UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion
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Background
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a 9-bout fight card that was held on September 8, 2007 at the 02 Arena in London, England.
The card aired live on SpikeTV and was headlined by a UFC light heavyweight championship bout, dubbed as a unification between the UFC's light heavyweight belt, held by Quinton Jackson and PRIDE's equivalent, middleweight belt, held by Dan Henderson.
A light heavyweight bout between TUF 3 light heavyweight winner, Michael Bisping and TUF 3 semi-finalist, Matt Hamill as well as a heavyweight bout between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Cheick Kongo served as co-main events.
Fight Card
Preliminary Card
- Welterweight Bout: Jess Liaudin vs. Anthony Torres
- Lightweight Bout: Dennis Siver vs. Naoyuki Kotani
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Thiago Silva vs. Tomasz Drwal
- Lightweight Bout: Terry Etim vs. Gleison Tibau
Main Card
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
- Welterweight Bout: Paul Taylor vs. Marcus Davis
- Heavyweight Bout: Mirko Filipovic vs. Cheick Kongo
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson
Pre-Event Notes
The main event was the first ever unification bout between the UFC and PRIDE organizations. The bout was made possible by the buyout of PRIDE by the UFC's parent company, Zuffa.
Jess Liaudin was originally meant to face dynamic striker, Anthony Johnson on the undercard but an injury to Johnson forced his removal, prompting TUF 2's Anthony Torres to fill in.
Results
Preliminary Card
- Welterweight Bout: Jess Liaudin defs. Anthony Torres via TKO (punches) at 4:10 of round 1.
- Lightweight Bout: Dennis Siver defs. Naoyuki Kotani via KO (punch) at 2:04 of round 2.
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Thiago Silva defs. Tomasz Drwal via TKO (punches) at 4:23 of round 2.
- Lightweight Bout: Gleison Tibau defs. Terry Etim via unanimous decision.
Main Card
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Houston Alexander defs. Alessio Sakara via TKO (knee and punches) at 1:01 of round 1.
- Welterweight Bout: Marcus Davis defs. Paul Taylor via submission (armbar) at 4:14 of round 1.
- Heavyweight Bout: Cheick Kongo defs. Mirko Filipovic via unanimous decision.
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Michael Bisping defs. Matt Hamill via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Quinton Jackson defs. Dan Henderson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46).
In a compelling affair that saw both fighters trade heavy strikes and dominant positions on the ground, Jackson was ultimately given the unanimous decision victory and thus was crowned the first ever unified UFC and PRIDE 205 lbs. champion.
Bonus Awards
Fight Of The Night: Marcus Davis and Paul Taylor
Submission Of The Night: Marcus Davis
Knockout Of The Night: Houston Alexander
- Each bonus was worth $40,000
UFC Event Chronology
Preceded by: UFC 74: Respect
Followed by: UFC Fight Night 11
External Links
http://75.ufc.com - Official UFC 75 Website
--Sam Cupitt 03:40, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
