With his knockout defeat this weekend at PRIDE 33 to Dan Henderson (22-5), Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1) is riding a two-fight losing streak for the first time in his storied 10-year professional career.
And, these aren’t your garden variety losses or close split decisions. We’re talking consecutive highlight real stoppages by Henderson and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
Of course, the two losses are to perhaps the top fighters in their respective weight classes in the world.
Regardless, “The Axe Murderer” is not supposed to get knocked out — not when PRIDE officials and its golden boy have been extremely vocal that he will crush UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell if the two ever meet.
According to an interview with the Canadian Press, UFC President Dana White is none too pleased with Silva’s recent performances.
Here’s a snip from White:
“I’m pissed off he [Silva] didn’t lose to Chuck. Not only are they [PRIDE] No. 2, they’re not the brightest bulbs on the porch either. I wanted that Wanderlei Silva fight so bad. I knew Chuck Liddell would knock him out. I knew it and it’s gone. I don’t know, we’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do with Chuck next.”
At UFC 61 in July 2006, White shocked the MMA world, parading Silva into the Octagon for a staredown with Liddell and promising a future showdown.
It never happened and White has had to walk around with egg on his face ever since. And, since that night, I’m fairly confident that White has not made any other public announcements during a pay-per-view (PPV) event.
That’s because he got burned bad.
His evident frustration with this saga appears to have reached a crescendo in this recent article. With the Silva fight completely wiped off the table — at least in the near-term — the options for Liddell at 205 aren’t all that thrilling.
Liddell has blown through most of the top competition in the UFC sans Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. However, Jackson appears to be destined for one more fight prior to a rematch with Liddell.
Granted, Liddell is the biggest name and draw in the UFC right now. But, who is going to shell out UFC 66-type scratch to watch “The Iceman” fight a former contestant from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) until Rampage is ready?
At this advanced stage in his career, Liddell should be fighting veterans such as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Ricardo Arona, Henderson, Silva and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
The only problem is that these studs ply their trade half a world away on Japanese soil. And, the fact that the UFC doesn’t have these types of fighters in its stable is the reason Liddell and White are buzzing about a potential showdown with heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
In this writer’s opinion, Liddell has only three quality fights left in the UFC with its current roster: Rampage, Evans and Cro Cop.
It should be interesting to see if the UFC matchmaker Joe Silva looks to secure talent outside the organization for Liddell’s next opponent at UFC 71 on May 26.
Or, the UFC can solve its own problem and just feed Rampage to Liddell. At this point, not much else — especially Silva — makes sense.
Rampage is a big boy and a veteran … I think he is up to the challenge,
72 Comments »
It might not mean as much now that Silva has two consecutive losses, but lots of people will still pay to see that fight go down.
yeah its true, they definately threw it away….i guess it has to be Chuck vs Shogun..i think that can get alot of hype, not more than silva prior to the Cro cop KO…if not shogun i dont really know who can draw more hype in anticipation for an awesome slugfest
In the interview White says, “Fans don’t know Shogun.”
First off, I’m not up on the contracts of these PRIDE fighters — so I don’t know if they are even available.
And after the Silva debacle I’m not sure if he wants to trust PRIDE again and set up a cross-promotional fight. That also opens the door to which rules to use, fight location, etc.
Of course I’d pay to see Liddell-Silva but who know if that’s ever going to happen. The article just highlights how difficult it is going to be to get Chuck a quality opponent who people are going to pay to see by May.
