The first two rounds between the pair were close, as Ortiz wrestled Griffin to the ground several times and unloaded ground and pound while Forrest connected with punches and kicks on the feet, but Griffin dominated the third, battering Ortiz with strikes to earn the split decision with scores of 28-29, 30-27, and 29-28.

Griffin snaps a two-fight losord his ing streak and improves to 17-6 with the win, while the returning Ortiz, fighting for the first time in 18-months, falls to 15-7-1 after failing to record his first victory since 2006.

Excuses were aplenty after the bout, as Griffin said a broken foot hampered his performance in the fight, while Ortiz said his training was limited due to bulging discs in his surgically-repaired back as well as a facial fracture that resulted in a noticeable black eye.

The narrow decision and satisfying action means a rubber match between the former light heavyweight champions is likely, and both fighters indicated after the matchup that they were open to meeting again.

In the UFC 106 co-headliner, welterweight contender Josh Koscheck resorted to his wrestling to take out knockout artist Anthony Johnson, recovering from an illegal knee and powerful combination suffered in the first to force Johnson to tap to a rear naked choke late in the second round.

After the win, Koscheck, improving to 14-4 with his second-straight win, called out upcoming welterweight challenger Dan Hardy and plead for a rematch with title-holder Georges St-Pierre. Johnson falls to 8-3 and has his three-fight win streak snapped in the loss.

Also on the UFC 106 main card, Paulo Thiago grinded out a unanimous decision over newcomer Jacob Volkmann, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira made his UFC debut with a first-round knockout of Luiz Cane, and Amir Sadollah battered a return Phil Baroni en route to a unanimous decision victory.

In preliminary card action, Ben Saunders picked up a first-round knockout of Marcus Davis, Kendall Grove forced Jake Rosholt to tap to an opening-round triangle choke, Brian Foster recovered from two illegal strikes to take out Brock Larson via second-round TKO, Fabricio Camoes and Caol Uno fought to a majority draw after Camoes lost a point, and George Sotiropoulos submitted Jason Dent with an armbar in the night’s first fight.

The official results for UFC 106 were:

• Forrest Griffin def. Tito Ortiz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Josh Koscheck def. Anthony Johnson via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 2, 4:47
• Paulo Thiago def. Jacob Volkmann via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Luiz Cane via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:56
• Amir Sadollah def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ben Saunders def. Marcus Davis via KO (knee) – Round 1, 3:24
• Kendall Grove def. Jake Rosholt via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:59
• Brian Foster def. Brock Larson via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:25
• Fabricio Camoes vs. Caol Uno – majority draw (29-27 28-28 28-28)
• George Sotiropoulos def. Jason Dent via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 4:36

The returning Ortiz, who is fighting for the first time in 18-months, tipped the scale at 204-pounds, while fellow former light heavyweight champ Griffin weighed in at 205-pounds for their anticipated rematch.

Welterweight Anthony Johnson, who failed to make weight for his most-recent bout in October, successfully weighed-in at 170-pounds, while co-main event opponent Josh Koscheck came in at 171-pounds.

The card’s official weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD (PPV)

• 205: Tito Ortiz (204) vs. Forrest Griffin (205)
• 170: Josh Koscheck (171) vs. Anthony Johnson (170)
• 170: Paulo Thiago (169) vs. Jacob Volkmann (170)
• 205: Luiz Cane (205) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (205)
• 170: Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Phil Baroni (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• 170: Marcus Davis (170) vs. Ben Saunders (170)
• 185: Kendall Grove (186) vs. Jake Rosholt (185.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (non-televised)

• 170: Brock Larson (171) vs. Brian Foster (171)
• 155: Caol Uno (155.5) vs. Fabricio Camoes (155.5)
• 155: George Sotiropoulos (155) vs. Jason Dent (155)

Stop back to MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow for live UFC 106 coverage beginning at 8pm ET.

Pictured: Forrest Griffin

The UFC and Spike TV debuted the one-hour, commercial-free undercard broadcasts in September for UFC 103 when Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries and Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller were shown live, and continued the series last month with Pat Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk and Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer from UFC 104.

UFC 106 is headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin and also includes Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson, Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan, and Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah.

For the latest UFC news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

The card has undergone many changes due to injuries and illness, including the removal of the original headlining heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, which was replaced by the scheduled co-main event of Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin. That bout too underwent some changes, as Ortiz had originally been slated to face Mark Coleman who had to withdraw because of an injury, only to be replaced by Griffin, prior to the bout being elevated to main event status.

The current co-main event for UFC 106, Koscheck vs. Johnson, was only added to the card just recently, following the other changes to the top of the bill.

The now confirmed fight card for the event is:

MAIN CARD

• Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
• Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson
• Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
• Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis
• Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann
• Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
• Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster
• Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes
• George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent

Grove (10-6), the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3, had won two-straight over Evan Tanner and Jason Day before suffering a unanimous decision loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101 in August.

