UFC 75
Encyclopedia
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was a mixed martial arts
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2
in London
, England
. The event was on Setanta Sports 1
in the United Kingdom
, TV4 Sport
in Sweden
, PPV1 in Ireland
, and offered on tape delay on Spike TV
for North America
n audiences. The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in Europe
, following UFC 38
in London, England, UFC 70
in Manchester, England, and UFC 72
in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
champion Quinton Jackson
and PRIDE Fighting Championships' 83 kg and 93 kg champion, Dan Henderson
. There were some discussion on whether the title fight would be for both the UFC and PRIDE titles or just the UFC title. UFC president Dana White
had remarked on July 2, 2007,
He had since changed that stance, and on July 10, 2007 stated:
By October 2007, Pride Worldwide LLC, sister company to UFC promoters Zuffa, would abandon plans to continue PRIDE as an active promotion.
British
light heavyweight Michael Bisping
, who won The Ultimate Fighter 3
contest in 2006, fought Team Punishment's Matt Hamill
, who rivaled Bisping during the taping of The Ultimate Fighter 3. Also scheduled was a heavyweight
bout between PRIDE and K-1
veteran Mirko Filipović
and French
Muay Thai
kickboxer Cheick Kongo
. Anthony Johnson
was scheduled to face Jess Liaudin, but was forced to pull out due to a hand injury.
At the time, UFC 75 had achieved the highest recorded ratings for any mixed martial arts broadcast in North America, drawing a total of 4.7 million viewers (5.93 million at its peak) and beating out the previous record held by the UFC's Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. The mark would be eclipsed later by CBS
's EliteXC: Primetime
.
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The event was held September 8, 2007 at The O2
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The event was on Setanta Sports 1
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, TV4 Sport
TV4 Sport
TV4 Sport is a Swedish sports television channel owned by television company TV4 AB, with the tabloid news paper Expressen owning a minor share.- History :The channel was originally owned by Expressen who launched the channel on 17 March 2005...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, PPV1 in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and offered on tape delay on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
for North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n audiences. The event was the fourth event held by the UFC in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, following UFC 38
UFC 38
UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, on July 13, 2002...
in London, England, UFC 70
UFC 70
UFC 70: Nations Collide was the second UFC event held in the United Kingdom, and the first in Manchester on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The first UFC event in the UK was UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13, 2002. UFC 70 was also only the seventh UFC event held outside the United States, and the...
in Manchester, England, and UFC 72
UFC 72
UFC 72: Victory was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place Saturday, 16 June 2007 at The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland.-Background:...
in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Background
The main event was a title unification match between UFC light heavyweightLight Heavyweight (MMA)
The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....
champion Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
and PRIDE Fighting Championships' 83 kg and 93 kg champion, Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson
Daniel Jeffery Henderson, is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion...
. There were some discussion on whether the title fight would be for both the UFC and PRIDE titles or just the UFC title. UFC president Dana White
Dana White
Dana White is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship , a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.- Biography :...
had remarked on July 2, 2007,
"No. What we’re doing with that thing is we’re respecting both (the UFC and PRIDE) titles. The UFC title is the UFC champion and we’re respecting Dan as the PRIDE champion. Quinton will walk out with his belt if Dan wins and vice versa."
He had since changed that stance, and on July 10, 2007 stated:
"It will absolutely be a unification bout. We have to respect Henderson's titles. He knocked out Wanderlei SilvaWanderlei SilvaWanderlei César da Silva , nicknamed "The Axe Murderer", is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who has competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American based Ultimate Fighting Championship . Silva is known for his aggressive fighting style with the majority of his fights ending in...
and had the 185-pound championship. When he fights "Rampage", they both have belts. Why should Dan Henderson get the UFC title if "Rampage" can't get the PRIDE titles? It makes one of them the undisputed guy."
By October 2007, Pride Worldwide LLC, sister company to UFC promoters Zuffa, would abandon plans to continue PRIDE as an active promotion.
British
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
light heavyweight Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light...
, who won The Ultimate Fighter 3
The Ultimate Fighter 3
The Ultimate Fighter 3 was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of Ultimate Fight Night 4. The season featured sixteen fighters with still-feuding former champion Tito Ortiz and...
contest in 2006, fought Team Punishment's Matt Hamill
Matt Hamill
Matthew S. Hamill is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York...
, who rivaled Bisping during the taping of The Ultimate Fighter 3. Also scheduled was a heavyweight
Heavyweight (MMA)
The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...
bout between PRIDE and K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
veteran Mirko Filipović
Mirko Filipovic
Mirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...
and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
kickboxer Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
. Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson (fighter)
Anthony Kewoa Johnson is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.-Amateur wrestling:...
was scheduled to face Jess Liaudin, but was forced to pull out due to a hand injury.
At the time, UFC 75 had achieved the highest recorded ratings for any mixed martial arts broadcast in North America, drawing a total of 4.7 million viewers (5.93 million at its peak) and beating out the previous record held by the UFC's Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter. The mark would be eclipsed later by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's EliteXC: Primetime
EliteXC: Primetime
EliteXC: Primetime was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Elite Xtreme Combat taking place on May 31, 2008 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main card aired live on CBS, marking the first time a MMA event aired in primetime on major American network television...