Right now, the options aren’t great.
if rua and all those other guys want to stay in japan then fuck em, they ain’t gonna be nobody until they fight chuck and they all know it…i think there still are plenty of opps for the iceman in the ufc, henderson might have started a trend by going for two belts…hey dana, i’ll pay to see chuck fight anybody, they’ll all get knocked out anyway, so whats the fucking difference…and fuck silva, he had his chance to fight chuck and prove his worth and he didn’t come, that train left the station, he doesn’t deserve to be in the ring with chuck
I think Dana is backing away. This fight isn’t thrown away in my mind at all. I will still pay $40 to see Silva vs Liddell. This is MMA. Silva lost to Crocop, one of the top 2 HWs in the world and a guy who outweighted him by 30 lbs. And I’m hearing more and more that Silva was sick as shit the night before 33. This is coming from Dana White, a guy who routinely gives guys fresh of losses title shots? It’s bullshit. Dana never wanted this fight to go down and now he has a convient excuse to table it. He aint never gonna get the egg off though, imho.
i dont know mtufc, i dont know why he would bring silva out on a ufc ppv and gaurantee a fight if he didnt want it to happen…knowing hes the one that looked like a dick…and you above all other guys on here should know that the sickness and injuries excuses arent justified…bottom line is he got Koed by a left hook…and yes if it were PRIDE rules, wandy would have a lot more opportunities against Hendo to use the weapons he usually uses, just like if Silva came to the UFC to fight Liddell, he couldnt do the stomps or anything like that…so i think thats why PRIDE guys didnt want Silva to fight Chuck, just because his style doesnt mesh well when he has to fight in the US…but i would still pay to see it, Wandy had got alot of heart and determination, but im afraid he doesnt have the jaw anymore to go toe to toe with chuck
I think when Chuck fights Rampage it will only last 3-4 minutes, Shogun and Silva both destroyed Rampage So it wont last long, Liddell vs Shogun would be unreal Why can’t Dana and PRIDE get together and agree to have two pay per views one here and one in Japan we send 8 guys to Japan and the next month they send 8 over here? our top 16 vs there top 16 they could charge 59.00 a show and you know even at that price people will still buy it.
I dont see how you can say that Chuck will destroy Rampage, so confidently. Rampage owned him in their previous fight and still hasnt reached the age of 30. I think Rampage vs Liddell is going to be sick because Liddell doesn’t use that Thai clinch that Wandy and Shogun used to drop Rampage. I’m not calling the fight either way, just saying it isn’t a one sided matchup in my opinion.
MTUFC, how many people except Randy have gotten a title shot off a loss? For Randy it’s not really fresh off a loss either as he’s coming off retirement.
I wouldn’t put someone against the most well known fighter in my organization who just got ko’d by a smaller guy who’s known for wrestling. Also, just so you know, when Silva fought cro-cop the second time he actually weighed more than him. Cro-Cop only normally weighs around 218-220 and Silva was a few lbs. over that.
I like Silva’s heart and character but he has a wild style and I think tecnique wise he isn’t the greatest. Fighters are starting to evolve past him especially in US rules.
Yeah I wouldn’t overrate Chuck so much in this bout. Rampage beat him last time, and it could happen again.
yeah, since rampage got into the UFC I can only imagine the new kinda trainers he has and sparring partners this opportunity has given him. He is one scary mother.
Naw Dana has a good point. Why let the ufc fighter go fight him now? (liddell vs silva)
He is no longer the champ so its an uneven fight. If Chuck wins so what, Silva’s no longer the champion and just been beat up. If he losses he losses to a non-champion and someone that was just knocked out. Pride no longer is bringing to the table what the ufc is.
umm im pretty sure rampage is still in Titos gym with the same guys, i could be wrong..a lot has changed since the first fight between Chuck and Rampage, Chuck is far better, and hes shown that by beating Couture twice, Couture beat Chuck the same way Rampage did…I really dont see Rampage winning this one at all
Great article, but I would say after saturday, chuck might have 4 good fights left in the UFC… Depending on Couture/Sylvia. Id like to see him fight Sylvia if Sylvia can take out Couture, but a potential Couture-Liddell3 is only gonna happen if Couture beats the snot out of Sylvia, and the next fighter he faces (as long as its not Cro Cop..)
Rampage has not been the same fighter since he was destroyed by W. Silva. He was also “saved” by the almighty around that same time. Chalk it up to one or both of those reasons (plus getting whipped by Shogun) and Rampage has since looked average at best.
