Another night and another UFC in the books. Overall, I thought this was a great PPV card and pretty much every fight was worth watching. We got to see seven of nine fights, and unfortunately we missed the James Irvin vs Thiago Silva fight because it seems Irvin suffered a pretty nasty knee injury trying to stop from being thrown. Anyways, on to the recap.
- Chuck Liddell vs Quinton Jackson A good fight and I’m pleased with the outcome. Chuck fought his game plan and fought exactly how he fights most of his opponents. The punch that dropped Chuck is normally a punch that most fighters miss and Chuck capitalized on. Chuck landed the left hook body shot and started to move backwards when Quinton threw the bomb that connected on Chucks chin. Nine times out of ten in the past, that punch normally would have missed Chuck as he was falling back and the Iceman would have retaliated with his signature overhand right that normally knocks his opponent out. We’ve all seen it time and time again.
Not this time however. Jackson is a very skilled fighter and his standup game and movement have improved dramatically since teaming up with training Juanito Ibarra about 14 months ago. There really isn’t much to be said about this fight; it ended quickly and we all saw what happened. Everyone except for Chuck who wasn’t quite sure what happened to him after he woke up under ref Big Jon McCarthy.
- Quinton Jackson vs Dan Henderson will be a very interesting fight and I’ve got to give it some thought before I comment on it; I’m just very glad that Henderson has signed with the UFC. Chuck Liddell now has some interesting decisions to make regarding his MMA future. Is Chuck going to battle back in a now “stacked” light heavyweight division against the likes of Hendo, Shogun, Rampge etc…? And if we are going to see a Liddell vs Jackson 3 matchup, isn’t it safe to say that Rampage is at least somewhat in the Icemans head now, just like the Iceman is all over Tito Ortiz’s big melon?
This also puts MMA and the UFC in an interesting spot as I’ll again ask the question, is parity good for MMA? The UFC, and Chuck Liddell in particular have spent the last 4 weeks in the “good graces” of the public media with Chuck repeatedly being called “the baddest man in sport.” While I don’t think this loss tarnishes Chuck’s reputation to knowledgeable MMA fans, how will his loss be perceived in the public sporting media?
- Karo Parisyan vs Josh Burkman – I really enjoyed this fight and thought it lived up to its billing. Karo pressed the action and brought the “heat” and you can see Burkman start to tire very quickly early in the second round. Karo is a top 10 fighter in my book and he displayed that again last night. I really like Burkman as well, but I still think he wasn’t ready for someone like Karo and needed at least 1 more, probably 2 more fights before he fought someone on Parisyan’s level.
- Keith Jardine vs Houston Alexander – Man, oh man. One of the craziest, nastiest fights we’ve seen in the Octagon. Houston Alexander looks like a guy who picked up his fighting style while defending himself in a prison somewhere and he took all that agression out on Jardine. I can’t remember ever seeing a fight in which someone was litterally lifted off of there feet from an uppercut. It happened to Jardine not once, but twice. Alexender landed at least a dozen clean full-power shots to Jardines head and I’m surprised Jardine lasted as long as he did.
- Ivan Salaverry vs Terry Martin – Terry Martin looked very good in this fight and surprised me by wanted to take Salaverry down. Martin packs some heavy hands just like his doppleganger Mike Tyson and most would have thought Martin wanted to stand and bang. I have a feeling Martin was worried about the reach difference and decided to try some ground and pound. It was an unfortunate ended, as Salaverry was rattled from being slammed on his head. Looked like a little “ring-rust” to me and only fighting once in the past 2 years will do that to you.
- Kalib Starnes vs Chris Leben – This fight did nothing to excite me and I thought was pretty boring from the outset. There was a decent amount of action but I didn’t think anything special happened. I’m glad Leben lost and I hope the UFC finally lets him take his mouth and sloppy technique somewhere else.
The next six weeks are going to be very busy for the UFC and us MMA fans, so everyone should sit back and just enjoy the ride.
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Amber
eric
capt.ADK'er
Yael Grauer
itzFORT
Singh is King
Fizzlesticks
WTFH
Studog
i would have to say this was one of the best over all pay per views in a while. every fight was worth watching even the leben fight was alright.
I am not sure if this has been posted before, or if you’d like to link to this, but the Chuck VS Rampage fight is on this website
http://www.nerdonthe.net/chuck-liddell-koed-at-ufc-71/
Just thought your visitors might want to see it.
Chuck should have got less then rampage. Rampage knocked out the “unstoppable†fighter, and should have been awarded more for that fight. His next one will be a bigger pay day I suppose. $500,000 to LOSE is too much when rampage only got $450,000 to WIN.
@Boot
Doesn’t matter, to each a contract has been awarded, Rampage can go wash dishes at MCD’s if it’s not enough, but evidently it is enough for him and that’s all that matters..
