UFC 61: Bitter Rivals
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Background
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals was a 9-bout fight card that was held on July 8, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card aired live on pay-per-view and was headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between champion, Tim Sylvia and former champion, Andrei Arlovski.
A light heavyweight grudge match between former 205 lbs. champion, Tito Ortiz and UFC Hall of Famer, Ken Shamrock served as the co-main event.
Fight Card
Preliminary Card
- Welterweight Bout: Drew Fickett vs. Kurt Pellegrino
- Heavyweight Bout: Gilbert Aldana vs. Cheick Kongo
- Heavyweight Bout: Jeff Monson vs. Anthony Perosh
- Catchweight (165 lbs.) Bout: Hermes Franca vs. Joe Jordan
Main Card
- Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson vs. Yves Edwards
- Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir vs. Dan Christison
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
- Welterweight Bout: Josh Burkman vs. Josh Neer
- Heavyweight Championship Bout: Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski
Pre-Event Notes
The Tito Ortiz/Ken Shamrock bout was a rematch from their light heavyweight championship bout from UFC 40 in November of 2002. The grudge match was hyped up for many weeks as the two squared off as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 3.
UFC debutant Roger Huerta was initally set as the opponent for Hermes Franca but an injury to Huerta saw Joe Jordan fill in as a replacement. Due to the lack of preparation and adequate time to cut weight, the fight was set at a catchweight of 165 lbs..
Results
Preliminary Card
- Welterweight Bout: Drew Fickett defs. Kurt Pellegrino via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:20 of round 3.
- Heavyweight Bout: Cheick Kongo defs. Gilbert Aldana via TKO at 4:13 of round 1.
- Heavyweight Bout: Jeff Monson defs. Anthony Perosh via TKO at 2:22 of round 1.
- Catchweight (165 lbs.) Bout: Hermes Franca defs. Joe Jordan via submission (triangle choke) at :47 of round 3.
Main Card
- Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson defs. Yves Edwards via TKO (cuts) at 5:00 of round 2.
- Heavyweight Bout: Frank Mir defs. Dan Christison via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Tito Ortiz defs. Ken Shamrock via TKO at 1:18 of round 1.
Ortiz scored an early takedown on Shamrock and began punishing him with elbows from the guard. Shamrock briefly went limp from the punishment and referee Herb Dean stopped the bout. As Shamrock looked to have immediately regained consciousness the stoppage was seen as premature.
- Welterweight Bout: Josh Burkman defs. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
- Heavyweight Championship Bout: Tim Sylvia defs. Andrei Arlovski via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to retain his heavyweight championship.
The bout was pretty lacklustre as the fight was spent entirely on the feet with each fighter throwing very little for the full five rounds.
UFC Event Chronology
Preceded by: UFC Fight Night 5
Followed by: UFC Fight Night 6
External Links
http://61.ufc.com - Official UFC 61 Website
--Sam Cupitt 08:08, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