Chuck has only gotten better, Rampage has only gotten worse. Chuck by brutal KO.
Hey Jesse I agree, Rampage just hasen’t been the same since Wandi gave him a beating.
Reckon Wandy beat some confidence out of him. Hi sbest chance against Chuck is exactly the same tactics he used in their 1st fight. But ppl seem to be scared of Chuck so much it puts them off their game plan ie remember Babalu’s “charge” at Liddell? Not a good idea charging the most powerful counter-attacker in the weight division.
If Rampage holds his nerve but stays aggressive he’s got a better chance than most but at 205 Chuck’s the man. If he moves to fight Cro Cop I reckon he’ll ges smashed though.
You gotta be kidding me Rashad isnt close to being a contender. F$%k he hasnt fought any top contenders and until he does I refuse to think of him as anything other than a tier 2 fighter. If was a tier 1 guy then he would be asking for the Big Dogs, pit him against Ortiz, Sobrel, Jackson… etc if he beats one of those guys then hes teir 1 until then I dont wanna hear about him as a possible contender.
This is whats wrong with the UFC like UFC mania guy said “At this advanced stage in his career, Liddell should be fighting veterans such as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Ricardo Arona, Henderson, Silva and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.” Im suck of watching second rate guys fighting our contenders can you say Pro….ed. Jesus I thought Dana was promising the best in 07′ But i guess we have 10months more to see if he will put his money where is mouth is. Dont get me wrong, I love UFC but I wanna see prime fights not ‘Pros vs Joes’. (no disrespect to the fighters)
Alot of good points here. I hate to say it but the only way Dana will listen is when the money stops rolling in. Thats why i didn’t buy the Lutter/silva fight…it was a terrible card and i’m not willing to pay for “tier 2″ vs champ fights!
Chuck vs Cro Cop. I think Chuck should aim himself to fight Cro Cop. That would be the ultimate challenge for Chuck. If Cro C beats Gonzaga, he fights next for the HW title. If he wins the title, then Chuck would move up in weight to fight Cro C for the title, most likely after Cro C gets an easy first title defense. Beating Cro Cop to hold 2 titles sounds like it would appeal to Chuck. But this one seems like 4 fights away.
Concentrating on fighters within the UFC is probably the way to go for Chuck. He’s got Rampage, some #1 contender, then possibly Cro Cop to take care of.
no interest in Wandy
yo undy model, you just want what you can’t have, you name all the pride guys as the best fighters to fight chuck because those are the ones you can’t see right now, soon that shit will happen it has to, but the ufc fighters are not second tier to pride guys, i bet you rah evans would hold his own against any of those guys you named with ufc rules, those guys don’t want to tarnish their legacy’s by coming here and getting beat up by our new generation of dominance, those guys can stay in japan for all i care and you can go watch them there instead…you’ll see what i’m talking about when chuck humiliates rampage
I damn sure wouldn’t go up a weight class to fight CC if I were Chuck!! CC said that he could make 205. Make CC come to 205, I think this would give Chuck better chance.I still think CC would win either way especially in the HW division. I wasn’t impressed with Rampage at all and I think Chuck would dominate him from what I’ve seen. If I was Chuck I would stay at 205 and keep kickin ass and cashin checks.
I too think Cro Cop will smash Chuck especially at HW. What would ppl say though even if Chuck lost at HW to him he’d get nothing but praise and respect for having the nuts to do it in the 1st place, plus he’d have no title to lose going up to HW so could still make loads of $$$ defending his LHW belt. He’s onto a win/win situation taking on CroCop at HW and the world wants to see it. PPV would be MASSIVE on that fight. Surely Fedor won’t be able to resist a big money fight with either CroCop or Chuck at HW too so it’d go from the biggest MMA fight ever to the BIGGER biggest MMA fight ever
dont let white fool you .that win by henderson sets up the biggest pay per view in history.henderson is comming to the ufc hell the ufc may soon own pride.henderso makes special problems for chuck .like never been knocked out hits vary hard and whoever he fights always takes them down.and hes not the same fighter as couture.one thing about henderson he is never scared of any fighter like most of chucks opponents
Alpha beat me to it.
