Will the Liddell vs. Ortiz II Fight Elevate UFC Above Boxing?

2006 will end with a bang for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with a star studded pay per view fight card on Saturday night, December 30th. The much anticipated main event will feature Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell defending the title against "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz. The MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada is primed to be ready to roar with two of the top light heavyweights in the world fighting for the title. Liddell is widely recognized as perhaps the most dangerous fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA) in the United States.

Both men have equal measurements, last at just over six feet tall and weighing 204 pounds. "The Iceman" has not lost a UFC fight in over three years. In fact, the last Liddell fight to be decided by judges decision was the last fight he lost, to UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture in June 2003. He's been the Light Heavyweight Champion since April 2005 when he defeated Couture (and would later defeat him again in February 2006). Since winning the title, Liddell has had three successful defenses.

Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz I was way back in April 2004. Liddell won via technical knock out at UFC 47 in the second round. Ortiz wants back the belt he wore about six years ago. As always, his gameplan will be to use his wrestling ability to get Liddell on the ground and pound him into submission. He's known for his amazing conditioning and can last deep into the fight. Liddell on the other hand is one of the best strikers in the sport and will look to impose his will on Ortiz with kicks and jabs and his stiff punches.

Oritz has had one amazing year for the UFC. Back in April, he narrowly defeated Forrest Griffin via split decision. In fact, if you ask some fans, Ortiz should have lost the fight. That was the last real obstacle of a fight in Ortiz's way. His next two fights were against bitter rival Ken Shamrock. At UFC 61 in July, Ortiz pounded Shamrock on the mat to the point the ref had to stop the fight. They fought again, on Spike TV in October and Ortiz won via knockout. Both fights ended relatively early in the opening round.

The undercard will be led by some great fights. Forrest Griffin will battle Keith Jardine in another light heavyweight bout. Both are coming off wins and the winner of the fight could find himself earning a title shot against the winner of the main event in the near future. The fight should be a pure strike fest with both guys looking to land a big punch.

Another interesting fight on the card is in the heavyweight division. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei "Pit Bull" Arlovski returns to the ring to face Marcio "Pe De Pano" Cruz. Arlovski has not fought since losing his title during the summer. His specialty is grappling and he's known to be weaker with strikes. Cruz is coming off a loss from April and is a submission specialist. This should be the antithesis of Griffin/Jardine in the sense both fighters will be looking to apply a series of submission holds for the win. For Arlovski, this fight is extremely important if he wants to get his belt back in 2007.

Chris "The Crippler" Leben will make his UFC PPV debut when he fights Jason "The Athlete" McDonald in a middleweight bout. Leben is popular from his time spent on the premiere season of The Ultimate Fighter a few years ago. Since, he's only fought on Spike TV UFC shows. He'll be looking to land a solid punch and knock McDonald out. McDonald is also making his PPV debut; he is fresh off his first UFC win. He defeated Ed Herman on Spike TV in October via submission. McDonald is more into submissions and working from the clinch so there will be a clash of styles here.

The last scheduled PPV match is a light-heavyweight bout featuring Michael "The Count" Bisping and Eric "Ravishing Red" Schafer. Bisping is popular and has a large fan base from his recent time spent on The Ultimate Fighter. The native Englishman is being pushed and his PPV debut should be something to watch. He's 1-0 in the UFC with a victory in the U.F. Finale back in June. He's known to be a rather well rounded fighter although his strongest point may be his striking ability. Schafer is coming off his UFC PPV successful debut in August. He defeated Rob McDonald via submission, is specialty. Look for Bisping to attempt to keep the fight standing although he should be able to do well if Schafer is able to bring it to the mat. Bisping should be the crowd favorite so never underestimate the fan's ability to help a fighter through adrenaline.

Other fights scheduled for the night, though not planned to air on PPV include:

Tony DeSouza Vs. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves
Carmelo "The Fury" Marrero Vs. Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga
Yushin Okami Vs. Rory "Outburst" Singer
"The Hippo" Anthony Perosh Vs. "The Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch