UFC 66

Last updated
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz
UFC 66 Poster.jpg
The poster for UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz
Promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship
DateDecember 30, 2006
Venue MGM Grand Garden Arena
City Paradise, Nevada
Attendance13,761 (12,191 paid) [1]
Total gate$5,397,300 [1]
Buyrate1,050,000 [2]
Total purse$767,000 (disclosed) [3]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs. Riggs UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz UFC Fight Night: Evans vs. Salmon

UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

Contents

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. [4]

The co-main event saw Forrest Griffin take on "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine. The card also saw the return of former Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Michael Bisping's first bout in the UFC since winning that season. 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 . [5]

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. [6]

The disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $767,000. [3]

Results

Main Card
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Light Heavyweight Chuck Liddell (c)def. Tito Ortiz TKO (punches)33:59 [a]
Light Heavyweight Keith Jardine def. Forrest Griffin TKO (punches)14:41
Middleweight Jason MacDonald def. Chris Leben Submission (guillotine choke)24:03
Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski def. Márcio Cruz KO (punches)13:15
Light Heavyweight Michael Bisping def. Eric Schafer TKO (punches)14:24
Preliminary Card
Welterweight Thiago Alves def. Tony DeSouza KO (knee)21:10 [b]
Heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga def. Carmelo Marrero Submission (armbar)13:22 [c]
Middleweight Yushin Okami def. Rory Singer Submission (punches)34:03
Heavyweight Christian Wellisch def. Anthony Perosh Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–28)35:00
  1. ↑ For the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
  2. ↑ This bout aired on the PPV broadcast following the Griffin vs. Jardine fight. After the fight Alves tested positive for spironolactone. [7] He was fined $5,500 by the NSAC and suspended for eight months. [8] Alves is the first fighter in Nevada to ever test positive for a diuretic.
  3. ↑ This bout aired last on the PPV broadcast following the Liddell vs. Ortiz fight.

Bonus awards

Reported salaries

UFC 66 Fighters' Salaries: [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tito Ortiz</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is a retired American mixed martial artist and a former politician. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 14, 2000, to September 26, 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock. On July 7, 2012, Ortiz became the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Liddell</span> American mixed martial arts fighter (born 1969)

Charles David Liddell is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 to 2018, Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and is widely credited, along with fellow UFC fighter Randy Couture, with helping bring MMA into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. Known as "The Iceman", Liddell achieved a 16–7 MMA record in the UFC, and an overall MMA record of 21–9, with 13 of his wins coming by way of knockout. He also achieved a 20-2 record in kickboxing, with 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout, and won two national amateur championships. He retired in late 2010, then came out of retirement for one bout in 2018, in a loss to rival Tito Ortiz. On July 10, 2009, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "UFC 148 draws a reported 15,016 attendance for $7 million live gate". mmajunkie.com. 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  2. ↑ Trembow, Ivan (2007-03-01). "UFC PPV REVENUE TOPS $200 MILLION IN 2006". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  3. 1 2 3 Trembow, Ivan (2007-01-03). "FIGHTER SALARIES FOR UFC 66 & UFC FIGHT NIGHT 7". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  4. ↑ "Future looks 'Icy' for Ortiz". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  5. ↑ Trembow, Ivan (2006-12-31). "UFC CONFIRMS CRO COP'S SIGNING; A LOOK AT TITLE PICTURES". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  6. ↑ Sievert, Steve. "UFC 66 To Make MMA History". chron.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-14. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  7. ↑ Trembow, Ivan (2007-02-16). "In-Depth: Commission Hearings For Randleman, Yvel, Alves, Toughill, & Carvalho". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  8. ↑ Stupp, Dan (2007-02-16). "Thiago Alves Suspended Eight Months, Fined $5,500 by NSAC". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
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