Next up, FROSTY THE ICEMAN gets whipped by Rampage’s nemesis Wand… I am now more than ever convinced that Chuck fought level 3-4 fighters to remain dominant for 2 years and now anyone ranked 5 or better is gonna kill him, look at what #8 did to him.. Wand is #4 and Shogun, well.. yes Shogun is gonna kill any one of the top 5 guys.. period…
make a prediction on mmaweeklys gaaaay azzzzzz ranking system whos number one lhw now
Yea, well….
Current Bid: $9.99
Mma Glass Repo Antique
American Glass Decanter
Mint
That level 3-4 Tito also beasted wandi…
i got some more respect for the iceman now he said he was healthy and in shape and he just made a mistake no excuses but lets wait to see what he says in about two weeks ala GSP
Yea man, its annoying to hear excuses, chucks a standup guy and i dont think he would make excuses at this point in his carreer. I would LOVE to see the rubber match, tho id be going for Rampage again..
i just want to see who dana puts liddel against first maybe HOUSTON ALEXANDER man that guy was awesome on saturday
hehe i dont think Alexander will go too far, hes an athlete, but thats about it, id put him at about the level of Marvin Eastman that would be a slugfest man! heh
Isnt rampage supposed to fight Henderson next???
yeah i think that fight is already confirmed
alright guys got to go to work catch u later
@BV
NO RUBBER MATCH!!! That is a best 2 out of 3 thing.. and Jackson has already beaten Liddell 2 times. A rubber match would be if Henderson and Wand fought a 3rd time.. it’s justified…. first win was Wand, second was Henderson, third… rubber match to see..
I agree to a degree with what MMAKansas said. As long as Rampage is Champ, Chuck doesn’t deserve another shot at him or the belt. Now should Rampage lose to Henderson (or anyone else) and Chuck should win his next fight or two, then Chuck vs Rampage would be justified as a #1 contender match up with the winner getting a shot at whoever the Champ may be.
Yeah, id have to say I agree with MMAK too… lol ..
SUP DUDES …. DAMM CHUCK GOT HIS *** STOMPED
Hey Patrick,
Yea bro… told you it would happen, I didn’t think it would be as quick but yea..
LOL PRIDE FIGHTERS ARE TAKING OVER
@Patrick
Yes I believe so, not that I care either way .. people say not because of Cro Cop vs Gonzaga… but really you can’t say Gonzaga is a UFC boy, he was a newbie in the UFC when he fought Cro Cop so he was neither UFC nor Pride. . so yeah .. you are pretty on the mark Patrick..
I THINK WANDI WOULD WHOOP RAMPAGES *** BAD
Yeah, I agree…. hey Patrick did you see the first 2 Wand vs Rampage fights?
Wand beat the crap out of Rampage both times.. so yea Wand is 2-0 against Rampage in a bad ugly way ..
YEA I JUST WATCHED THE ONE WHERE RAMPAGE FALLS INTO THE ROPES LOL I THINK WANDI WILL BEAT CHUCKS *** THEN WANDI WILL FIGHT HENDERSEN
@ Patrick
I agree, if anyone deserves a rubber match it’s Wand, first title defense loss in 5 years .. c’mon..
WHAT WAS DENNIS SAYIN ABOUT CHUCK WHEN HE LOST????
YEA WAND BEAT THE **** OUTA RAMPAGE
Not much actually.. Dennis is probably monitoring this so I will let him respond .. but yeah, he just said basically that he is sticking with any and every fighter he has ever supported… and he gave Wand props for his mentoring activities.. and Chuck will be back .. pretty much it .. for the most part of what I caught ..
I FEEL FOR CHUCK HE WAS HUMBLE… HE JUST SAID HE GOT CAUGHT THAT WAS ALL
Well….. what else can the man say .. he got knocked out with one punch.. THE END… I mean there is not much to comment on, the fight lasted all of a minute or less…
Yea i felt for chuck too. Especially when he said to his kids “daddy is ok”. But i hope chuck comes back for at least one more fight. I t would be a shame for him to retire when ufc is expanding and becoming mainstream like it is now. I still think he can beat rampage,and i hope he does. As much as i like rampage i want chuck as champ, i like seeing him as the face of the ufc.
YEA MAN I LIKE THE EFFEN ICEMAN AND KNOW HE CAN BEET RAMPAGES EFFEN ***
it was soo freakin weird when he got hit with that punch, because every other fight THAT punch never lands, but it was like rampage threw it outta instinct and GOOD training and for the f%$# of sake he landed that ****, and to me chuck looked SOOOO much bigger than rampage. I thought chuck was gonna jump on him but i liked chucks gameplan at the beginning of the fight. But when rampage threw his arms up i knew chuck was gonna fall into rampages trap. And he did. And rampage got the knock out. That was the fourth time i seen chuck not fight his game and every time he didnt fight his fight he lost. DAMN CHUCK!!!!
