On this day in 2006, Chuck Liddell rematched and beat Tito Ortiz for the light heavyweight title

It has been 16 years since UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz competed in their highly anticipated rematch headlined UFC 66, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Liddell defeated Ortiz in the main event via third-round TKO to retain his UFC light heavyweight championship. The event was a massive success for the promotion as it generated 929,000 pay-per-view buys and their $5.397 million gate was the highest in history at the time.

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" came off back-to-back decisive wins against UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock that extended his winning streak to five straight wins. Meanwhile, "The Iceman" was riding a six-fight winning streak that included three title defenses.

#OnThisDay in 2006: Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz rematched for the light heavyweight belt!

📺 Watch again on @UFCFightPass now! https://t.co/zNQ51jvBoN

Liddell and Ortiz's first encounter took place at UFC 47 with a similar result. "The Iceman" earned a second-round knockout win after finishing "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" after an onslaught of strikes.

Both their respective UFC careers took a turn for the worse after that fight as "The Iceman" earned only one win in his next six bouts, while Ortiz earned only one win in his next eight bouts before leaving the promotion.

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz competed in a trilogy bout in 2018

Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 results: Tito Ortiz knocks out Chuck Liddell in first round mmafighting.com/2018/11/25/181… https://t.co/X73epRywIX

Despite being 49-years-old and retired for seven years, Chuck Liddell returned for one more clash with his foe Tito Ortiz at the first and only Golden Boy Promotions event at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

The trilogy bout was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 115, after the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter season 11 that saw both serve as opposing coaches. However, Ortiz was forced to withdraw due to having neck surgery and was replaced by former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, who handed "The Iceman" his third-straight knockout loss.

With that in mind, the Golden Boy Promotions event was heavily criticized and concluded with "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" avenging his losses and finally earning a win against "The Iceman."

Following the bout, Ortiz competed once more against former WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio at Combate Americas 51, where he submitted the former WWE World Heavyweight champion via rear-naked choke in the first round.