By Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

LAS VEGAS - Forrest Griffin rallied to score a split decision over Tito (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz in a battle of former light-heavyweight champions at UFC 106 on Saturday night.

As in their first fight, the 34-year-old Ortiz used his takedowns to build an early lead but faded and had nothing left in the third round. The judges scored Ortiz's comeback fight 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 for Griffin.

"I think we'll have to do a third (fight)," said Griffin

"Forrest was the better man tonight, I've got to give it to him," Ortiz said in the cage.

At the post-fight news conference, he had a slightly different story.

"I thought I won the fight, I pulled it off two rounds to one . . . Letting down fans, knowing that I came and I gave my heart and soul. To be robbed like that. It is what it is. I'll be back."

Said Griffin: "I thought I won."

In the co-main event before 10,529 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Josh Koscheck choked out welterweight Anthony (Rumble) Johnson at 4:47 of the second round.

"Tonight I was blown away by his performance," UFC president Dana White said of Koscheck.

Both main event fighters confirmed injuries in training. Griffin broke his foot and Ortiz was unable to spar after hurting his neck four weeks ago. He went for a wrestling takedown and landed on his head, leaving his arms and legs numb for a minute and a half. Ortiz said his doctor had told him not to fight, but he ignored the advice.

Otiz blamed his third-round letdown to ring rust.

The all-over-the-map scoring - one judge gave Griffin all three rounds while another awarded two to Ortiz - produced more head-scratching in the wake of question marks arising from main event wins by Lyoto Machida and Randy (The Natural) Couture the last two cards. White said he was exhausted by the ongoing issue of judging.

"It's terrible. These athletic commissions need to start looking at this and figuring out what they're going to do," he added. "It's wrong."

Ortiz won a split decision over Griffin the first time they fought at UFC 59 in April 2006. Ortiz dominated the early going then but Griffin rallied as the fight wore on and the margin of victory was probably a late Ortiz takedown.

The two had one draw between them in their last five combined fights. But both remain popular and each insisted they were revitalized going into Saturday's showdown.

It was Ortiz's first action in 18 months, following a messy exit from the UFC after UFC 84 and back surgery.

Griffin, 30, was badly in need of a win. He lost his 205-pound title two fights ago to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 and looked slow and sluggish in being humiliated last time out by middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 101.

Griffin (17-6) came out first to Chumbawamba's "I Get Knocked Down." Ortiz, sporting a black eye from training, followed with his trademark U.S.-Mexican flag to the sounds of Eminem.

Ortiz (16-7-1) took him down at the 1:20 mark but Griffin threw him off after a short time. Griffin got the better of a standup exchange and escaped another takedown attempt in a close round

Ortiz scored a takedown early in the second but Griffin got up again. Griffin sent Ortiz' mouthpiece flying with a straight kick to the face, only to be taken down again. And this time an Ortiz elbow cut him open by the right eye, before Griffin managed to reverse position as the round ended.

Griffin opened strongly in the third with kicks and punches. Ortiz was breathing hard and not doing much except absorbing blows. The final five minutes were all Grffin.

Ortiz's purse was a basic US$250,000 according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Griffin made the same, thanks to a $150,000 win bonus.

The commission figures do not tell the whole story since they do not reflect bonuses or any cut of the pay-per-view that may go to main event fighters.

Koscheck, one of MMA's bad boys, came out to boos and the jangling sound of "Higher Ground" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He soon showed he had more in his toolbox than the hard-hitting Johnson.

The first round was halted when Koscheck (16-4) took an illegal knee to the head, although he seemed to deflect some of the blow with his arm. Koscheck was on his knees at the time. Johnson (8-3) quickly apologized but he lost a point.

The doctor came in to examine Koscheck and had a lengthy talk with referee Mario Yamasaki but the fight resumed. Koscheck came out swinging and then took Johnson down.

In the second, it was Johnson asking for time after a poke in the eye - twice. The two slugged in out in the middle of the ring before Koscheck took him down again and improved his position, punishing a bloodied Johnson all the time, until he got the choke.

Koscheck then called out England's Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy, who is next up for Canadian champion Georges. St. Pierre.

