Chuck Liddell

Chuck Liddell will fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 in the main event in April.  Chuck Liddell recently was TKO'd in September by Rashad Evans.  Shogun just beat Mark Coleman last night at UFC 93.

Both of these fighters were considered the best of strikers in the Light Heavyweight division as recently as two years ago.  Losses and injuries to both fighters have many questioning whether they are the elite fighters they once were.

Liddell was set to fight Rua last summer but a knee injury suffered by Shogun forced him out of the event.  Liddell quickly followed suit after a severe hamstring injury.

UFC 97 is scheduled to take place in April in Montreal.  It will be the UFC's second event in Canada.  We can expect to see the card full of hometown fighters.

UFC Event Tickets may be found at our store.

Probably not the best phrase to use for MMA.  Anyway.  Check out this article on Sherdog.  They talk about the UFC bringing back old matchups of UFC Fighters that have already been paired up and proven who the best of the two fighters are.  An example is the possibility of a matchup between Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, a fight we have seen three times and don't really need to see a fourth.

Sherdog also touches on the idea of Faber Vs. Pulver II in the WEC, a rematch of a fight from just a few months ago, a fight that was convincingly won by Faber.  I touched on that rematch in a previous article myself.

The point is, the UFC needs to make some new stars instead of recycling popular previous matchups.  There are definately enough mixed martial artists out there ready and willing (and capable) of getting into the Octagon with these veterans and putting on a good show.

I do have to say I'm looking forward to Rampage Jackson Vs. Wanderlei Silva III at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, despite Wanderlei having destroyed Rampage in their two previous matchups in PrideFC. I believe Rampage has a better shot at earning a decision against Wandy in the UFC.  Although I would never come right out and suggest that Wanderlei would lose.  )

The UFC is working out a deal to bring UFC 99 to Germany June 13th.  This is big news for German Mixed Martial Arts fans who have been waiting for years for this.

Apparently the UFC is trying to make Randy Couture Vs. Chuck Liddell 4 the headline.  It is not known whether the match would take place at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight.  Chuck Liddell has never fought at Heavyweight in the UFC but Couture has.  The two faced off at Light Heavyweight in their previous three bouts, two won by Liddell, the first won by Couture.

Couture would be a draw for the German fans as he spent four years stationed in Germany and speaks German.  The UFC would likely add more local draws to the fight card.

It is being reported by MMAJunkie that Chuck Liddell may face Anderson Silva next at UFC 95 in London.

Anderson Silva recently defeated Patrick Cote via TKO.  Liddell lost his last fight against Rashad Evans by knockout.

I am fascinated by the idea of a Liddell-Silva matchup.  Anderson Silva normally fights at 185lbs. and is currently the UFC Middleweight Champion.  He has fought at 205lbs and recently beat James Irvin in that weight class.  Liddell might be the UFC's most popular fighter ever, and held the UFC Light Heavyweight Title from April of 2005 until May of 2007.

I love Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell's style of fighting.  He is a counter puncher for the most part and has one of the best sprawls in MMA making him extremely difficult to take down.  This creates very exciting fights for fans and almost always end in a knockout of some sort (either for Liddell or his opponent.)

Anderson Silva is typically a counter puncher himself and has excellent Brazillian jiu-jitsu, having earned a black belt from the Nogueira brothers.

I don't believe this fight would make it anywhere near the ground.  These two would stand and duke it out with Anderson scoring the bulk of shots while Liddell would look for the big knockout punch.  I would hope Liddell would utilize his kicking in a fight like this as I believe he has become far to dependant on his big right hand.  Let's hope the UFC can make this fight happen.

The UFC put on a great event for UFC 88:Breakthrough this past Saturday.  Chuck Liddell faced Rashad Evans in the main event of the night where Liddell was favored to win.  Evans was able to knock Liddell out in stunning fashion in the second round with a beautiful overhand right.  It was the best single punch knockout I have witnessed. Liddell was out cold immediately and was saved by Herb Dean before Rashad could do anymore damage.

Rich Franklin managed to pick apart up-and-comer Matt Hamill for a TKO in the third round.  "The Hammer" seemed out-classed by the experienced Franklin even though it was Franklins first fight at 205 in several years.  Hammil did not have an answer for Franklin's take down defense or Franklin's striking.  Matt succumbed to a liver kick late in the third round.

Dan Henderson had his first win in the Octogan since his return beating Rousimar Palhares via uninamous decision.  Henderson came out and executed a conservative gameplan keeping the fight standing for the majority of the bout and not allowing the very dangerous Palhares to get him to the canvas to often.