UFC 66

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UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz
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 UFC 67: All or Nothing

UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 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 co-main event saw Forrest Griffin take on 'The Dean Of Mean' Keith Jardine and also saw the return of Andrei Arlovski and the debut of Michael Bisping.

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] extending the previous record at UFC 57 by over $2,000,000 (USD), and is estimated to be currently the 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]

Contents

[edit] Results

[edit] Preliminary card

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.
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]
Gonzaga defeats Marrero by submission (armbar) at 3:22 of round one. This bout, although preliminary, was aired on the broadcast.
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. Interestingly, both men came out to the same opening music: "Awakening" by Frank Klepacki.
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

Bisping defeats Schafer by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:24 of round one.
Arlovski defeats Cruz by knockout (strikes) at 3:15 of round one. Arlovski landed an accidental illegal head kick on the ground to Cruz, causing referee 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 used quick thinking, landing a punch the split second Herb Dean said to resume.
MacDonald defeats Leben by technical submission (referee stoppage) from a modified guillotine choke at 4:03 of round two.
Jardine defeats Griffin by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:41 of round one.
In the main event of the evening, Chuck Liddell defeats Tito Ortiz via technical knockout (strikes) at 3:59 of round three. Liddell retains 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 stated later that he fought with a torn medial collateral ligament.[7]

[edit] Purses

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
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  • Chuck Liddell: $250,000 ($250,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Tito Ortiz: $210,000 ($210,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Keith Jardine: $14,000 ($7,000 to fight; $7,000 win bonus)
  • Forrest Griffin: $16,000 ($16,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Jason MacDonald: $10,000 ($5,000 to fight; $5,000 win bonus)
  • Chris Leben: $7,000 ($7,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Andrei Arlovski: $145,000 ($90,000 to fight; $55,000 win bonus)
  • Marcio Cruz: $5,000 ($5,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Michael Bisping: $24,000 ($12,000 to fight; $12,000 win bonus)
  • Eric Schafer: $4,000 ($4,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Thiago Alves: $22,000 ($11,000 to fight; $11,000 win bonus)
  • Tony DeSouza: $7,000 ($7,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Gabriel Gonzaga: $18,000 ($9,000 to fight; $9,000 win bonus)
  • Carmelo Marrero: $5,000 ($5,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Yushin Okami: $16,000 ($8,000 to fight; $8,000 win bonus)
  • Rory Singer: $5,000 ($5,000 to fight; no win bonus)
  • Christian Wellisch: $6,000 ($3,000 to fight; $3,000 win bonus)
  • Anthony Perosh: $3,000 ($3,000 to fight; no win bonus)

[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 would 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

  1. ^ a b UFC Press Conference Quotes and Notes – FoxSportsMMA
  2. ^ a b Fighter Salaries for UFC 66 and UFC Fight Night 7 – MMA Weekly
  3. ^ UFC 66 To Make MMA History – Brawl Sports, with Steve Sievert
  4. ^ GracieFighter Weekend – GracieFighter.com
  5. ^ Hunt, Loretta. "PM UPDATE – JAN. 5", The Fight Network, 2006-01-05. Retrieved on 2006-01-06. 
  6. ^ UFC Post-show Notes – Wrestling Observer, with Dave Meltzer
  7. ^ New Year's Eve News Update... – Beatdown Radio Show on Sherdog.com
  8. ^ Future looks 'Icy' for Ortiz – Boston Herald

[edit] External links

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