The Blog

 Introduction UFC 70: Nations Collide. April 21, 2007. Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England. The second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, the first in Manchester, and the seventh UFC event ever held outside the United States. The card delivered one of the sport’s most iconic moments: Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Mirko Cro Cop with a left high kick at 4:51 of round one — the King of the Head Kick defeated by his own weapon. Andrei Arlovski defeated Fabricio Werdum by unanimous de

 Introduction UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson. May 26, 2007. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson knocked out UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell at 1:53 of round one to win the LHW Championship. Jackson was the only fighter to have an unavenged win over Liddell, from PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. He had made his UFC debut at UFC 67 just three months earlier. The main event had the most mainstream sports media coverage in UFC history to that point. ESPN broadcas

 Introduction UFC 69: Shootout. April 7, 2007. Toyota Center, Houston, Texas. The first UFC event in the state of Texas. In the main event, Matt Serra stopped Georges St-Pierre by TKO at 3:25 of round one to win the UFC Welterweight Championship. St-Pierre was a 7-to-1 betting favourite. Serra knocked him down twice before the stoppage. It is considered the biggest upset in MMA history. Serra had earned the title shot by winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 4. Georges St-Pierre had won the Welter

 Introduction UFC 68: The Uprising. March 3, 2007. Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio. The first UFC event in the state of Ohio, coinciding with the 2007 Arnold Sports Festival. A sold-out crowd of 19,079 — the largest verifiable attendance in North American MMA history at the time. Randy Couture, 43 years old, coming out of 12 months of retirement as a +205 underdog, defeated UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia by unanimous decision over five rounds to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion for the

 Introduction UFC 67: All or Nothing. February 3, 2007. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The first UFC pay-per-view broadcast in High Definition. The card was originally scheduled to feature two championship fights — Anderson Silva defending the Middleweight title against Travis Lutter, and Georges St-Pierre defending the Welterweight title against Matt Serra — but both fell through. Lutter came in 1.4 lbs over the middleweight limit; the bout proceeded as a non-title contest. GSP

 Introduction UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2. December 30, 2006. MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas. New Year’s Eve weekend. Chuck Liddell retained the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship by TKO at 3:59 of round three against Tito Ortiz. Liddell finished the fight with a torn MCL. The event drew just over 1 million pay-per-view buys — the first time in UFC history that threshold had been crossed. The live gate was the highest in North American MMA history. In the co-main, Keith Jardine stopped Forres

 Introduction UFC Fight Night 7: Sanchez vs. Riggs. December 13, 2006. MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California. Wednesday night. Free on Spike TV. The first UFC event held on a United States military base. The audience consisted almost entirely of Marines stationed at Miramar; only five pairs of seats were made available to the public via auction, with proceeds going to Marine Corps Community Services. Diego Sanchez knocked out Joe Riggs with a flying knee at 1:45 of round one in the main event. The

 Introduction The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale: The Comeback. November 11, 2006. The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. Matt Serra defeated Chris Lytle by split decision to win the TUF 4 Welterweight Tournament and earn an automatic title shot against Georges St-Pierre. That title shot led to one of the biggest upsets in MMA history at UFC 69 in April 2007. Travis Lutter defeated Patrick Cote by armbar in round one to win the TUF 4 Middleweight Tournament and earn a title shot

 Introduction UFC 65: Bad Intentions. November 18, 2006. ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California. The UFC's first event at this venue. Georges St-Pierre defeated Matt Hughes by TKO at 1:25 of round two to win the UFC Welterweight Championship. The fight was the payoff of one of MMA's most famous pre-fight declarations: GSP's cage-side ‘I am not impressed by your performance’ at UFC 63 six weeks earlier. In the co-main, Tim Sylvia retained the UFC Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Monson by unanim

 Introduction UFC 64: Unstoppable. October 14, 2006. Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas. Anderson Silva won the UFC Middleweight Championship by stopping Rich Franklin with body knees in the clinch at 2:59 of round one, beginning a title reign that lasted 2,457 days — the longest in UFC history. In the co-main event, Sean Sherk defeated Kenny Florian by unanimous decision over five rounds (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) to capture the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship — the first undisputed lightweig

 Introduction UFC Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. October 10, 2006. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida. Free on Spike TV. Tuesday night. The first UFC event in Florida. Tito Ortiz stopped Ken Shamrock by KO at 2:23 of round one, winning their series 3-0. The two-hour broadcast drew a 3.1 overall Spike TV rating — shattering every previous UFC cable television record. The previous record was 2.0, set by the TUF 2 and TUF 3 Finales. The Final Chapter averaged 4.5 in t

 Introduction UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn. September 23, 2006. Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California. Matt Hughes retained the UFC Welterweight Championship by stopping B.J. Penn in round three with crucifix ground and pound at 3:53. The series was levelled at 1-1: Penn had submitted Hughes at UFC 46 in 2004; Hughes won the rematch at UFC 63. The event was originally scheduled as Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre — GSP withdrew with a severe groin injury in early August. Penn stepped in as the replacement.