Everybody thinks chuck is so bad ass because he is UFC.
He beat Babalu which is very very impressive, but if he fought in pride there is no way he would get through Shogun, Arona, Wanderlei, Rampage, and especially Dan Henderson.
Fact of the matter is that there would be no consistant champ.
They are all too good.
Impressive as they are, Chucks performances against Belfor, Randleman, Horn, Randy and Tito really cant measure up to the competion he would face in the “other” league.
I love Chuck and the UFC, but im truly surprized that more people dont understand the badassedness of the guys chuck hasnt fought.
I think Ryoto Machida could take anyone at 205 which you will all soon see and remember I said it here first!
Brian G
Dont give ufc the idea of charging 59.00 for that ppv that would be insane nobody would buy it, people would just stream it from youtube.
I would still pay money for the Silva and Liddell fight. Silva is still a big name. I’m sure Zuffa could promote it well
Gasman is right. Pride has some BMF’s in it and the rules are much less rigid. I’m suprised that nobody’s been killed or paralyzed with a knee to the head while they were down. I still think Silva is a force to be reconned with even with his losses. MMA is too tough for anyone to go undefeated and even Chuck will lose eventually. maybe… But yeah $59.00 is too much keep that number to yourself.
I’m kind of with Dana this one. Chuck (champion, win streak) vs Wand (non champion, losing streak). UFC has nothing to gain in this fight, rather just some “small” money (let me quote that), since people might not know who Wand is other than being KOed by Henderson. And the payment for the promotions, views, talent, etc , might be too huge as it is intercontinental that the ppv gain might not be worth it.
Buy Silva, put him in UFC, let him fight Rampage then have him fight Liddell.
Onepunchko,
Bj Penn, Royce Gracie (draw or nc I think), Couture, and Arlovski come to mind.
LMAO ‘tha spida’ Read my post again slowly. Im quoting the “Dana White: “PRIDE threw away the biggest fight in MMA history’” directly from the Web page. All im saying is for our #1 guys to fight real #1 guys. Have you ever noticed how some fighters in the UFC fight a bunch of no-vetrin, non-contenders and then get a title bout. Lidell is gonna blow the doors off Rampage and well I think Rashad needs to fight Sobrel, Ortiz, Jackson, Machida… etc before he even is considered for a title shot.As for Dana im sure he will bring in a couple fighters from other prime divisions but until then I dont wanna hear him call the pride ppv fights shit. If you really wanna know im sick of all the trash talk btw Pride and UFC i want these two powerhouses to suck up there ‘PRIDE’ for the fans and get some sort of tourni done or matcher or whatever until then i dont wanna hear any fabled matchs, false rumors.. etc.
On one more not I think Chuck could beat Wandi, Shogun, and Rampage. Henderson???
who is dana white to say that shit?
Look at the last few pay per views the ufc had?
Tito Vs Chuck 2 (the first fight wasnt close and tito did nothing to redeem himself and prove he should get a rematch)
Travis Lutter vs Anderson Silva (So You beat patrick cote and you got yourself a title shot)
Silvia vs Couture (after 2 knock outs from liddell, he gets a title shot after 1 year in retirement, and they hype this fight up by saying he is good when everyone bets against him)
Serra vs Gsp (This is such an awful fight it should be free)
If the UFC can make people dish out money for all of these fights i am sure they can still make Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell one of the biggest buys ever.
I cant beleive all you guys are counting The AXE murder out of it. that dude is bad ass and iam sure if there is a rematch with hendo he will win in america or japan. and iam a 100 percent sure that hendo and silva would kick chucks ass 90 poercent of you are all on chucks nuts. and i cant wait until he gets his ass knocked out. I mean come on guys Silva Got knocked out that dosent mean he is done what if chuck gets knocked out is he gonna be done. Personaly I would love to see Anderson silva dismantle Chucks face but t5hat will never happen because the Ufc dosent want chuck to get beat!!!!
