UFC 66
| UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 30, 2006 | |||
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |||
| City |  Paradise, Nevada USA |
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| 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 | ||||
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UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 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 [3].
Contents |
[edit] 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. The card and also saw the return of 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.
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]
[edit] Results
[edit] Preliminary card
- Heavyweight bout:
Christian Wellisch vs. 
Anthony Perosh
- Wellisch defeated Perosh via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–27).
- Middleweight bout:
Yushin Okami vs. 
Rory Singer
- Okami defeated Singer via submission (punches) at 4:03 of round 3. Singer was a late replacement for David Terrell, who withdrew due to an elbow injury.[5]
- Heavyweight bout:
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Carmelo Marrero
- Gonzaga defeated Marrero via submission (armbar) at 3:22 of round one. This bout aired last on the PPV broadcast following the Liddell vs. Ortiz fight.
- Welterweight bout: Thiago Alves vs.
Tony DeSouza
- Alves defeated DeSouza via KO (knee) at 1:10 of round 2. 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.
[edit] Main card
- Light Heavyweight bout:
Michael Bisping vs. Eric Schafer
- Bisping defeated Schafer via TKO (punches) at 4:24 of round 1.
- Heavyweight bout:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Márcio Cruz
- Arlovski defeated Cruz via KO (punches) at 3:15 of round 1.
- Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs.
Jason MacDonald
- MacDonald defeated Leben via submission (guillotine choke) at 4:01 of round 2.
- Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Keith Jardine
- Jardine defeated Griffin via TKO (punches) at 4:41 of round 1.
- Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Chuck Liddell (c) vs. Tito Ortiz
- Liddell defeated Ortiz via TKO (punches) at 3:57 of round 3 to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
[edit] Purses
UFC 66 Fighters' Salaries
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008) |
- 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] References
- ^ a b UFC Press Conference Quotes and Notes – FoxSportsMMA
- ^ a b Fighter Salaries for UFC 66 and UFC Fight Night 7 – MMA Weekly
- ^ Future looks 'Icy' for Ortiz – Boston Herald
- ^ UFC 66 To Make MMA History – Brawl Sports, with Steve Sievert
- ^ GracieFighter Weekend – GracieFighter.com
- ^ – IN-DEPTH: COMMISSION HEARINGS FOR RANDLEMAN, YVEL, ALVES, TOUGHILL, & CARVALHO – MMAWeekly
