UFC 66
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Background
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. This fight was first announced by Ortiz at the UFC 63 weigh-ins on September 22, 2006. [3]
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. During the event, 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.
The event was the UFC's first show at MGM Grand Arena since UFC 56, and was nearly sold-out, producing 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). At the time, it was estimated to be the UFC's biggest pay-per-view success with just over 1 million buys.[4]
The disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $767,000. [2]
Results
Preliminary card
* Heavyweight bout: Hungary Christian Wellisch vs. Australia Anthony Perosh
Wellisch wins by unanimous decision. Judges scored the bout 29–28, 29–28, and 29–27.
* Middleweight bout: Japan Yushin Okami vs. United States Rory Singer
Okami wins by submission (strikes) at 4:03 of round three. Singer was a late replacement for David Terrell, who withdrew due to an elbow injury.[5]
* Heavyweight bout: Brazil Gabriel Gonzaga vs. United States Carmelo Marrero
Gonzaga wins by submission (armbar) at 3:22 of round one. This bout aired last on the PPV broadcast following the Liddell vs. Ortiz fight.
* Welterweight bout: Brazil Thiago Alves vs. Flag of Peru (state).svg Tony DeSouza
Alves wins by knockout at 1:10 of round two. This bout aired on the PPV broadcast following the Griffin vs. Jardine fight.
After the fight Alves tested positive for spironolactone.[6] He was fined $5,500 by the NSAC and suspended for eight months. [4] Alves is the first fighter in Nevada to ever test positive for a diuretic.
Main card
* Light Heavyweight bout: England Michael Bisping vs. United States Eric Schafer
Bisping wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:24 of round one.
* Heavyweight bout: Belarus Andrei Arlovski vs. Brazil Márcio Cruz
Arlovski wins by knockout (strikes) at 3:15 of round one.
* Middleweight bout: Canada Jason MacDonald vs. United States Chris Leben
MacDonald wins by technical submission (referee stoppage) from a modified guillotine choke at 4:03 of round two.
* Light Heavyweight bout: United States Forrest Griffin vs. United States Keith Jardine
Jardine wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:41 of round one.
* Light Heavyweight Championship bout: United States Chuck Liddell (c) vs. United States Tito Ortiz
Liddell wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 3:57 of round three. Liddell retains the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