BTW
Dana has no place saying that PRIDE wasted its show when it was one of the best overall events in MMA history.
Dana White is probably jealous of Pride because they have fedor, henderson, and silva.
I know its off topic but what are the chances that UFC does a date in Philly or AC???
The name says it all! PRIDE- those zipper are too proud to see there guys lose, they may have some good fighters but the good ones are dropping like flys and realistically they are just becoming a minor league organization for the UFC.
And DANA;
if you quote me, mention it huh. haha
its a bit stupid to act like liddell dosent have enough comp after rampage, cro cop and evans. starters he has to beat them and if he dosent rematch will happen.
if vera stays with ufc he could go up or down to fight him, even andrei arlovski at heavyweight, then there is bisping who could be a contender in a year or so, forrest and jardine are possible in future.
then there are the pride fighters - who knows who will jump ship from there - 6 months ago people would have said its b/s rampage and cro cop will be in the ufc in 6 months.
I know the next ufc is on april 7th and the pride is as well, but due to different time zones in the usa and japan we will be seeing it on April 8th here. Does anybody know What time on april 8th it will be showing? I need to know, to help me decide if i should plan an all night party, or two different parties?
If chuck were to fight Wanderlei we know they would exchange blows and when that homo Wanderlei sits back and throws those out of control punches that Chuck would just TeeOff on his Chin LIGHTS OUT….And for Chuck and Rampage my prediction is Round 1 4:43 Head Kick…Knockout…Chuck Remains Champ…then goes after Cro Cop!
HOLY SHIT your a light weight…you shouldnt even be asking that question, regardless what time zone or what ever…party for UFC and dont quit until after PRIDE…just stock up on the liquor and rockstar hide every ones car keys, play loud music that every one can party 2 and you’ll be good to go.
I like your thinking Mr Murda. Maybe in between the time it takes for pride to start after ufc ends I will host drunken submission matches at my part as well.
The next UFC Event is March 3 2007.
heck yes HOLY! my only fear is that you’ll have along inbetween time…thats how coffee tables and fish tanks get broken…believe me it happens. good luck and do a couple dozen shots for me…
p.s. our little tradtion at my place, is as soon as the gladiator music comes on, we all take double shots…try it out!!!
wheres the party? im in!!
What about LIddell vs Jardine/Griffin/Machida/Evans/Hamil/petruzelli, I would pay to see any of these fights
Pride fighter arnet as good as theyre hyped up to be
Hamill, are you kidding me?
Here’s the fights I want to see…
ICEMAN vs. Shogun
Tim vs. Mirko
Dan vs. Anderson
Tito vs. Wanalier
Randy vs. Rampage
Ufcmaniac said: ( edited slightly )
What about Liddell vs Jardine/Griffith/Evans/Hamil/Petruzelli, I would pay to see any of these fights
and then said:
Pride fighter arent as good as theyre hyped up to be
Holy shit.
Guys, I’m a die-hard Liddell fan (hey - who DOESN’T like the best knockout/highlight reels?). But, seriously, Wanderlei? Machida? CroCop? HA-HA-HA!! Did anyone see Kevin Randelman’s KO of CroCop a little while back? And Chuck knocked “Monster” out. Silva’s a bad motherf***er, but Chuck’s unbelievable. I, personally, would love to see Dan Henderson fight Chuck. I saw Couture’s goal when I heard he was fightin’ Tim Silvia at Heavyweight…had his sights on Filopovic. Which means Chuck & Randy might have to get it on AGAIN (for the HW title now). Hmmm. Anyone see a pattern here? Oh, and as far as Rashad, Forrest, Keith Jardine, or Matt Hammil…? No comment.
