Former light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell, has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming main event fight against Rashad Evans at UFC 85 in London, England, on June 7 because of an injury sustained during training, according to MMARated.com.
Here’s a snip:
“No word on the extent of the injury and how long he will be out but plans are for both men to face each other later in the summer.”
“Iceman” was originally scheduled to duke it out with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at the O2 Arena; however, an injury to the Brazilian sidelined him and “Sugar” stepped in.
More on this breaking news in a bit.
April 21st, 2008
174 Comments »
I’m not sure I want to see this fight happen. I love the Iceman, but not sure if Rashad can hang with him.
Iceman wasn’t hurt….He was afraid of Rashad kicking his azz.
i bet if they face eachother again ice man will own him just like rocky owned apollo creed
HOLY CRAP!! What the hell do they do for a main event now? Who’s available?
they need to make anderson defend his title against Okami.
that’s too bad
Does anyone really want to see this fight? Does anyone really not know exactly how this fight would pan out?
I went for Jardine last time and I would have gone for Rashad in this one.
I bet Rashad is happy!!!
wow, what do they do now?? that was a weak ass main event to begin with…hey, didn’t hackleman say he didn’t want chuck to fight in england?? is this a real injury??
I’m with you Kevin. Chuck and Hackleman DO NOT want to fight in England. I mean, they won’t even fight on the East Coast, never mind overseas. Chuck Liddell fights in Las Vegas or California.
I got an idea for the Main Event. Davis vs Swick or Werdum vs Vera and keep the card as is, but instead, make it an Ultimate Fight Night for free on Spike.
not even as good as TUF finale!!
ViloentMike,
With the current weak dollar and piss poor exchange rate, I don’t think Zuffa can eat the cost of this as a free tv event.
yeah Jeff, but a weak card=no buys or tickets sold, so they got to do something. But that said, this is/was a weak card from the begining. How bow Quarry/Bisping??
The rest of us can’t afford the gas/petrol to drive to a sports bar.
My thoughts exactly. I dont think Chuck is injured, he just does not like fighting outside of Las Vegas! Who knows what the hell they are going to do now. If Chuck really isnt injured then i will be pissed because he should have pulled out of the fight a long time ago, giving Dana more time to find a suitable main event replacement.
I have no idea what they are going to do, but they have to do something because they are loosing $ in England. They need to find away to get a mian event on that card that people will be excited about.
Alright for you to say… i’ve already got my ticket
They need a main event asap, Nog vs Randy!! I can dream.
http://mmamania.com/2008/01/31/chuck-liddell-possibly-fighting-shogun-rua-next/
Convenient injury Chuck. He never wanted to fight in the UK anyway. A good ply to try and get Rampage but in reality he does not even desrve a shot at Rampage. 1-2 in his last 3. But what Chuck wants Dana will give him. Dana for some reason says that “everyone” wants to see Chuck and Rampage go at it again. Rampage pummeled him in Pride and the UFC. You’re yesterdays news Chuck. Deal with it.
I only bought my tockets last week, whadda load of BS
He just doesn’t wanna fight in England cause its too far
Bollocks!!!!!!
Rahsad is happy!!!
OK maybe I went too far
Just pissed cause now I’m not gonna see Chuck
Hope they can create a good Main Event together
Swick-Davis, Verra-Werdum will still be a good fight
Rich and Bisping sustained no damage last weekend. They could surely be ready to headline the event in 2 months.
I hope this happens!
This blows… hope Chuck moves to HW instead of fighting Rashad later.
As thin as the Hw division is, Chuck couldn’t beat most of them.
good then when the iceman recovers he can get shogun!! i wasn’t going to pay to see chuck whip evan’s ass around the octagon anyways. but i will pay to see chuck and shogun fight. this was a blessing in disguise y’all…
if that does happen, then you are right! But its reported that Chuck vs. Evans will happen later on in the summer.
What the UFC should do is just add Chuck vs. Rashad as the co main event to the Rampage vs. Forrest card. Affliction is rumored to be putting on a mOnster card around the time of UFC 86, so maybe they should add that fight to UFC 86 card, and make that a super stacked card to compete with Afflictions Monster card.
I hope that eventually I get to see Chuck vs. Shogun….I have been dreaming about this fight for about 4 years now….Make it happen!
There are some really good undercard fights, but they are all undercard fights. Chuck/Rashad was a Main Card b/c Rashad was just filling in and I think that had the two originally been penciled to fight, it would have been an undercard or co-main, not a main event.
The question still is, what the hell do they do now?
wow that card does not look very good now wow they need to find a big fight and fast
Anderson Silva headlining is about the only way to save this card right now.
Bad luck.
Hope Liddell rehabs quickly. He’s not getting younger.
good idea, i agree wit silva savin the card, but then the next question is who deserves a shot at The Spyder?
SOMEONE GIVE ME THE BEST 5 FIGHTERS…
Ur right Anderson would be the best choice to save the card, but then the next question is WHO DESERVES A SHOT AT ‘The Spyder’????
ANYONE GIVE ME THE TOP 5 FIGHTERS!?
