- UFC 61
Infobox MMA event
name = UFC 61: Bitter Rivals
promotion =Ultimate Fighting Championship
date =July 8 ,2006
venue =Mandalay Bay Events Center
city =Las Vegas, Nevada
attendance = 11,167 (9,999 paid)
gate= $3,350,775.15
buyrate = 775,000 [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3520&zoneid=2]
previousevent =
followingevent ="UFC 61: Bitter Rivals" was a
mixed martial arts event held by theUltimate Fighting Championship on Saturday,July 8 ,2006 . The event took place at theMandalay Bay Events Center , inLas Vegas, Nevada and was broadcast live onpay-per-view in theUnited States .Background
The main event was a Heavyweight Championship match between champion
Tim Sylvia and former championAndrei Arlovski . This was the third time these fighters had met, they had split the first two meetings. The co-main event was the highly anticipated re-match of TUF 3 coaches Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.It was announced during the event that
Chuck Liddell would fight PRIDE starWanderlei Silva in November if Liddell won his upcoming match against Renato "Babalu" Sobral at "UFC 62 ". Negotiations between the UFC and PRIDE failed however and the Liddell-Silva fight never occurred in November 2006. The two would eventually meet in December 2007 atUFC 79 .The number of pay-per-view buys for UFC 61 in the United States was approximately 775,000, which generated gross PPV revenue of approximately $30,960,000. [ [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2585&zoneid=3] ] The disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $676,000. [ [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2373&zoneid=1] ] With a live gate at $3,350,775, it nearly eclipsed the all-time mark for UFC events set at "
UFC 57 ".Results
Preliminary card
*Welterweight bout: flagicon|USA
Drew Fickett vs. flagicon|USAKurt Pellegrino :Fickett wins by submission (rear naked choke ) at 1:20 of round three. This bout was not aired on the broadcast.*Heavyweight bout: flagicon|USA
Gilbert Aldana vs. flagicon|FRACheick Kongo :Kongo wins by technical knockout (doctor stoppage) at 4:13 of round one. This was a preliminary bout, and was not aired on the broadcast.*Heavyweight bout: flagicon|USA
Jeff Monson vs. flagicon|AUSAnthony Perosh :Monson wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 2:22 of round one. This bout was not aired on the broadcast, although highlights were shown at the end.*Catchweight (165 lb) bout: flagicon|BRA
Hermes Franca vs. flagicon|USA Joe Jordan:Franca wins by submission (triangle choke ) at :47 of round three. Franca was originally matched withRoger Huerta . However, Huerta withdrew from the card due to injury and was replaced by Joe Jordan. [http://www.sherdog.com/news/interviews.asp?n_id=4957] The fight took place at a catchweight of 165 lb, instead of lightweight, as allowances were made for Jordan as a late replacement. [http://www.sherdog.com/news/radio.asp?id=63] This bout was not aired on the broadcast, but it was highlighted as the submission of the nightMain Card
*Lightweight bout: flagicon|USA
Joe Stevenson vs. flagicon|BahamasYves Edwards :Stevenson wins by technical knockout (doctor stoppage due to cuts) at the end of round two.*Heavyweight Bout: flagicon|USA
Frank Mir vs. flagicon|USADan Christison :Mir wins by unanimous decision. The judges each scored the bout 29-28.*Light heavyweight bout: flagicon|USA
Tito Ortiz vs. flagicon|USAKen Shamrock :Ortiz wins by technical knockout (referee stoppage, due to strikes) at 1:18 of round one.*Welterweight bout: flagicon|USA
Josh Burkman vs. flagicon|USAJosh Neer :Burkman wins by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28.*Heavyweight championship bout: champion flagicon|USA
Tim Sylvia vs. flagicon|BelarusAndrei Arlovski :Sylvia wins by unanimous decision to retain his title. The judges scored the bout 48-47, 49-46 and 48-47.Purses
Tito Ortiz: $210,000
Tim Sylvia: $120,000
Ken Shamrock: $100,000
Andrei Arlovski: $90,000
Frank Mir: $56,000
Joe Stevenson: $24,000
Jeff Monson: $20,000
Drew Fickett: $12,000
Josh Burkman: $10,000
Hermes Franca: $8,000
Yves Edwards: $8,000
Josh Neer: $6,000
Cheick Kongo: $6,000
Dan Christison: $5,000
Joe Jordan: $4,000
Anthony Perosh: $3,000
Gilbert Aldana: $2,000
Kurt Pellegrino: $2,000
Total Fighter Payouts: $676,000
ources
* [http://boxing.nv.gov/2006Results/07-08-06%20MMA.pdf Mixed martial arts show results, Mandalay Bay, 07-08-06 (PDF)] , Nevada State Athletic Commission. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
* [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2373&zoneid=1 UFC Fighter Salaries for 2006] (includes fighter salaries for UFC 61)
* [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2585&zoneid=3 UFC 61 Surpasses $30 Million in Pay-Per-View Sales]External links
* [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventdetail.fightCard&eid=195 UFC 61 card]
* [http://www.ufc.com/ufc61/ UFC 61 website]
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