On Saturday night UFC 66 came to the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the much awaited rematch of between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. On Saturday night UFC 66 came to the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the much awaited rematch of between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. It was also announced that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson would be in the next UFC along with Pride fighter Mirko Cro-Cop.
The first fight of the evening was not televised. It had Anthony Perosh fighting Christian Wellisch. In this fight Wellisch wins by unanimous decision.
In the second fight of the evening Rory Singer fought Yushin Okami. This fight was also not televised but Okami wins by tap out in the third round.
In the third fight of the evening Gabriel Gonzaga fought Carmelo Marrero
In the first round Gonzage brought Marrero to the mat early. Gonzaga obtained the mounted position against his opponent. Marrero was unable to get the black belt off of him from the mounted position. Gonzaga hit Morrero several times but eventually worked a basic arm bar against him for the tap out at 3:22 in the first round.
In the fourth fight Thiago Alves fought Tony DeSouza. Tony is a well known wrestler and has excellent takedowns.
Round 1Tony wanted to use his wrestling skills and take Alves to the ground. Alves was able to sprawl and avoid letting the wrestler take him down. Alves lands as big strike and drops Tony to the ground. Alves takes the top position and starts to ground and pound. Tony rolls over and gives up his back while Alves continues to hit him in the back of the head. If the round was ten seconds longer the fight would have ended but Tony was saved by the bell.
Round 2Tony comes out but is still hurt from the first round. Tony is throwing wild punches and Alves is right on target. Tony tries a flying knee but Alves side steps and punches him. Tony then tries to shoot in but Alves hits him with a knee sending Tony to the ground. Alves then lands a few more punches and the fight is over at 1:10 in the second round.
In the fifth fight former Tuff fighter Michael Bisping fought Eric Schaffer. In this fight Eric may have exposed a weakness in Bisping by controlling Bisping on the ground with his Jiu-Jitsu.
In the first round Bisping hits Schaffer with a good right hand. Schaffer gets Bisping to the ground but Bisping is able to get back up. Schaffer obviously wants the fight on the ground and takes Bisping back down. Schaffer works a good arm triangle from the half guard but is unable to finish it. Schaffer takes Bisping’s back but Bisping stands up and tries to flip Schaffer off of him by slamming him on the mat. Bisping stands up lands a powerful roundhouse kick to the head of Schaffer and Schaffer takes it back to the ground. Schaffer is working on Bisping when Bisping takes the top position and ground and pounds Schaffer. The referee stops the fight with 36 seconds left in the first round.
In the sixth fight Andrei Arlovski returns to the UFC to fight 6 time Jiu-Jitsu world champion Marcio Pe De Pano Cruz.
In the first round Arlovski has the heavier hands and Cruz wants this fight on the ground. Cruz tries to shoot in but Arlovski stops it. Cruz pulls guard and goes for a heal hook on the standing Arlovski. Arlovski sits down and works an Achilles lock against Cruz. Both fighters are working ankle locks when Arlovski illegally kicks Cruz in the face. The referee stops the fight to warn Arlovski but allows the fighters to keep their positions. The fight is started again and Arlovski sits up and punches Cruz in the head. Cruz tries to work the ankle but Arlovski takes top position and punches Cruz into submission.
In the seventh fight Chris Leben fought Jason MacDonald.
Round 1In the first round MacDonald is throws a roundhouse kick. Leben takes him the ground. Leben lands a few good shots. MacDonald obviously wants this fight on the ground. Leben lands more good shots throughout the first round.
Round 2Leben takes MacDonald to the ground. MacDonald is trying for submissions and is obviously better on the ground. MacDonald gets back to his feet and then takes Leben to the ground. MacDonald works a Guillotine from the ground and stretches Leben neck. Leben is rendered unconscious from the guillotine. MacDonald wins the fight.
In the eighth fight Forrest Griffen fought Keith Jardine
In the first round both fighters trade shots in the center of the octagon. Both fighters seem relaxed with Forrest throwing more leg kicks then Jardine. Forrest appears to be better with shots until Jardine lands an upper cut and left to Forrest’s head. Forrest goes down and Jardine starts the ground and pound until the referee stops the fight. Forrest is seen crying in his corner from the defeat. Then surprising to everyone Forrest would not interview but only says that he got KTFO and he will be back. Forrest ran out the octagon and through the crowd, back to his dressing room. Joe Rogan was obviously surprised that the normally talkative Forrest left so quickly.
In the eight and final fight of the night Chuck Liddell defended his title against Tito Ortiz.
Round 1Chuck is using a lower then normal stance to avoid the takedown of Tito. Both fighters have good punches with Tito landing a good right hand. Chuck lands a left hook which drops Tito and Chuck starts the ground and pound. Tito is great shape and survives the attack. Chuck wants the fight back on his feet and signals for Tito to stand back up. The round ends with both fighters on their feet.
Round 2 Ortiz tries to shoot in but Chuck has excellent defense. Chuck is using an awkward stance moving his head around and fighting with his hands down. Both fighters picking their shots with Tito throwing many low and high kicks. Tito catches Chuck with a right and takes the fight back to the ground. Both fighters end up standing against the fence. Chuck hits Tito in the face with an elbow as they split. Tito checks his nose with his hand and continues fighting as the round ends.
Round 3 Tito throws a low kick which catches Chuck on the knee. Tito has a noticeable mark on his own leg from the kick. Tito shoots in but Chuck defends it well. Tito lands a right hand. Chuck starts landing single body shots from the outside against Tito. Tito shoots in again but Chuck defends it and hit Tito with several good shots. Tito and Chuck exchange heavy blows while standing with Tito landing several good shots. Chuck lands the bigger of the shots and Tito is now trying to catch Chuck with a punch. Tito tries to shoot in but Chuck lands more punches and Tito goes to his back. Chuck ends the fight with the ground and pound on Tito.
After the fight Tito shows his maturity and gives a great interview complimenting Chuck on his victory. I look forward to seeing more of Tito’s fight in the future.