9. UFC 66
A few years after the hugely successful UFC 40, Zuffa had an even bigger star on its hands. Chuck Liddell was the reigning light heavyweight champion and rode into the cage on the strength of six consecutive wins, all of them by knockout. Ortiz was trying the regain the title and exact revenge on “The Iceman,” who had cut him down with punches at UFC 47 a little less than three years earlier. Other stars -- Andrei Arlovski, Chris Leben and Forrest Griffin -- populated the card, but the main draw was Liddell.
UFC 66 on Dec. 30, 2006 was entertaining throughout, as only the opening bout between Christian Wellisch and Anthony Perosh went the distance. Liddell capped off the fireworks with his third-round technical knockout on Ortiz, but the real story was the level of success the event enjoyed. Once thought impossible, UFC 66 was the first Zuffa show to pull in more than one million pay-per-view buys.
Number 8 » Zuffa’s Acquisition Frenzy