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 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

Headlining UFC 106 will be a heavyweight title bout between two behemoths, champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin. Also featured on the card is the return of Tito Ortiz who will be facing off against Mark Coleman.

Baroni, like Ortiz, will be returning to the Octagon after taking some time away. He has a 13-11 record, including going 3-5 in his previous Octagon bouts. Baroni’s services were reacquired by the UFC after the New York native was released by Strikeforce.

Sadollah was the winner of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter at middleweight. After winning the show, his first non TUF bout in the UFC was twice delayed by injury before he dropped down to welterweight, losing to Johny Hendricks. Sadollah will be looking to get back in the win column and improve his professional record to 2-1.

Davis was last in action in June at UFC 99 in Germany, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Dan Hardy. Prior to the loss, Davis had put together back-to-back wins over Paul Kelly and Chris Lytle, after losing to Saunders’ last opponent, Mike Swick, at UFC 85. The Las Vegas event will mark Davis’ first fight on American soil since his April 2007 victory over Pete Spratt in Houston.

Saunders was also last in action at UFC 99 against Swick, suffering a second-round TKO that ended a three fight win streak he had been on since his time on The Ultimate Fighter. As a contestant on season six of The Ultimate Fighter he lost a decision to eventual finalist Tommy Speer.

Dent was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 9 where he lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Ross Pearson. In his last outing he won “Submission of the Night” honors at the TUF 9 Finale in June for his first-round submission of Cameron Dollar, his fourth-straight victory, improving his record to 19-9.

Sotiropoulos was eliminated from The Ultimate Fighter 6 after losing in the semi finals to Tommy Speer, but has rebounded to win three-straight in the UFC over Billy Miles, Roman Mitichyan, and, most-recently in August, George Roop. Sotiropoulos’ win over Roop marked the Australian’s lightweight debut and improved his record to 10-2.

More UFC 106: Lesnar vs. Carwin Coverage

Baroni (13-11) went 3-5 in 8 UFC bouts between 2001 and 2005, leaving the UFC following four-straight losses. Three-straight defeats to Frank Shamrock, Kala Hose, and Joey Villasenor in 2007 and 2008 caused Baroni to drop down to welterweight, where he won three-straight fights before falling to Joe Riggs in his last fight in June.

Sadollah (1-1) won TUF 7 last June with a first-round submission of CB Dollaway, but was out of action for over a year due to injuries before finally returning last month at UFC 101 to suffer a controversial first-round TKO loss to Johny Hendricks.

UFC 106, which airs live on pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is headlined by a matchup between heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin, and is also rumored to include Tito Ortiz vs. Mark Coleman and Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida.

For the latest UFC 106 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

Pictured: Amir Sadollah

“We wish Phil the best of luck and hope he can revive his career,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said Thursday in the announcement. “If he can, maybe one day, he can return and fight for us.”

Despite losing his last fight, the “New York Bad Ass” is apparently heading back to the UFC after winning three-straight bouts in 2008 after dropping from middleweight to 170-pounds, as Sherdog reports that a deal is in the works between Baroni and the UFC:

Phil Baroni has verbally agreed to a contract with the UFC, according to a source close to the fighter. The veteran welterweight’s potential signing will undoubtedly raise a few eyebrows as well as shed some light on the brewing feud between the UFC and rival promotion Strikeforce…

A source close to the UFC intimated more signings might be on the horizon as fighters complete their Strikeforce contracts.

Baroni (13-11) went 3-5 in 8 UFC bouts between 2001 and 2005, leaving the UFC following four-straight losses. Three-straight defeats to Frank Shamrock, Kala Hose, and Joey Villasenor in 2007 and 2008 caused Baroni to drop down to welterweight, where he won three-straight fights before falling to Riggs.

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

8,867 fans attended the Showtime-televised event at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Following the win, which improved Shields’ record to 23-4-1, the former EliteXC welterweight champion called for a middleweight title bout against Strikeforce champ Cung Le. Le, however, is not expected to defend his title for the indefinite future while pursuing a movie career and Shields may be forced to face another opponent for an interim title before Le returns. Lawler, a former EliteXC middleweight champion, falls to 18-5 following the defeat.

Heavyweight contender Brett Rogers needed just 22-seconds to knockout Andrei Arlovski with a flurry of punches in the Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields co-headliner. Rogers, who improved to 10-0 with the win, will next meet Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on a future Strikeforce card, while Arlovski’s future is less certain after falling to 15-7 with his second-straight knockout loss.