Rosholt (6-1) had his undefeated record snapped in his Octagon debut against Dan Miller in February, but rebounded at UFC 102 in August with a third-round submission of Chris Leben.

The UFC also confirmed on Saturday two previously-reported fights, Jon Fitch vs. Ricardo Almeida and Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett, which will be featured on the UFC 106 pay-per-view main card headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin and Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin.

For the latest UFC news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Kendall Grove

After stunning Florian several times over the first three rounds and stifling the challenger’s takedown attempts, Penn got a takedown of his own before taking Florian’s back. After softening him with kicks to the body, Penn secured a rear naked choke and Florian was forced to submit 3:54 into the fourth frame.

Penn (14-5-1) rebounds from a January welterweight loss to champion Georges St-Pierre by winning his fourth-straight fight at 155-pounds, while the loss for Florian (11-4), his first in nearly three-years, snaps a six-fight winning streak.

In the UFC 101 co-headliner, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva returned to the light heavyweight division and silenced his critics, following up back-to-back lackluster wins with a first-round knckout of former 205-pound champ Forrest Griffin.

After an aggressive start by Griffin that saw him miss with a head kick attempt, Silva tagged Forrest with punches, sending him to the canvas twice, and taunted him to attack, leaving his hands at his waist. As Griffin again pressed forward Silva backpeddled, but connected with a compact right that sent Forrest to the canvas for a third and final time as the referee immediately stepped in and stopped the fight.

Knocked unconscious by the awkward-yet-powerful punch, Griffin quickly returned to his feet and ran out of the Octagon while Silva celebrated his return to form. “The Spider” (25-4) extends his win streak to 11-straight overall, including 10-straight UFC victories, while Griffin (16-6) has now lost two-straight.

In other main card action, Aaron Riley, Ricardo Almeida, and Kurt Pellegrino all picked up unanimous decision wins, while Johny Hendricks knocked out Amir Sadollah in just 29-seconds in a controversial stoppage.

The complete results for UFC 101 were:

• B.J. Penn (c) def. Kenny Florian via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 4, 3:54
  UFC Lightweight Championship
• Anderson Silva def. Forrest Griffin via KO (punch) — Round 1, 3:23
• Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Johny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 0:29
• Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop via submission (kimura) — Round 2, 1:59
• Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) — Round 3, 3:37

Click here for more UFC 101 coverage.

The UFC lightweight champion Penn and challenger Florian both tipped the scales exactly at 155 pounds, while UFC middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin both weighed in at 205 for their light heavyweight matchup.

Welterweight Tamdan McCrory was the only fighter who visibly struggled to make weight, arriving at the scale still wearing his sauna suit, but didn’t require the one-pound allowance, weighing in right at the division limit of 170-pounds.

One of the lone surprises at the UFC 101 weigh-ins was The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah, who weighed in at just 166.5 pounds for his 170-pound welterweight matchup against Johny Hendricks.

The official weigh-in results for UFC 101 were:

MAIN CARD

• 155: B.J. Penn (c) (155) vs. Kenny Florian (155)
  UFC Lightweight Championship
• 205: Anderson Silva (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205)
• 185: Kendall Grove (185.5) vs. Ricardo Almeida (185)
• 155: Josh Neer (155.5) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (154.5)
• 170: Amir Sadollah (166.5) vs. Johny Hendricks (171)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 155: Shane Nelson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (154)
• 170: Tamdan McCrory (170) vs. John Howard (169.5)
• 185: Thales Leites (185) vs. Alessio Sakara (185.5)
• 170: Matthew Riddle (170) vs. Dan Cramer (169.5)
• 155: George Sotiropoulos (155) vs. George Roop (154)
• 170: Jesse Lennox (171) vs. Danillo Villefort (170.25)

Remember: Fighters are granted a one-pound allowance for non-championship bouts.

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Amir Sadollah

The UFC today announced the majority of the fight card for UFC 101: Declaration, which is set for August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Joining BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin on the pay-per-view main card will be Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah, Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove, and Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino.

Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley, John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory, Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle, Rob Emerson vs. George Sotiropoulos, and Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort were confirmed for the unaired preliminary card.

The only rumored bout that has not yet been officially announced is a middleweight fight between Thales Leites and Alessio Sakara.

Tickets for UFC 101: Declaration will go on sale next week.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC 101 news.

Amir Sadollah

The UFC on Monday confirmed seven additional bouts for UFC 101, which takes place on August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and features UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn taking on challenger Kenny Florian and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva returning to the light heavyweight division to take on Forrest Griffin.

Officially announced today were Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove, Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino, Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks, Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard, Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer, George Sotiropoulos vs. Rob Emerson, and Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC rumors and MMA news.

Kendall Grove

Middleweights Kendall Grove (10-5) and Ricardo Almeida (10-3) have agreed to square off at UFC 101 on August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Fight Hype was first to report the 185-pound matchup.

UFC 101 is rumored to be headlined by UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn against challenger Kenny Florian, with Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva and Brandon Vera vs. Matt Hamill also expected on the card.