UFC 75
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 American 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.
Background
The main event was a title unification match between UFC light heavyweight 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,
"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 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."
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.
Results
Preliminary card
* Welterweight bout: France Jess Liaudin vs. United States Anthony Torres
Liaudin wins via TKO due to strikes at 4:10 of the first round. This preliminary bout was not aired on the pay-per-view broadcast.
* Lightweight bout: Germany Dennis Siver vs. Japan Naoyuki Kotani
Siver wins via knockout at 2:04 of the second round. This preliminary bout was aired on the pay-per-view broadcast.
* Light heavyweight bout: Brazil Thiago Silva vs. Poland Tomasz Drwal
Silva wins via KO due to strikes at 4:23 of the second round. This preliminary bout was aired on the pay-per-view broadcast.
* Lightweight bout: Brazil Gleison Tibau vs. England Terry Etim
Tibau wins via unanimous decision after three rounds. This preliminary bout was not aired on the pay-per-view broadcast.
Main card
* Light heavyweight bout: United States Houston Alexander vs. Italy Alessio Sakara
Alexander wins via TKO due to strikes at 1:01 of the first round.
* Welterweight bout: United States Marcus Davis vs. England Paul Taylor
Davis wins via armbar at 4:14 of the first round.
* Heavyweight bout: Croatia Mirko Cro Cop vs. France Cheick Kongo
Kongo wins via unanimous decision after three rounds. All three judges scored the bout 29–28.
* Light heavyweight bout: England Michael Bisping vs. United States Matt Hamill
Bisping wins via split decision after three rounds. Two judges scored the bout 29–28 in favor of Bisping while one judge scored it 30–27 in favor of Hamill.
* UFC Light Heavyweight Championship UFC-Pride unification bout: United States Quinton Jackson (uc) vs. United States Dan Henderson (pc)
Jackson wins a unanimous decision after five rounds to become the unified light heavyweight champion. The judges scored the bout 48–47, 49–46, 49–46.
- Fight of the Night: United States Marcus Davis vs. England Paul Taylor
- Submission of the Night: United States Marcus Davis
- Knockout of the Night: United States Houston Alexander