No, im not a mathmatician what is the pattern??? im no friggin super ultimate code breaker, damn the closet I get to breaking codes is getting a four-liner in tetris. Oh and another thing Silva hasnt been the same since Cro Cop and Mirko would fucking kick Randlemens head-off steroids or not.
Sorry morethenufc- Those comments werent related, I do this at work so sometimes I write two unrelated statements, then log off quick. BUt about the pride guys, is it just me or do they seem kinda brain washed by pride? Its like pride is using the fighters pride against them to keep them there. They go out in front of the audience and say shit about how UFC fighters are scared of pride guys, and the audience believes it, then it almost seems like the pride fighters feel disloyal if they fight for ufc(my theory about the Mirko music too) I think mma is evolving faster in the americas now. (not limited too of course) Atheletes are becoming cardio machines, strength training like olympians, and polishing up better. If Chute Boxe fighters were in the ufc, they would have learnd they need to be training with Greg Jackson, or team quest or another Top gym. YOU cant just sit in your one gym and think you’ll learn everything you need to compete now-a-days. Gomi said he wants to fight HUghes and St.Pierre? Did you see the guys core-he would get tossed around like a rag doll. Hendo-a good example of a fighter who is actually evolving in Pride, guess what, hes cleaning up, Im not surprised
I say let Chuck and Rampage get this crap overwith….whats one more )tune-up)fight for Rampage gonna do to help Rampage? He is a PRO! Let them go at it so we can start moving on to better things like Chuck vs. Cro Cop (would like Chuck to win, but this would be his hardest fight)….Henderson vs. Chuck—wouldnt pay to see Henderson get KO’d..so what he KO’d Silva? Chuck has a stronger jaw anyway…I predict Chuck fights Jardine in May, then Rampage, considering Chuck wins both fights, I say he moves to HW to battle Cro Cop.
hmhmmmhmmmm (clearin mythroat),chuck’s my man,but cro cop is my country native,and not just because of that,but because of the people cro cop has fought and his speed as a heavy weight,he’d give liddell an asswhoopin of a lifetime,prolly a knockout,,ppl might say o shit chuck’s way 2 fast,well my friends i guess u havent seen mirko trade punches,sooo,chuck has fast hands,cro cop does 2,chuck can kick,mirko puts u in hospital ex:wanderlai silva
I love Cro Cop but everytime he fights someone willing to stand there (and can take a punch) he losses. We all know Chuck loves to give and take punches. All he has to do is get inside the kick. We’ll see but I’m putting my money on Liddell. Just cuz.
chuck vs wand
tito vs shogun
arlovski vs crocop
tim silvia vs fedor
randy vs either randleman/coleman
st pier(if he would move up wieght)vs anderson silva…….
those are my dream match ups ufc vs pride!and on a side note does anyone know what happend to pedro rizzo????
the two lhw bouts as well as the fisrt two hw bouts can be swaped also for great action!
“I love Cro Cop but everytime he fights someone willing to stand there (and can take a punch) he losses.”
-or they get KTFO(15) or quit(2).
“We all know Chuck loves to give and take punches.”
-worked out well against Couture and Rampage
“All he has to do is get inside the kick.”
-and then Mirko’s K-1 trained hands
“We’ll see but I’m putting my money on Liddell.”
-PT Barnum said….
Crocop has TKOed guys by kicking them in the knee and kicking them in the ribs. He can sub guys, by has he needed to? He has an awesome ground game, both off and def. Can you tell me who his BJJ trainer used to be? CC used to sub him all the time when they sparred, and this guy is WORLD CLASS.
You go 20 mins with Fedor and dont get KOed or get subbed ( Fedor’s specialty ) then there are no holes in your game.
Any whoever said Randy would be the best wrestler/grappler Mirko has ever faced clearly doesnt know the competition he has been in with - Coleman, Randleman, Waterman, Barnett, A and F Emelianeko, and Big Nog. Your saying Couture is better than all those on that list? Opinions are opinions, I suppose.
I have an opinion that one day Nick Diaz will put down the weed, change his ways, and teach Sunday school.
