UFC 76: Knockout
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Background
UFC 76: Knockout was a 9-bout fight card that was held on September 22, 2007 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The card aired live on pay-per-view and was headlined by a UFC light heavyweight bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell and TUF 2 veteran, Keith Jardine.
A light heavyweight bout between PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix winner, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and TUF 1 light heavyweight winner, Forrest Griffin served as a co-main event.
Fight Card
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Matt Wiman
- Heavyweight Bout: Christian Wellisch vs. Scott Junk
- Lightweight Bout: Jeremy Stephens vs. Diego Saraiva
- Catchweight Bout (177 lbs.): Anthony Johnson vs. Rich Clementi
Main Card
- Lightweight Bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Thiago Tavares
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
- Welterweight Bout: Diego Sanchez vs. Jon Fitch
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Chuck Liddell vs. Keith Jardine
Pre-Event Notes
Originally, Chuck Liddell was to face former PRIDE middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva. Silva turned down the bout citing a lack of preparation time for the bout. The UFC instead changed Liddell's opponent to TUF 2 veteran, Keith Jardine.
UFC matchmaker, Joe Silva first called up Forrest Griffin and offered him a fight with Lyoto Machida. Griffin accepted but after saying he'd prefer to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Silva granted Griffin's request.
A light heavyweight bout between Wilson Gouveia and Jason Lambert was set to take place at UFC 76 but an injury to Gouveia had the bout scrapped.
In order to fill the 9 bout quota, Anthony Johnson and Rich Clementi were called up on short notice to fight at a catchweight of 177 lbs..
Jeremy Stephens was to face Nate Mohr instead of Diego Saraiva but Mohr pulled out with injury.
Christian Wellisch was scheduled to face Justin McCully but an injury to McCully left the door open for Scott Junk to make his UFC debut.
Results
Preliminary Card
- Lightweight Bout: Matt Wiman defs. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
- Heavyweight Bout: Christian Wellisch defs. Scott Junk via submission (heel hook) at 3:19 of round 1.
- Lightweight Bout: Jeremy Stephens defs. Diego Saraiva via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
- Catchweight Bout (177 lbs.): Rich Clementi defs. Anthony Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:05 of round 2.
Main Card
- Lightweight Bout: Tyson Griffin defs. Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Lyoto Machida defs. Kazuhiro Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
- Welterweight Bout: Jon Fitch defs. Diego Sanchez via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Forrest Griffin defs. Mauricio Rua via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:45 of round 3.
Griffin was given little chance going into the bout, but wore out Rua over the course of the fight with a relentless pace. Late in the third, Griffin switched from beating on a turtled up "Shogun" to gaining his back and sinking in the choke to force the tap.
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Keith Jardine defs. Chuck Liddell via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
In another huge upset, Keith Jardine used a variety of leg and body kicks to wear down Liddell. In the second round, Jardine managed to drop Liddell with an overhand right. Jardine lost the first round but appeared to take the second and third, with two of the three judges' scores reflecting that.
Bonus Awards
Fight Of The Night: Tyson Griffin and Thiago Tavares
Submission Of The Night: Forrest Griffin
Knockout Of The Night: There were no knockouts on the card.
- Each bonus was worth $40,000
UFC Event Chronology
Preceded by: UFC Fight Night 11
Followed by: UFC 77: Hostile Territory
External Links
http://76.ufc.com - Official UFC 76 Website
--Sam Cupitt 07:00, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
