UFC 66 - Arlovski Vs Cruz

UFC 66 has a super-exciting main event in Chuck Liddell Vs Tito Ortiz. Most media attention is fixated on this rematch dubbed 'Liddell Vs Ortiz 2'. The undercard however, is just as explosive.

In the heavyweight match-up, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pit-Bull” Arlovski (11-5) takes on Brazilian Marcio Cruz (2-1).

Arlovski is still one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. He lost his UFC title to current champ Tim Sylvia.

The Pit-Bull, originally from Minsk, Belarus, held the title for 14 months. Over that 14 month reign, there was no question that Arlovski was one of the best, if not the best, heavyweight on the planet. He has the right mix of knockout punching power and an excellent ground technique.

It looked like his reign would last as long as he wanted it to. Arlovski looked unbeatable, destroying Justin Eilers and wiping out Paul Buentello in a mere 15 seconds.

But on April 15th, in UFC 59, Arlovski got a reality check in the form of Tim Sylvia, who Arlovski had previously beaten in a one round submission back in May 2005. It was almost a carbon copy opening of their first fight, with Arlovski dropping Sylvia hard with a right hand, Sylvia however, got up, and busted Arlovski with an uppercut to the jaw. Arlovski dropped to the canvas, and with that, he was an ex-champion. Tim the ‘The Maine-iac’ Sylvia had beaten him.

This shook up the heavyweight division, and some thought that Sylvia had scored a lucky win against the seemingly unbeatable Arlovski. A rematch was lined up in UFC 61, dubbed "Bitter Rivals" in July 2006.

But Arlovski lost again to Sylvia, this time by unanimous decision. It seemed that the one-time unbeatable ‘Pitbull’ had lost his bite.

Arlovski has got time to comeback and regain his title; at just 27 years old, he’s still relatively young. A couple of quality wins should put him back in the title picture sooner rather than later.

So this is the start of his comeback, and first up is Brazil’s Marcio Cruz. Cruz is no walkover, as shown by his stoppage of Frank Mir in February.

Saturday night, December 30, UFC 66 Arlovski is going to show the world that he is back; tougher and better than ever.

UFC 66 Liddell Vs Ortiz

On December 30th we will get to see former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion take on the current champ Chuck Liddell in UFC 66. This promises to be an exciting match up of epic proportions.

Once upon a time Tito Ortiz was the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. In 1999 Ortiz fought Frank Shamrock for the UFC Middleweight (200 pound) title at UFC 22, losing what turned out to be an epic battle. Following the victory, Shamrock retired and vacated the title. The Middleweight title was renamed the Light Heavyweight title and Ortiz was chosen along with Wanderlei Silva as the top contenders. Ortiz defeated Silva in the title fight at UFC 25. Ortiz became the champion by a unanimous decision. Ortiz went on to successfully defend the belt five times in the following three years, defeating Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Lion's Den head Ken Shamrock. Due to reported contract disputes with the UFC Ortiz Ortiz then refused to defend his title.

The UFC management then created an Interim Light Heavyweight. Ortiz’s good friend and training partner Chuck Liddell was making his mark in the Light Heavyweight division and was hoping for a shot at the title. However his hopes took a knock back when he lost to a 39 year old Randy Couture in UFC 43 when they battled for the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Title.

Then in UFC 44, Ortiz fought Randy Couture for the Undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight Title. Ortiz was the heavy favorite. Randy Couture however, went on to win this battle, stripping Ortiz of his belt and scoring a unanimous decision to become UFC's Undisputed Light-Heavyweight Champion at age 40.

In UFC 47, Ortiz and Liddell finally got it on and fought for the first time to battle it out for the # No. 1 contender spot to fight UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Randy Couture. Liddell won this bout with a series of devastating blows. In UFC 52 Liddell got his shot at the title. In their second battle Liddell defeated Randy Couture and became the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Liddell went on to defend his title against some formidable opponents.

Ortiz returned to the UFC after an extensive absence and dominated in a series of impressive wins against Forrest Griffin and Ken Shamrock. Ortiz is on a five fight win streak with 2 TKOs and 3 decision wins. He wants nothing more than to beat his old training partner on December 30th, and get the belt back in the process.

Chuck Liddell has won his last 6 fights by KO or TKO. Only one of those fights went past the 2nd round. He will do everything in his power to hang onto the title. UFC 66 is going to be the fight of the year. Two of the UFC’s most exciting fighters, back in the ring for one hell of a rematch.

UFC 66: LIDDELL VS. ORTIZ 2 will be LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV – Saturday, December 30th on Pay-Per-View and on UFC.com’s UFC ON DEMAND.