In other main card action, Nick Diaz overwhelmed Scott Smith with punches over two full rounds before forcing Smith to tap to a rear naked choke in the third and Joe Riggs and Mike Whitehead picked up unanimous decision victories over Phil Baroni and Kevin Randleman respectively.

SEE ALSO: Carano-Cyborg, Thomson-Melendez II Set For August 15 Strikeforce Event

The Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields results were:

• Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1. 2:02
• Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski via KO (punches) — Round 1, 0:22
• Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 1:41
• Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jesse Finney def. Josh Bumgarner via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 1:55
• Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:05
• Booker DeRousse def. James Wade via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:06
• Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 4:20
• Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia via DQ (illegal knee) — Round 1, 3:26
• Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:18

[Pictured: Jake Shields]

The event’s preliminary card is scheduled to begin at 7:45pm ET with the main, Showtime-televised card, headlined by a catchweight showdown between Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields, commencing at 10pm ET.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com all night for live results, plus stop by after the fights for extensive post-fight coverage.

STRIKEFORCE: LAWLER VS. SHIELDS RESULTS

• Jake Shields def. Robbie Lawler via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1. 2:02
• Brett Rogers def. Andrei Arlovski via KO (punches) — Round 1, 0:22
• Nick Diaz def. Scott Smith via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 3, 1:41
• Joe Riggs def. Phil Baroni via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Mike Whitehead def. Kevin Randleman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jesse Finney def. Josh Bumgarner via submission (kimura) — Round 1, 1:55
• Mike Kyle def. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 4:05
• Booker DeRousse def. James Wade via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:06
• Tyron Woodley def. Sal Woods via submission (north-south choke) — Round 1, 4:20
• Lucas Lopes def. Scott Ventimiglia via DQ (illegal knee) — Round 1, 3:26
• Pat Benson def. Dave Cochran via submission (triangle choke) — Round 1, 2:18

[Pictured: Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields]

The official Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields weigh-in results were:

MAIN CARD

• Robbie Lawler (182.75) vs. Jake Shields (181.75)
• Andrei Arlovski (244) vs. Brett Rogers (262)
• Nick Diaz (179) vs. Scott Smith (179.5)
• Phil Baroni (168.75) vs. Joe Riggs (170)
• Kevin Randleman (204) vs. Mike Whitehead (206)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Josh Bumgarner (173.5) vs. Jesse Finney (175.75)
• Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (205.5) vs. Mike Kyle (202.5)
• Booker DeRousse (204.25) vs. James Wade (205.25)
• Tyron Woodley (170.5) vs. Sal Woods (169.25)
• Lucas Lopes (186) vs. Scott Ventimiglia (185)
• Dave Cochran (153) vs. Pat Benson (155.75)

PHOTO GALLERY

Phil Baroni

Welterweights Phil Baroni and Joe Riggs are likely to meet on Strikeforce’s rumored June 6th event in St. Louis, according to Five Ounces of Pain.

According to the report, both fighters have been offered the matchup but neither has officially signed on for the bout.

Baroni (13-10), a former UFC fighter who left the promotion following four-straight losses between 2003 and 2005, dropped from middleweight to welterweight last year following three-straight losses to Frank Shamrock, Kala Hose, and Joey Villasenor. “The New York Badass” has found success at the new weight class, going 3-0 at 170-pounds with victories over Scott Jansen, Ron Verdadero, and Olaf Alfonso.

Riggs (29-10) was offered a UFC title shot against Matt Hughes in 2005 following back-to-back wins, but failed to make weight for the fight then lost to Hughes in a non-title matchup. After going 2-2 in his next 4 UFC bouts with wins over Nick Diaz and Jason Von Flue as well as losses to Mike Swick and Diego Sanchez, “Diesel” was cut from the promotion. Since leaving he’s gone 4-2, most-recently defeating Luke Stewart via second-round TKO at Strikeforce: Destruction last November. He was originally slated to fight June 6th headliner Jake Shields on April 11th, but the matchup was scrapped after Shields was instead tapped to fight Robbie Lawler.

Riggs went on an expletive-filled rant earlier today in an interview with Ariel Helwani at Versus.com (uncensored version available at Fightlinker) regarding Shield’s decision to fight Lawler because a fight against Riggs wasn’t “big enough”.

For the latest Strikeforce rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.