NO ****
I must admit, Rampage was very well trained for this fight, he looked intense from start to finish .. chuck also looked confident at the beginning, and yeah, Rampage refused to chase Chuck, so he made Chuck take the offensive which gave Rampage countering opportunities, the ones Chuck generally utilizes to win..
Chuck will fight again. I think the Wanderlei Silva // Chuck Liddell fight is gonna be for a rematch against the winner of Henderson // Jackson ..
@kansas
so where does michael bisbing and rashaad evans play a role in this.
Towel boys.. lol
lol lol
what ranking in the world do you think chuck will fall to? I think about 4 or five
Really Rashad needs to get moved out of the “fight nights” and get on some top PPV cards against really good opponents like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira or Ricardo Arona… (that is if the UFC can get all that talent in there for real). At least let Bisping fight Ortiz or someone recognized, not Elvis Sinosic, that doesn’t constitute any type of title shot or a top ten spot .. so yeah, they both have a way’s to go ..
MMAKansas- Yeah…first title loss in 5 years for Wand. How many times did he actually DEFEND the belt during those 5 years? Chuck’s title reign was much more impressive.
Not … Gatties who did chuck fight???? exactly, nobodies, nobody in the top 5 contender ship for sure, Wand fought Cro Cop two times, he fought Rampage 2 times.. he has fought real competition .. crap man you cant be at the top for 5 years and not defend the title, other thing is Wand is only 30 and has 31 fights, whereas Chuck is like 37-38 and only has like 21 fights..
yeah Chucks fights with Babalu and Tito were real impressive, wow, those two are real contenders for the title… NOT…
First time Chuck fights a real contender, a Pride Fighter.. he get’s knocked out in less than a minute and can’t touch the guy .. says a lot Gatties..
I dont see chuck fighting till about beginning of the year or early 2008 mainly because zuffa needs to advertise the new aquires more before they start putting ALL the fighters against each other. I think they need to build on a foundation before they just start throwing pride fighters against the ufc fighters. Like maybe give wanderlei a shot at titty again. That could generate some good money and noteriety for wanderlei. Sort of go on the lines of that then start maybe around the end of 2008 it will be deep and zuffa would be unstoppable. But then come to think of it. the wandy-tity or the chuck-wandy would be good. Wandy already is known out here in the states givin the two times he called out chuck. So i think that could promote him and help the transition better, then add shogun in there and then gradually add them. But chuck i donno.
@Todd,
I’ve almost got the MMA HQ fighter ranking site finished. I finally was able to scrape the FC Fighter database and get all the fighter info, so in a few weeks the site should be up and you all will have a say in determining the top 10 rankings, not just the guys at MMA Weekly.
COOL DOC ITS ABOUT TIME LOL
@kansas, no that doesnt, chuck said it all, he just got caught, especially given how the first fight went, but that was a clean shot. Who you know that can take that shot? A direct shot to the chin. I think it was more chucks fault than rampages punch. It was a good punch but chuck came out the same way he fought everyone he lost to. Just that one punch rampage caught him. Wanderlei got got with the same punch from ol danny boy. regarless of the fact rampage is from pride. This man already beat chuck before so the pride thing has nothing to do with it. Im so tired of people saying PRIDE this pride fighters that….. Regardless of that fact from what goes down in the octagon between two fighters is just what happens. Everybody has a strikers chance in a stand up toe to toe fight, In my eyes.
YESIR!! GOOD DEAL DOC!
That is what im talking about doc!!!!!!!! Right on!!!!!!!!
@Todd
It’s all opinions anyways.. I said before and still beleive that Chuck was a lot of hype.. as far as the baddest man in the 205 goes.. think he is at best #4-#5 .. just my opinion .. been watching since 1994 .. that is that
@kansas comment 39, is it chucks fault that he fought who he fought? Is it chucks fault those fighters were overseas fighting? You cant say chuck fought nobody. He fought very tuff compettion to get to where he is at. Now im not saying chuck has fought the best of competitors. He fought who he had to fight. You know as well as everyone else knows chuck would step in the octagon and the ring with anyone. That is evadent when he went over to japan to fight, and he is 2 and 1 against pride fighters. That doesnt make him no less of a fighter nor should he get less credit for who he has fought. He lost his belt to a fighter that has already beaten him. If you look at it in the perspective you are looking at it in that doesnt say nothing. Now then does that make rampage a true champion then because he beat chuck for chucks belt,or even a elite “PRIDE” fighter.
I think that the 205 is owned by Shogun, Wand, Rampage, and Henderson .. they rule it.. period..
Yes….Well i think chuck can be in there, just because he beat ALL of the ufc top contenders, and we havnt seen what he can do against the others. I think he has a strikers chance against all of them. Now i dont know who will win all of those fights but i give chuck a chance. Hell they are all bad azz in my eyes. I want to see all of them fight.