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.

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