[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_tta_tabs][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-play-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”UFC 66 Replay” tab_id=”1541433445045-9db816f2-a3a78129-3cfe”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_tabs][vc_column_text]
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 66’s main event was a champion battle with 2 of the UFC’s most significant light heavyweight stars, Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell safeguarding his title versus previous champ Tito Ortiz. This fight was first announced by Ortiz at the UFC 63 weigh-ins on September 22, 2006.
The co-main event saw Forrest Griffin take on “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine. The card likewise saw the return of former Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Michael Bisping’s very first bout in the UFC since winning that season. During the event, it was made official that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic had actually signed an agreement 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 almost sold-out, producing the highest live gate earnings in North American combined martial arts history, extending the previous record at UFC 57 by over $2,000,000 (USD). At the time, it was approximated to be the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view success with simply over 1 million buys.
The disclosed fighter payroll for the occasion was $767,000.
UFC 66 had 9 bouts set up. The event was headlined by a clash in between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz 2. In the co-main event, Keith Jardine took on Forrest Griffin. The night started with Christian Wellisch handling Anthony Perosh, followed by Rory Singer vs. Yushin Okami.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]