"He ain't fought no one like me, guaranteed," Koscheck said of Hardy, who was sitting cageside. "I'm the No. 1 freaking contender in this division."

Koscheck earned $246,000, including a $53,000 win bonus, $70,000 for fight of the night, $70,000 for submission of the night, while Johnson made $87,000, including his $70,000 for fight of the night.

The card was the UFC's second in as many weeks, following on the heels of UFC 105 in Manchester, England.

The Vegas card had its share of problems ahead of time. Brock Lesnar's title defence against Shane Carwin was called off because of the heavyweight champion's illness, Mark (The Hammer) Coleman was injured in training and had to pull out of his scheduled fight with Ortiz while welterweight Karo Parisyan abruptly dropped off the card Thursday.

Light-heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, twin brother of heavyweight star Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, introduced himself to the UFC with a impressive knockout of fellow Brazilian Luiz Cane. Nogueira (18-3) had Cane (11-2-1) back-peddling after a big left and then felled him with another before finishing him at 1:56 of the first round.

Nogueira, whose cornermen included his brother and Silva, dominated Cane, a hard-nosed fighter with good power himself. Cane's only previous loss had been by disqualification against James (The Sandman) Irvin.

Little Nog made $170,000, including a $30,000 win bonus and $70,000 for knockout of the night, while Cane got $19,000 for his troubles.

Welterweight Amir Sadollah spoiled Phil (The New York Bad Ass) Baroni's return to the UFC, pounding out a decision over the game but outgunned veteran. Baroni was bloody and beaten by the end of a lopsided third round, but he was still standing.

The 33-year-old Baroni, who last fought in the Octagon at UFC 51 in February 2005, entered to "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood, clad in sunglasses and a flashy red robe. And he came out swinging, answering Sadollah's Muay Thai knees with nasty uppercuts. The 29-year-old Sadollah, a former surgical technician who won Season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter," weathered the storm and began to target Baroni with kicks, knees and elbows.

Baroni, who exited wearing his sunglasses, made $25,000 for the comeback, compared to $30,000 for Sadollah.

"This guy would not go down," said Sadollah, who shed some blood himself.

Super-sized welterweight Ben (Killa B) Saunders knocked out Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis, using vicious knees to fell the veteran at 3:24 of the first round.

Davis (21-7) had never been knocked out before, although he had suffered a TKO loss due to a cut.

At six foot three, Saunders (8-1-2) has five inches in height and 7.5 inches in reach advantage. He used all of it, repeatedly locking the 36-year-old Davis in a Muay Thai clinch and battering him with knees. Davis' face was lumpy and bloody by the time the punishment finally ended.

"I'm on top of the world," said Saunders, who used his knees to administer four facial fractures, including a fractured forehead and broken nose, to Brandon Wolff in a brutal win last December.

Saunders made $20,000, including $10,000 for winning, while Davis collected $27,000.

Middleweight Kendall Grove (13-6) trapped Jake Rosholt in a triangle choke at 3:59 seconds of the first round, dedicating the victory to his grandmother who died of cancer last week. Rosholt (6-2), a three-time NCAA wrestling champion, had rag-dolled Grove several times in the round before being caught in the choke.

Welterweight Paulo Thiago (12-1) won a decision over UFC newcomer Jacob (Christmas) Volkmann, a three-time all-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota. Thiago, a Brazilian special operations police officer, almost stopped Volkmann (9-1) at the end of the first round with a left-right combination but he was denied by the bell.

Hard-hitting welterweight Brian Foster (15-4) pounded his way to a second-round TKO over veteran Brock Larson (27-4) in a fight that saw Larson battered, dominated and penalized two points in the first round for illegal kicks.

American-based Brazilian lightweight Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1) and Japanese veteran Caol Uno (25-12-5) fought to a rare majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28) with a Camoes point deduction for an illegal kick crucial in the outcome. The 29-27 verdict surprisingly was for Uno.

American-based Australian George Sotiropoulos (11-2) put on a slick ground performance against Jason (Diamond) Dent (19-11), winning via armbar at 4:36 of the second round.