Just a reply to the last post by Chadx23, i’ve gotta say I disagree that Rampage and Chuck should rush into a fight. I think Rampage shouldn’t get an instant shot at Chuck just purely because he’s beat him in the past. He should be made to earn his title shot with some good wins like everyone else. I think there’s alot of pressure on Rampage to fight Chuck at the moment and he shouldn’t rush after all it is a title shot at the end of the day!
I saw their first fight and Rampage looked awesome I thought Chucks ribs were totally busted after those vicous elbows and punches. Once Rampage gets some good wins and gets back into top shape I think it will be a top fight which i’m looking forward to, I think it will be closer than people think. However in my opinion the top contender in that division at the moment has to be Jardine, I think he’s earned it with good wins over Stefan Bonner and Forrest Griffin.
An what’s all this about Chuck fighting Crocop! That wouldn’t happen for ages, if ever. Since Couture came back an beat Silvia the heavy division is wide open, Couture, Crocop, Orlovski and Silvia to name a few why would Crocop step down? I think the Heavyweight division has become the most exciting division by far, the welters have Hughes vs George St.Piere to look forward to, the middleweights have Silva vs Franklin and the light-heavys are in abit of a mess!
(For some reason I can see Couture stepping down to light-heavy to fight Liddel again).
It’s good to see a British fighter doing well in the UFC also. I’m going to see Micheal Bisping fight in Manchester at UFC 70 along with another two of my favorite fighters Crocop and Orlovski!!!
Apologies Chadx23, I didn’t see the last couple of lines on your post before. I’ve done you an injustice there sorry, i’ve near enough agreed with what you’ve said.
Good call.
What we all have to remember is that Chuck is not exactly a spring chicken. Though he’s shown no sign of deteriorating, to plan out his next 4 or 5 fights is a little sketchy. Sure Randy just slaughtered Sylvia, but I mean…..so could a lot of people….I still think the ultimate matchup is (even if Silva had won) is Liddell vs. Shogun. I understand that won’t happen, but I’d say hes the 1 guy at LHW that could beat Chuck (he might lose, but it wouldn’t lack the suspense of a lot of others. I mean, have you seen what Shogun did to Rampage, that fake leg kick-right head kick would have killed Jackson if it made full contact….but guess that was a tangent) As for now, there is really no other option then to let him beat up (Sugar?….what a joke) Rashad or Jardine….and yes, he would beat up Rampage too…..but I don’t think there would be any sense in fighting Cro Cop unless your name is Fedor.
We need to get Mauricio Rua over here because in 4 years or so, he will be the new force in the division having them fight now would be timeless.
shogun and chuck would probally be a good fight but i like to strength vs strength.like chuck vs wanderlei striker vs striker grapler vs grapler submision vs submision and so on.i hate to see striker vs like a wrestler cause most of the time u dont get to see the striker strike the wrestler just lays on him.
they are both strikers mike…shogun is more muy tai, and also well rounded on the ground…this fight would be a standup war
If your a striker in this day an age I think you have to have an excellent take down defence. Like Mike said in a fight with a striker vs ground and pounder the striker has limited time to take his chance before eventually be taken down and dominated. Unless the striker has a really good take down defence that is, an I use the example of Chuck Liddel vs Tito Ortiz as Tito tried on several accassions to take Liddel down but Chucks sprawl was awesome and Tito was forced into a strike game.
In response to the earlier post I think Chuck Liddel would come through fights with Vanderlei Silva and Shogun with relative ease. I think Chucks way too strong at the moment and unless some of the big name heavyweights opt to step down to light heavy I can’t see anyone challenging him for a long time…
I would love to see any of the following fights happening personally, an at this moment in time I don’t think I could call who would win any of them!
Crocop vs Orlovski
Crocop vs Couture
Orlovski vs Couture
Couture vs Liddel 4
An I know Tim Sylvia has just lost badly to Couture but I do expect him to bounce back from that and be challenging for the title soon. People seem to right him off but I think someone who has beat Orlovski twice deserves respect.
