UFC 66

Infobox MMA event
name = UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz


promotion = Ultimate Fighting Championship
date = December 30, 2006
venue = MGM Grand Garden Arena
city = Las Vegas, Nevada
attendance = 13,761 (12,191 paid) [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3235&zoneid=13]
gate = $5,397,300 [http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/FOXSportsMMA/2006/12/30/UFC_press_conference_quotes_and_notes UFC Press Conference Quotes and Notes] – FoxSportsMMA]
buyrate = 1,050,000 [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3520&zoneid=2]
purse = $767,000 (disclosed) [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3213 Fighter Salaries for UFC 66 and UFC Fight Night 7] – MMA Weekly]
previousevent =
followingevent =

"UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz" was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006.

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 was first announced by Ortiz at the "UFC 63" weigh-ins on September 22, 2006. [http://sports.bostonherald.com/ufc/view.bg?articleid=159007 Future looks 'Icy' for Ortiz] – Boston Herald] .

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, 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. [http://blogs.chron.com/fighting/2006/12/ufc_66_to_make_mma_history.html UFC 66 To Make MMA History] – Brawl Sports, with Steve Sievert]

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

Results

Preliminary card

*Heavyweight bout: flagicon|USA Christian Wellisch vs. flagicon|Australia Anthony Perosh:Wellisch wins by unanimous decision. Judges scored the bout 29-28, 29-28, and 29-27. This preliminary bout was not aired on the broadcast.

*Middleweight bout: flagicon|Japan Yushin Okami vs. flagicon|USA Rory Singer:Okami wins 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 due to an elbow injury. [http://www.graciefighter.com/?page=news GracieFighter Weekend] – GracieFighter.com]

*Heavyweight bout: flagicon|Brazil Gabriel Gonzaga vs. flagicon|USA Carmelo Marrero:Gonzaga wins by submission (armbar) at 3:22 of round one. This bout, although preliminary, was aired on the broadcast.

*Welterweight bout: flagicon|Brazil Thiago Alves vs. flagicon|Peru Tony DeSouza:Alves wins by knockout at 1:10 of round two. The bout, though preliminary, was aired on the broadcast.:After the fight Alves tested positive for spironolactone [ [http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3452&zoneid=13 - IN-DEPTH: COMMISSION HEARINGS FOR RANDLEMAN, YVEL, ALVES, TOUGHILL, & CARVALHO] - MMAWeekly]

Main card

*Light Heavyweight bout: flagicon|England Michael Bisping vs. flagicon|USA Eric Schafer:Bisping wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:24 of round one.

*Heavyweight bout: flagicon|Belarus Andrei Arlovski vs. flagicon|Brazil Marcio Cruz:Arlovski wins by knockout (strikes) at 3:15 of round one.

*Middleweight bout: flagicon|Canada Jason MacDonald vs. flagicon|USA Chris Leben:MacDonald wins by technical submission (referee stoppage) from a modified guillotine choke at 4:03 of round two.

*Light Heavyweight bout: flagicon|USA Keith Jardine vs. flagicon|USA Forrest Griffin:Jardine wins by technical knockout (strikes) at 4:41 of round one.

*Light Heavyweight Championship bout: flagicon|USA Champion Chuck Liddell vs. flagicon|USA Tito Ortiz:Liddell wins by technical knockout (strikes) with a torn medial collateral ligament [ [http://www.sherdog.com/news/radio.asp?id=119 New Year's Eve News Update...] – Beatdown Radio Show on Sherdog.com] at 3:59 of round three. Liddell retains the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Purses

UFC 66 Fighters' Salaries

*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)

References

External links

* [http://66.ufc.com Official UFC 66 website]
* [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.FightCard&eid=326 Official UFC 66 Fight Card]
* [http://www.mmahq.com/2006/12/28/ufc-66-preview UFC 66 Fight Previews]