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As Saturday’s UFC 97 draws closer, all eyes will be on Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, who returns to The Octagon for the first time since September. With losses in 3 of his last 4 fights, Liddell’s bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the biggest of his career; it’s a fight that’s just as big for Shogun.
Liddell has only 1 win in his last 4 fights, that coming over Wanderlei Silva. His losses to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans have stuck out like sore thumbs on one of the most dominant records ever in MMA. Remember, before his KO loss to Rampage, Liddell had won 7 straight fights (including 2 over both Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture). So what’s been the difference, or has there been a difference in the way Chuck has gone about business.
I had a chance to talk with Liddell (which was an unreal highlight of my career) and go through a few of the issuse. I asked him about the discussion of him lacking committment to the sport, and he basically said it’s bunk. According to Liddell, it’s fans and media coming up with excuses as to why he’s been unsuccessful as of late. But the truth is, Liddell has been caught twice and lost a split decision. For him, he’s all right with that.
The split decision loss came to Keith Jardine, and I believe it was a good nod by the judges that night. He looked tentative in his fight with Rampage, but I believe he was winning his fight with Evans before getting caught with the crushing blow. Liddell told me he got just a little too anxious in those 3 losses, wanting to impress the fans and get back on the winning track just a little too much.
Here’s how I break it down. Liddell is still one of the most feared strikers in all of mixed martial arts, and that will never change. The punching power he possesses is always capable of a knockout or knockdown. His unorthodox style is still very troubling for most fighters, and while some have figured it out, it still serves him well. Liddell has been on record, whether in the interview I did or numerous others, that he’s still committed to the fight game. He told me he’s been training since early January and is itching to get back at it.
As for the fight itself, Liddell says he’s hungry. Well, Rua is going to be hungry too. He’s 1-1 inside The Octagon after a decorated career in PRIDE. Neither UFC performance has been impressive, his loss to Forrest Griffin or his win over Mark Coleman. So, you know Shoguna is going to be itching to look good, especially in a fight with a legend. Liddell told me he’s really worked hard on his take down defence, because you know Shogun is going to shoot and try and take this thing to the ground. Rua is a BJJ master, so you know that aspect of the game might come into play.
I’ll take Liddell in a good performance here. I don’t think we’ll see Rua get KO’d, but I think Liddell will do enough standing to pull out a decision in this fight. The rest of the card shapes up well as we know, and we’ll get to that throughout the week!
Well Pat, here’s how I’m going to weigh in on this entire Liddell – Rua debate.
Chuck still has some of the quickest hands in the business. He’s got knock out power from any position. Chuck’s take down defense is also fantastic, and you rarely see Chuck get floored. Here’s Chuck’s big problem: He’s been unable to adapt his game from being just a fierce counter-puncher. Chuck relies on other fighters throwing the first punch, and Chuck avoids and counters with a swift strike that usually stops the fight.
Many of Chucks latests opponents have identified this and have thrown leg kicks to chop him down and cut down on the threat over top with the counter punches. Rarely will you see a fighter stand in and toss the first strike against Chuck anymore, why play right into his wheel house?
Chuck is running into many of the same problems that Tito Ortiz ran into later in his career. When you’re a one dimensional fighter, other fighters will eventually find a way to shut you down. The other 205ers figured out Tito, and they’ve figured out how to neutralize Chuck now as well. He’ll be remembered as one of the greatest pure strikers of all time, but he is too far into his career to drastically alter his game plan and bring a new dimension to the table.
Just my two cents.
PS: Hey Jordan, good to hear from you. I like your comparison of Chuck to Tito, and I agree with you to an extent. You’re bang on with the leg kicks…Jardine won that fight because of his leg and body kicks. Sugar kind of bounced around and made sure he wasn’t engaging too much, and eveuntually caught an over-aggressive Liddell. In this fight though, I am not sold on the standup of Rua, so I believe he is going to try and go for the take down. Once he starts to shoot, I believe he’ll get caught…I’m hoping Liddell will have expanded his array for this fight.
- Jordan PWhat’s up Pat –
I’m gonna sort of disagree with Jordan P’s diagnosis a little bit. Chuck’s change in striking coach to Howard Davis Jr. will obviously alter his style just enough to keep them guessing for at least a couple more fights.
I REALLY like this match up for Chuck. He seems to have re-dedicated himself to training. He has superior cardio, power and wrestling. He will be able to keep Shogun at bay and honest with his longer reach and knockout power, when Shogun does attempt to shoot Chuck can keep the fight standing with his takedown defense.
No matter what we’ve seen from Chuck the last 3-4 fights, everyone knows that power is last thing to go. Chuck’s still got it and probably added to it with Davis Jr’s training. Rua will tire with his repeated (and failed) takedowns, eventually tiring because of his lack of stamina and that’s when he’ll make a mistake. Chuck’s still a killer.
I see Shogun going down by either KO or TKO in the 2nd round.
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As much as Anderson is the main event – why do I feel completely uninterested in this fight?! I don’t know. Possibly because Leites will simply be a stepping stone to the super fight everyone wants i guess. I don’t see alot of chance for Leites.
A couple of the undercards intrigue me, Cantwell v. Cane, Kang v. X Man (untelevised – arggh!) and Kongo v. Hardonk. That’s really the one I want to see. I hope Kongo can keep his agressive ways going and dominate. This fight will be the determining factor I’m sure to him being pressed into the big leagues. A win in dominating fashion and i’m sure talks of upper echelon of the division fights will follow. Im anxious to see how he’s progressing as a fighter.
Pat how do you see these fights I listed, panning out?
PS: The change in coach is huge for Chuck, and in listening to him in my interview and reading what he’s said, it’s really transformed his game. I just am not a believer in Rua anymore, he has no cardio, and his standup has seemingly regressed from PRIDE. I agree with what Jordan is saying, I just don’t think Rua has the tools to do what Jardine, Evans and Rampage have done.
I’m pissed that Kang won’t be on the main card…I friggin love that guy. And if Kongo wins, it’s tough to deny him a look at title contention, is it not?
- Ty