UFC 59: California bound
The April 15, 2006, event, at what was then known as the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif., was a milestone in many ways for the UFC. The first company event in California attracted a sellout crowd of 13,814 that paid a live gate of $2.19 million. UFC president Dana White noted that it was the fastest sellout in company history.
It was the first paid gate in excess of $2 million outside of Nevada and was the fourth-largest in UFC history at the time.
Tim Sylvia regained the heavyweight title he had been stripped of when he knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the first round of their rematch.
Arlovski seemed set to successfully defend the belt when he caught Sylvia with a right that sent him to the floor hard. Arlovski appeared only seconds away from victory.
But Sylvia quickly recovered, scrambled to his feet and caught Arlovski on the chin with a right of his own. He made no mistake and finished Arlovski with ground-and-pound, reclaiming the championship.
Tito Ortiz defeated Forrest Griffin in one of the key bouts on the card. Ortiz dominated the first round and seemed about to blow Griffin out of the cage. But Griffin, the TUF 1 champion, quickly gained confidence and seemed to be in charge when the fight ended. Ortiz won a split decision, but Griffin's courage and resilience helped make him one of the UFC's most popular fighters.
NOTEWORTHY
The card was the UFC's first in California after the California State Athletic Commission had officially sanctioned mixed martial arts. At this stage, MMA was sanctioned in each of the three states where major fights were commonly held: California, Nevada and New Jersey.
The card set a record for the time with 425,000 buys on pay-per-view, besting the 400,000 buys done by UFC 57 two months earlier.
Scott Smith lost to Dave Terrell on a rear naked choke, but appealed the outcome to the CSAC. He claimed that referee Marco Lopez had ordered a stoppage and that he had stopped but Terrell had not. The CSAC, though, ruled against Smith. The injury-prone Terrell has not fought since.
RESULTS
Thiago Alves def. Derrick Noble, TKO, 2:54 R1
Jason Lambert def. Terry Martin, TKO, 2:37 R2
Devid Terrell def. Scott Smith, submission (rear naked choke), 3:08 R1
Karo Parisyan def. Nick Thompson, submission (strikes), 4:44 R1
Jeff Monson def. Marcio Cruz, unanimous decision
Evan Tanner def. Justin Levens, submission (triangle choke), 3:14 R1
Tito Ortiz def. Forrest Griffin, split decision
Sean Sherk def. Nick Diaz, unanimous decision
UFC heavyweight championship: Tim Sylvia def. Andrei Arlovski, KO,2:43 R1 (Sylvia wins title)
