweight stars, Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell defending his title against former champion Tito Ortiz. The event, which nearly sold out the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, produced the highest live gate revenue in North American mixed martial arts history[1], shattering the previous record at UFC 57 by over $2,000,000 (USD), and is currently UFC's biggest pay-per-view success to date with just over 1 million buys.[3] The disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $767,000.[2]
[edit] Results
[edit] Preliminary card
[edit] Heavyweight bout: Christian Wellisch vs. Anthony Perosh
Wellisch defeats Perosh by unanimous decision. Judges scored the bout 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27. This preliminary bout was not aired on the broadcast.
[edit] Middleweight bout: Yushin Okami vs. Rory Singer
Okami defeats Singer by submission (strikes) at 4:03 of round three. This preliminary bout was not aired on the broadcast. Singer was a late replacement for David Terrell, who withdrew from his scheduled bout with Okami, citing an elbow injury.[4]
[edit] Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Carmelo Marrero
Gonzaga defeats Marrero by submission (armbar) at 3:22 of round one. The bout, albeit preliminary, was aired on the broadcast.
[edit] Welterweight bout: Thiago Alves vs. Tony DeSouza
Alves defeats DeSouza by knockout at 1:10 of round two. Alves landed a knee strike that staggered DeSouza, and followed up with ground-and-pound until the referee called the bout. The bout, though preliminary, was aired on the broadcast.
Alves later tested positive for spironolactone, a diuretic, in a NSAC urinalysis test. Alves, who said he did not know spironolactone was a banned substance, admitted using the drug to make weight for this bout to NSAC director Keith Kizer.[5]
[edit] Main card
[edit] Light Heavyweight bout: Michael Bisping vs. Eric Schafer
Bisping defeats Schafer by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:24 of round one.
[edit] Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski vs. Marcio Cruz
Arlovski defeats Cruz by knockout (strikes) at 3:15 of round one. Arlovski landed an illegal head kick on the ground to Cruz, causing Herb Dean to pause the fight momentarily. Herb began to stand the fighters up and warn Arlovski, but Cruz complained about wanting to keep the fight on the ground. Dean agreed to restart the fight in the same position, and once he let the fighters start Arlovski landed the big KO.
[edit] Middleweight bout: Jason MacDonald vs. Chris Leben
MacDonald defeats Leben by technical submission (referee stoppage) from a modified guillotine choke at 4:03 of round two.
[edit] Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Forrest Griffin
Jardine defeats Griffin by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:41 of round one.
[edit] Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Champion Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
In the main event of the evening, Chuck Liddell defeats Tito Ortiz via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:59 of round three. Chuck keeps the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, all three judges gave Liddell the first round with a 10-9 score, and two judges gave Ortiz the second round.[6] Chuck has stated later that he fought with a torn MCL.[7]
[edit] Miscelleanea
- Ortiz first announced the main event fight at the UFC 63 weigh-ins on September 22, 2006.[8]
- During UFC 66, it was made official that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic had signed a contract with the UFC, and will make his debut with the organization at UFC 67.
- It was the UFC's first show at the MGM Grand Arena since UFC 56.
[edit] References
- ^ a b UFC Press Conference Quotes and Notes – FoxSportsMMA
- ^ a b Fighter Salaries for UFC 66 and UFC Fight Night 7 – MMA Weekly
- ^ UFC 66 To Make MMA History – Brawl Sports, with Steve Sievert
- ^ GracieFighter Weekend – GracieFighter.com
- ^ Hunt, Loretta. "PM UPDATE – JAN. 5", The Fight Network, 2006-01-05. Retrieved on 2006-01-06.
- ^ UFC Post-show Notes – Wrestling Observer, with Dave Meltzer
- ^ New Year's Eve News Update... – Beatdown Radio Show on Sherdog.com
- ^ Future looks 'Icy' for Ortiz – Boston Herald