I tend to watch UFC more than pride but I do like the look of Fedor, does anyone know when he’s fighting next?
It’s obvious that many of you are die hard Chuck fans and therefore are talking with your hearts. This will be hard for you all to accept but have you seen Chuck fight a striker of equal ability in the past 3 years? The only person he’s fought since Rampage with arguable striking ability was Vernon White. Since then, he has only fought grapplers. Chuck is the UFC golden-boy & the big money draw. Dana is protecting that. I challenge all u Chuck fans to watch the Chuck vs Rampage fight objectively. Chuck got pwned. Rampage beat him clearly.
Now, Rampage is not without fault. He has shown a proven weakness to the Muay Thai Clinch hence his losses to Wandi & Shogun. I challenge you Rampage haters to watch both Wandi vs Rampage fights objectively. You will clearly see that Rampage was dominating both fights before falling victim to the thai clinch & his own recklessness.
My overall point is that Chuck has not been truly challenged in a long time. Although his take-down defense is stellar he is still succeptable to clinches & foot sweeps which Rampage excels at. Rampage has a tested iron jaw. It has always taken several solid strikes to KO rampage. Let’s not forget, Rampage ate several solid punches from Chuck in their 1st fight & has been quoted as saying that Chuck doesnt hit as hard as everyone thinks.
Bottom line…..we can speculate as much as we want but both fighters are equally capable of beating one another outside of a punchers chance. We can expect to get our moneys-worth when this fight airs. My papers on Rampage!
I’m a big Chuck fan an totally agree with you… people think Chuck will walk through Rampage an I think it’s gonna be one of his hardest fights. I’ve seenthe first fight an i thought Chucks ribs were broken from those brutal elbows to the body.
But i think Chuck is now a different fighter an i do think he’ll come through this one, I think by knockout aswell.
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Crocop vs Orlovski
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Its Arlovski - might be a very small typo, but it makes a huge difference. Just ask Wikipedia:
Arlovski: Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski is a Belarusian mixed martial arts fighter and a former Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Champion.
If you misspell it even more and end up with Orlowski, then you get this:
Orlowski: Teresa Orlowski is a former performer in and a current leading producer of adult films in Germany. […] Working with Moser, she earned the title of “Porn Queen of Germany”.
So I wouldn’t be dissappointed either way then really…
I am not bothered chuck isnt fighting wandy coz chuck would destroy him.You look at the way wanderlei fights even when hes at his best he is easy prey for chuck because of his style.He comes out scrapping and then tries to get people down and chuck loves it when people come at him and it would be over very early.This is one fight I am 100% sure I know what the outcome would be
come on, bring some more of the PRIDE fighters to UFC already. The best fighters in the world are wasting away!!!!!!
Wandy Silva, Shogun Rua, Nogueria, Fedor, Ricardo, Henderson, Sakuraba, Mark Hunt, any of the K1 fighters, Randleman, Josh Barnett, etc.
also, change the rules to do more PRIDE style standup and less ground humping. make them stand if it gets boring dammit!!!!
i am sick of the damn UFC chumps we keep seeing and the “one exciting fight per night card”, get these guys in there!
Well guess What!!! Chuck lost again, twice with Rampage. Silva and Chuck can now fight,they both have lost their belts.I want to see Shogun versus Chuck,Shogun would wear him out and ko him.Fedor the pride champ would easily beat the Ufc heavywights.Ufc has alot of rules, Ufc fans dont see that.Pride has less rules, witch means you have to keep on your toes.When Chuck fought in Pride and he was near the ropes, they stoped it and moved him to the middle of the ring.Theirs no gate to hold on to or use to your advantage.In pride your not allowed to hold on to the ropes, like ufc fighters hold on to the octagon.Rampage took Chucks belt,Andersen Silva took Franklins Belt, both pride Fighters.Makes you think who’s better, Pride-UFC.