UFC 66: Liddell Stops Ortiz, Jardine Stuns Griffin
UFC 66 closed the promotion’s 2006 pay-per-view schedule on December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Chuck Liddell defended the light heavyweight title against Tito Ortiz in their rematch. Keith Jardine also defeated Forrest Griffin, and Michael Bisping beat Eric Schafer.
Ortiz survives early trouble before Liddell finishes
Liddell had stopped Ortiz at UFC 47, and the second meeting again made the challenger’s attempts to wrestle a central issue. Ortiz pressed forward, used leg kicks and looked for takedowns. Liddell repeatedly denied the entries and answered with powerful punches, cutting and dropping Ortiz during the first round.
Ortiz survived the early barrage and recovered enough to make the second round competitive. He briefly brought Liddell to the mat, but the champion returned to his feet. The contest continued into round three, where Liddell’s striking again forced Ortiz into a vulnerable position. A final ground attack brought the stoppage at 3:59.
The TKO was Liddell’s fourth successful title defense. Ortiz’s resilience made the rematch more than a replay of their first encounter, but it did not solve the core difficulty: maintaining wrestling control against a champion who could escape and punish failed approaches. The belt stayed with Liddell at the end of a demanding three-round fight.
Jardine interrupts Griffin’s momentum
Jardine and Griffin traded aggressively in their non-title light heavyweight bout. Late in round one, Jardine connected with an uppercut and a follow-up punch that dropped Griffin. He continued striking on the ground, and John McCarthy stopped the contest at 4:41.
The result gave Jardine a major win against one of The Ultimate Fighter’s best-known graduates. It also illustrated how quickly an apparently competitive exchange can become a finishing sequence. Griffin’s willingness to trade produced action, but Jardine’s decisive combination changed the fight before it could reach a second round.
Bisping, Arlovski and MacDonald find finishes
Bisping faced difficult grappling positions against Schafer before escaping and finishing with punches at 4:24 of the first round. He was competing at light heavyweight, years before his eventual middleweight championship. Andrei Arlovski also won in round one, stopping Marcio Cruz with punches during a ground exchange.
At middleweight, Jason MacDonald caught Chris Leben in a guillotine choke late in the second round. The preliminaries supplied three more finishes: Thiago Alves knocked out Tony DeSouza with a knee, Gabriel Gonzaga submitted Carmelo Marrero with an armbar, and Yushin Okami forced Rory Singer to submit to punches. Christian Wellisch’s decision over Anthony Perosh was the card’s only bout to reach the judges.
Complete UFC 66 results
Chuck Liddell defeated Tito Ortiz by TKO (punches), round 3, 3:59, retaining the light heavyweight title. Keith Jardine defeated Forrest Griffin by TKO (punches), round 1, 4:41. Jason MacDonald defeated Chris Leben by submission (guillotine choke), round 2, 4:03. Andrei Arlovski defeated Marcio Cruz by knockout from punches, round 1, 3:15. Michael Bisping defeated Eric Schafer by TKO (punches), round 1, 4:24.
Thiago Alves defeated Tony DeSouza by KO (knee), round 2, 1:10. Gabriel Gonzaga defeated Carmelo Marrero by submission (armbar), round 1, 3:22. Yushin Okami defeated Rory Singer by submission to punches, round 3, 4:03. Christian Wellisch defeated Anthony Perosh by unanimous decision.
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UFC 66, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Forrest Griffin, UFC Results
