''UFC 61: Bitter Rivals'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event held by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

on Saturday, July 8, 2006. The event took place at the

Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by M ...

, in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Background

The main event was a Heavyweight Championship match between champion

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kn ...

and former champion

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

. This was the third time these fighters had met, they had split the first two meetings. The co-main event was the highly anticipated rematch of TUF 3 coaches

Tito Ortiz Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz (; born January 23, 1975) is an American mixed martial artist and politician. He is currently signed to the Combate Americas promotion. Ortiz is best known for his stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

and

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Cha ...

. It was announced during the event that Chuck Liddell would fight PRIDE star

Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...

in November if Liddell won his upcoming match against Renato "Babalu" Sobral at ''

UFC 62 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

''. Negotiations between the UFC and PRIDE failed however and the Liddell-Silva fight never occurred in November 2006. The two would eventually meet in December 2007 at

UFC 79 ''UFC 79: Nemesis'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), that took place on December 29, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main events featured the fight ...

. The number of pay-per-view buys for UFC 61 in the United States was approximately 775,000, which set a new UFC buyrate record and generated gross PPV revenue of approximately $30,960,000. The disclosed fighter payroll for the event was $686,000. With a live gate at $3,350,775, it nearly eclipsed the all-time mark for UFC events set at ''

UFC 57 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

''.

Results

Bonus awards

*Fight of the Night:

Joe Stevenson Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Wel ...

vs.

Yves Edwards Yves Ed'duvill Edwards (born September 30, 1976) is a Bahamian retired mixed martial artist, who is best known for competing in the UFC's Lightweight division, fighting 21 times in the promotion. A professional competitor since 1997, he also com ...

*Knockout of the Night:

Jeff Monson Oregon State Beavers Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American-Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the Heavyweight division. A professional competito ...

*Submission of the Night:

Hermes Franca Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orators ...

Reported payouts

Tito Ortiz: $210,000 Tim Sylvia: $120,000 Ken Shamrock: $100,000 Andrei Arlovski: $90,000 Frank Mir: $56,000 Joe Stevenson: $24,000 Jeff Monson: $20,000 Drew Fickett: $12,000 Josh Burkman: $10,000 Yves Edwards: $8,000 Hermes Franca: $8,000 Cheick Kongo: $6,000 Josh Neer: $6,000 Dan Christison: $5,000 Joe Jordan: $4,000 Anthony Perosh: $3,000 Kurt Pellegrino: $2,000 Gilbert Aldana: $2,000 Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $686,000

References

Sources

Mixed martial arts show results, Mandalay Bay, July 8, 2006 (PDF)
Nevada State Athletic Commission. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
UFC Fighter Salaries for 2006
(includes fighter salaries for UFC 61)
UFC 61 Surpasses $30 Million in Pay-Per-View Sales
*https://www.fightopinion.com/2006/07/20/ufc-61-payouts/ UFC 61 payouts

External links

UFC 61 cardUFC 61 website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ufc 061 Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2006 in mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts in Las Vegas 2006 in sports in Nevada