.
Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout:
Jess LiaudinJess LiaudinJess Liaudin is a French mixed martial artist who currently fights out of London, England. Jess trained in martial arts from eight years old; in karate initially and then moving on to kickboxing....
vs.
Anthony TorresAnthony Torres (fighter)Anthony Torres is an American mixed martial artist fighting out of Kailua, Hawai'i. Torres was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Team Franklin, but lost his first fight on the show against would-be welterweight finalist Luke Cummo and was eliminated...
- Liaudin defeated Torres via TKO (punches) at 4:10 of round 1. This bout also aired on the live pay-per-view broadcast.
- Lightweight bout:
Dennis SiverDennis SiverDennis D. Siver ; born January 13, 1979) is a Russian-German mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of July 2011, Siver is ranked as the #8 lightweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly...
vs.
Naoyuki KotaniNaoyuki KotaniNaoyuki Kotani is a Japanese mixed martial artist, who competes in the lightweight division. He has fought in a number of different organizations including the Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship....
- Siver defeated Kotani via KO (punch) at 2:04 round 2.
- Light heavyweight bout:
Thiago Silva vs. 
Tomasz Drwal
- Silva defeated Drwal via TKO (punches) at 4:23 of round 2.
- Lightweight bout: Gleison TibauGleison TibauJanigleison Herculano Alves, better known as Gleison Tibau is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is one of the largest lightweights in MMA, weighing up to 183 pounds by the time he enters the cage.-Mixed martial arts:He was brought up...
vs.
Terry EtimTerry EtimTerence Lee "Terry" Etim is an English mixed martial artist and Thai boxer who trains with Team Kaobon and RFT. He is trained by Colin Heron and Marcelo Brigadeiro...
- Tibau defeated Etim via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).
Main card
- Light heavyweight bout:
Alessio SakaraAlessio SakaraAlessio Sakara is an Italian mixed martial artist and boxer, who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Middleweight Division. Sakara is also a Former World Junior Boxing Contender. He holds notable wins over Elvis Sinosic, Thales Leites, James Irvin.-Background:Sakara was born...
vs. Houston AlexanderHouston AlexanderHouston Alexander is an American professional mixed martial artist, who fights as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He also works as a DJ in North Omaha, Nebraska...
- Alexander defeated Sakara via TKO (knee and punches) at 1:01 of round 1.
- Welterweight bout: Paul TaylorPaul Taylor (fighter)Paul Simon Taylor is an English mixed martial artist from Walsall. He stands 6'0" and weighs . He has fought regularly for Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds notable wins over Jess Liaudin and Gabe Ruediger....
vs. Marcus DavisMarcus DavisMarcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...
- Welterweight bout:
- Davis defeated Taylor via submission (armbar) at 4:14 of round 1.
- Heavyweight bout:
Mirko FilipovićMirko FilipovicMirko Filipović is a former Croatian heavyweight kickboxer, mixed martial artist, politician, and law enforcement officer. Filipović was a member of the Croatian Parliament from 2003 through 2007...
vs. Cheick KongoCheick KongoCheick Guillaume Ouedraogo , more commonly known as Cheick Kongo, is a professional French heavyweight mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
- Heavyweight bout:
- Kongo defeated Filipović via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28).
- Light heavyweight bout: Michael BispingMichael BispingMichael Gavin Joseph Bisping is an English mixed martial artist born in Cyprus but living in Clitheroe, Lancashire. He currently fights as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, former Cage Rage light...
vs. Matt HamillMatt HamillMatthew S. Hamill is a retired American wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in wrestling while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York...
- Light heavyweight bout:
- Bisping defeated Hamill via split decision (29–28, 27–30, 29–28).
- UFC Light Heavyweight & PRIDE Middleweight Championship unification bout: Quinton JacksonQuinton JacksonQuinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
(UFC Champion) vs. Dan HendersonDan HendersonDaniel Jeffery Henderson, is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight and Middleweight champion...
(PRIDE Champion)
- UFC Light Heavyweight & PRIDE Middleweight Championship unification bout:
- Jackson defeated Henderson via unanimous decision (48–47, 49–46, 49–46) to become the unified light heavyweight champion.
Bonus awards
After the event's conclusion, the UFC awarded $40,000 to each of the fighters who receive one of these three awards.- Fight of the Night: Marcus DavisMarcus DavisMarcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...
vs. Paul TaylorPaul Taylor (fighter)Paul Simon Taylor is an English mixed martial artist from Walsall. He stands 6'0" and weighs . He has fought regularly for Ultimate Fighting Championship. He holds notable wins over Jess Liaudin and Gabe Ruediger....
- Submission of the Night: Marcus DavisMarcus DavisMarcus Paul Davis , is an Irish-American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a welterweight. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 2 on Spike TV. He holds notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Taylor, Jonathan Goulet, and Shonie Carter.-Boxing career:Marcus began boxing at 14...
- Knockout of the Night: Houston AlexanderHouston AlexanderHouston Alexander is an American professional mixed martial artist, who fights as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He also works as a DJ in North Omaha, Nebraska...