Liddell last tasted victory in the Octagon against Tito Ortiz. Will a victory Saturday night be enough to save The Iceman's career? Photo Courtesy: Zuffa, LLC
Does a Liddell victory even matter?
Even though the Chuck Liddell-Wanderlei Silva fight this Saturday is the most anticipated fight in UFC history, the outcome might not even mean anything.
Both fighters are coming off of two straight losses, but Liddell’s losses have been much more publicized and in far greater shocking fashion. His loss to Rampage Jackson came at a time when Liddell was the face of the UFC. It took Jackson only 1:53 to knock out Liddell and become champion. Many wondered how Liddell would rebound.
The answer came in September when Liddell suffered a split decision loss to Keith Jardine. Liddell looked disinterested in the fight and nothing at all like the warrior that had dominated the likes of Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort. Liddell showed no defense to Jardine’s kicks and looked to only land a knock out punch on Jardine that never came. He completely abandoned his kicks and never even tried to take the fight to the ground.
A loss to “The Axe Murderer” will be Liddell’s third in a row and could signal an end to one of the greatest careers in mixed-martial arts history.
So just what will a victory do for Liddell? It won’t make him the number one contender. Forrest Griffin and Rampage Jackson are set to do battle in June. Other contenders ahead of Liddell in the light-heavyweight pecking order are Keith Jardine, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and maybe even Dan Henderson if he decides to come back up to 205lbs. Fans of “The Iceman” can only hope for a Liddell victory and that he has the motivation to continue back up the ladder and maybe another title shot at the end of 2008.
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2 Responses to “Does a Liddell victory even matter?”
December 27th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Liddell needs this victory to revive his career. The last two losses were embarrassing. If he loses again, it’s the beginning of the end…or maybe it already is.
I’m really disappointed Matt Serra got hurt. I was hoping to see Hughes drop him. There is just something about Serra I’ve never liked. So obviously I’m hoping Hughes can win, so he can fight Serra later. Especially because Hughes has said he doesn’t have many matches left in him, so I’d like to see him go out on a high note.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:11 am
I think Wanderlei Silva is going to destroy Liddell because of one man: Randy Couture. Silva has been training with Randy since he came back to the US. You know he’ll be in top condition and Randy can give him pointers on what works against Liddell.
GSP hasn’t proven anything, at least me. Beating Matt Hughes again would go a long way. But I don’t see that happening. Hughes will take him to the ground and pound out a victory.
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