Please Dana, this card was gonna be huge with Liddell V shogun, then was gonna be decent enough with Liddell V evans, it won’t be worth the £300 I spent on my tickets for a main event of Verdum Vs Vera! Please Dava, give us GSP Vs Jon Fitch!!!!
GSP vs Fitch would be awesome and sooner than expected if it gets puts on this card. An Anderson Silva fight would also save this card. Serra vs Hughes would also be awesome, but that might be too soon for Serra. Maybe the UFC will resign Arlovski and then they can throw him on the card against someone like Mir for #1 contender cuz a year ago they did say if Arlovski beat Werdum he’d be in title contention.
gsp/fitch…is that even a fight???
Arlovski vs Nog? No-one else deserves a shot.
anderson silva vs yushin okami
or if youthey really try hard
nogueira vs arlovski but that wont happen1 gsp just fought so that wont happen either
ok, chuck is pulling out cause he’s scared of losing… he already knows that he will get to fight rampage anyways! I hope that’s not the case but um i think the main event is gonna be vera vs werdum winner gets title shot…
That is crap. Chuck afraid of Evans? Whatever.
Can’t say I was excited about this fight. I do want to see Chuck get back in there soon though, so I hope the injury isn’t serious.
Kind of makes you wonder though…..he really didn’t have anything to gain by winning this fight and it is 1/2 way around the world.
Well They Are Screwed. Who Can They Use Now?? All The Top Light Heavys Are Fighting On UFC 84 .. Its A Shame Thiago Silva Is Booked For UFC84 Because That Would Be A Gould MatchUp.
James Irvin v.s Rashad Evans Would Be Good.
Nowhere near a headlining fight though.
they could optionally get josh barnett to come back to the ufc to fight a return fight! but dana is too FUCKING STUPID
to try it! how great would a barnett vs arlovski fight be right now? the ufc has so much power to do so! or maybe a barnett mir fight? battle of the sub wizards?
kos vs sanchez? someone said that! so much possibility
so little done so far though
Its A Shame Thiago Silva Is Booked For UFC84 Because That Would Be A GOOD Match Up.
that was the original fight scheduled.
Only thing i can think of is:
KOS vs Sanchez II
possibly
Florian vs Heurta although i doubt it
Hendo vs Evans?
makes sense since diego is main event at tuf finale (which is more stacked than this ppv, UFC is gonna set a record…least ppv buys ever
Actually the changed the main event of the TUF Finale. The main event is now Tanner vs. Grove. Luigi vs. Diego is still on the card but they switched witch fight was the main event…Not a big deal…Does it really matter?
Good this main event sucked!!!!!!!!! Especially compared to the UFC’s leading up to it!
Erm, can we have a main event please?
Personally I think Penn - Sherk should be dropped back 2 weeks.
Note: The above is a joke, before everyone gets all pissy about it.
Get a title in there somehow! Anderson is always down and Big Nog aint doing shit! Mir/Nog or Silva/Okami!! Scrap evens completely as the main event and go with something that matters! I think there is plenty of time if they announce it NOW to give the fightes time.
This opens the door for Chuck as a coach on the next TUF.
I agree Adam. BJ vs Sherk. Did you hear the Sherk boos in newcastle??? That would be a tight ass main event!!!Respect y’all
… Everybody said the same thing about Jardine fighting Chuck… Hey anybody remember how that one ended up??? Chuck is a wash up. Done. Nadda. Shogun would dismantle him. Rashad would beat him too, he knows how to seeing how he trains with Keith Jardine, and Jardine beat him with ease.
Well….do you remember what everybody said about Shogun vs Forrest?
Jardine did not beat Chuck with ease. It took a fantastic game plan and he won a close decision. Jardine also has very unconventional striking. Rashad, on the other had, has wrestling and powerful, but mediocre striking. Even with a great game plan, I don’t think Rashad will beat Chuck. Look what Chuck did to Tito and Randy, both fighters with similar styles to Rashad, at least where a fight plan with Chuck is concerned. I mean, I agree, CHuck is certainly past his prime and has always seemed a bit over-hyped, but he’s certainly still one of the top in the division.
If I was Liddell, I’d be “injured” too.
Bisping, Silva anyone?
too soon for bisping - isnt there a mandatory 3-month waiting period inbetween fights?
Not sure about 3 months?? wot about TUF 3-4 fights in 6 weeks plus Didn’t Heurta fight 5-6 times last year?
I think the wait period is only in place if there are any injuries. Can’t see Bisping being injured from the McCarthy fight.
Oh ya youre right - Heurta fought 5 times last year, although still probably not gonna happen since the heads up for a change in weight divisions is too short for Silva imo
well that card is fuckin shot and chuck aint fightin im pissed
Silva-Okami
or
Big Nog vs Mir or Heath rematch
or
Florian vs Huerta
Okami has a broken hand. Not gonna happen.
What about Evans/Bonnar 2? I know it’s a long shot, but hey, if they can find a main event, why not?
