| UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 8, 2007 | |||
| Venue | The O2 Arena | |||
| City | London,United Kingdom | |||
| Attendance | 16,235[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2.7 million[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion was amixed martial arts event held by theUltimate Fighting Championship. The event was held September 8, 2007, atThe O2 inLondon,United Kingdom.[2]
The event was the fourth event held by the UFC inUnited Kingdom, followingUFC 38 inLondon,UFC 70 inManchester, andUFC 72 inBelfast.
The event aired onSetanta Sports 1 in theUnited Kingdom,TV4 Sport inSweden,[3] PPV1 inIreland, and presented via tape delay onSpike TV for North American audiences.[4]
The main event was a title unification match betweenUFC Light Heavyweight ChampionQuinton Jackson andPRIDE 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 presidentDana White 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."[5]
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 outWanderlei Silva 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."[6]
By October 2007, Pride Worldwide LLC, sister company to UFC promotersZuffa, would abandon plans to continue PRIDE as an active promotion.
British Light HeavyweightMichael Bisping, who wonThe Ultimate Fighter 3 contest in 2006, fought Team Punishment'sMatt Hamill, who rivaled Bisping during the taping ofThe Ultimate Fighter 3. Also featured was aheavyweight bout betweenPRIDE andK-1 veteranMirko Cro Cop andFrenchMuay ThaikickboxerCheick Kongo.
Anthony Johnson was scheduled to faceJess Liaudin, but was forced to pull out due to a shoulder injury.[7]
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'sOrtiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter.[8] The mark would later be beaten byCBS'sEliteXC: Primetime.
| Main card (Spike TV) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Quinton Jackson | def. | Dan Henderson | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Light Heavyweight | Michael Bisping | def. | Matt Hamill | Decision (split) (29–28, 27–30, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Cheick Kongo | def. | Mirko Cro Cop | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Marcus Davis | def. | Paul Taylor | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 4:14 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Houston Alexander | def. | Alessio Sakara | TKO (knee and punches) | 1 | 1:01 | |
| Preliminary card | |||||||
| Lightweight | Gleison Tibau | def. | Terry Etim | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Thiago Silva | def. | Tomasz Drwal | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:23 | |
| Lightweight | Dennis Siver | def. | Naoyuki Kotani | KO (punch) | 2 | 2:04 | |
| Welterweight | Jess Liaudin | def. | Anthony Torres | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:10 | [b] |
After the event's conclusion, the UFC awarded $40,000 to each of the fighters who receive one of these three awards.[9]
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