I like it. I think Bonnar is underrated. However this isn’t even close to a main event… it’s not even a co-main event. Its a solid fight on the card
Tha only way they can save this card is to put either Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami, Rashad Evans vs Dan Henderson, or Frank Mir vs Big Nog.
I dont know about the Big Nog vs Mir because they will be fighting after TUF 8 IMO… Florian vs Huerta will be in August… That fight is to important for such short notice. Silva vs Okami is to important too.
Rashad vs Dan??? NO, Dan isnt going anywhere. He is in middleweight for the long haul…
They need something big for London the U.K fans have really have on one good event. Get Silva to fight Okami.
WHY!!!!!
What?
sucks, i think it would have been an interesting match
I can NEVER remember Chuck ever being injured before a fight AND withdrawing due to injury…remember a while back he broke his foot or something but he still fought Babalu and KO’d him…this is either really serious injury to his knee or shoulder or he just doesnt want to waste his time fighting Rashad since a win doesnt do anything for his “aging quickly self”
I’m starting to think he must have had a bad injury…why would he go to England to promote the fight and all that BS just to fake an injury to get out of it…it makes sense, he’s getting older, injuries happen more often when you train like that at 38 years old and supposedly Chuck has problems with his knees and shoulders anyway
I have a huge problem with this report, so big that I refuse to believe it.. still mania is always right.
I have ordered two expensive tickets, flight from to London and hotel.
That is my problem right there.
please make this untrue!
And now????
Rashad will fighting with Thiago Silva, and Mendes will have another rival???
But Silva-Evans isn´t a PPV main event
:S :S :S :S
It would be in two years. Thiago Silva will be the light heavy weight champ. He just needs a couple big wins and some hype before he’s a PPV draw.
Bisping - Nate…….PLEASE!!!
Both should be good to go, as they didn’t do much last weekend!
DAMN
I wouldn’t be surprised if Dana put Bisping in there against Rashad again. The fight is in London. How else are they going to sell tickets without Chuck?
That will not happen because the last time those 2 were a main event it was a waste of money no way will that happen again
Okami Silva won’t happen beceause Okami has a broken hand and I beleive is still on medical suspension, but I don’t know that for a fact. Either way this fight won’t happen now. I think Nog vs Arlovski is a possibility. The only other thing I can think of besides that is Tito vs Rashad II. I’m sorry, but that’s all I got.
just heard a rumor that they r thinking of moving Jardine/silva to that card. would make sense for oversees draw (silva) but would really ruin a card that is looking great. How bout bisping/leben, but even that isn’t a main event. How bout me and the 2or3 other kevin’s on this site pretending to be me???(Kevin and kevin2)
Is it too early for bisping to fight again? I have had a sneaky feeling he mite go on this if he didnt get any medical suspensions, whats the amount of time you have to have between fights??
Bisping sucks ass. I dont want to see him fight in any main event. A Bisping fight would be last on my list. He is not an interesting fighter to me at all. He’s over rated.
I’d pay to see Dana Vs Cuban
Chunk is full of chickensh*t
you guys got screwed, as well as rashad, but they either need to make this a freebie on spike tv or come up with a main event soon, i think spider vs okami then push lidell fight to aug main event in minesota
Let me start by saying, I would have picked Evens.The man is ALWAYS the under-dog and he ALWAYS surprizes everyone. I think Chuck backed out,not a injury.Because of 1 person,KIMBO, he’s comming,yes we will see it.KIMBO vs. CHUCK. that will not happen if he looses to Evens. That shows me he is scared and he will not risk the chance of a younger, better conditioned fighter beating him.What a PUSSY. Earn it CHUCK. You are not as good as you were 2 years ago.
Your wrong in so many ways… starting with the spelling but i won’t get into that.
How is evAns always an underdog? Er vs Bisping he was the favourite, vs Salmon he was the favourite, vs Lambert he was the favourite, vs Bonner he was the favourite.
Oh you must mean that he was in the Heavyweight TUF, wow that guy is always up against it, a lot of heavyweight talent came from that show!
Kimbo - just signed a new deal with Elite and is headlining the CBS card, oh and Dana doesn’t want him.
Chuck being a pussy - Don’t think so, i’m not the biggest chuck fan but he has never hidden from anyone. He even went over to hunt for Wandy in Pride when he was in his prime.
Think thats about it, please shut up.
Heavy Weight Unification Bout!! Nogueira vs Couture!! Just need to convince Randy. That would be a fight worth seeing. Too bad it’ll never happen, but it’d be great!
GSP/Fitch is possible. GSP didn’t get banged up and I’m sure that Fitch would be ready to go by then.
That would be AWSOME
Why are people talking about Bisping filling in when he DROPPED A WEIGHT CLASS?
Hendo is a possibility since he’s stated he doesn’t know or care which weight class he’ll be fighting at…the middleweight title is tied up right now because nobody knows who is next in line and Okami’s hand is broke, and the heavyweight title and division is in shambles…who wants to see Nog vs. Werdum? So, basically…they’re screwed.
Kalib Starnes vs Gabe Rudiger
1st you couldnt get rudiger in the oct. unless you drag him in and kalib would proably run away the whole time, but funny as hell.