Chuck Liddell hosts UFC 128 Q&A session Posted by Staff (03/09/2011 @ 9:35 am) MMA Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will host the UFC 128 UFC Fight Club Q&A session on March 18 according to HeavyMMA.com.  The weigh-ins for “UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones” takes place on Friday, March 18 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Prior to the official weigh-ins, former UFC light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell will host a special Q&A for UFC Fight Club members. UFC champions Frankie Edgar and Dominick Cruz will be signing autographs along with TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar. The Q&A begins at 2 p.m. ET. The doors will open to UFC Fight Club members at 1 p.m. ET. The weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m. ET with the door opening for the general public at 3 p.m. ET. You can watch the live UFC 128 weigh-in video stream here at Heavy.com. UFC 128 is headlined by the UFC light heavyweight title bout between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jon Jones.
Read more MMA headlines. Despite another KO loss, Liddell deserves one last fight Posted by Drew Ellis (06/14/2010 @ 2:30 pm)  I, like many of you, watched the sad scene of Chuck Liddell getting knocked out by Rich Franklin at UFC 115 on Saturday night.
The consensus of the broadcasters and many of the fans is that it was Liddell’s last fight. After all, the man has now lost five of his last six and three of four of those losses have come by knockout. While you have to be concerned for Liddell’s health and mental state after the repeated KO’s, I think the UFC owes it to Liddell for one last fight.
This wouldn’t be just any fight, it would be a fight with his rival, Tito Ortiz. And no matter the result, Liddell would retire after that fight. I mean the poor guy spent a month of his life listening to Ortiz talk unwarranted trash about him with the thought that he would get a chance to shut Ortiz up one more time, only to see Ortiz back out with an injury that he somehow hadn’t noticed until the show was about to wrap up.
Liddell has already KO’d Ortiz two times yet Ortiz still seems to think he is better than Liddell and will gladly tell anyone that asks him about it. Liddell would love nothing more than to plant another right hand on Ortiz’ big head. You really wouldn’t have to worry much about Liddell’s health with this fight either as Ortiz doesn’t have punching power and Liddell has tremendous takedown defense. Ortiz would pretty much be a sitting duck for Liddell. Liddell was the face of the UFC during its boom into mainstream media and he has always done what the organization has asked. It would be nice to see the UFC pay him back one last time by giving him this fight. Liddell deserves a chance to ride off into the sunset by beating one of the most hated fighters in the promotion.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
UFC 115 Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (06/12/2010 @ 6:42 pm) 
UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin takes place tonight from the General Motors Palace in Vancouver, British Columbia. The card is pretty solid but not overwhelming. Here are my thoughts on each of the main card bouts. Light Heavyweight Bout – Chuck Liddell (21-7) vs. Rich Franklin (27-5) – Both of these guys are past their prime and looking for another win to add to their career list. Liddell looks to be in great shape for the fight but unless he changes the way he fights, he is probably in trouble. Franklin is a more technical striker and he utilizes body kicks, which Liddell will have trouble with. I expect Franklin to use his jab to keep Liddell and bay and slowly wear him down before scoring a big punch that leads to a finish in the third round. Heavyweight Bout – Mirko Cro Cop (26-7) vs. Pat Barry (5-1) – This should be a very entertaining fight as neither fighter wants it to go to the ground and both are excellent with their kicks. Unfortunately for Cro Cop, he has lost his killer instinct that made him a star and his apprehension will allow Barry to set the tone with his brutal leg kicks. Look for Barry to win this fight by a TKO in the second round. Welterweight Bout – Paulo Thiago (13-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-3) – Kampmann seems to be getting overlooked in this fight as he is a tough guy to beat and he is very well-rounded. Thiago is probably over-confident in his striking after his last win over Mike Swick, but that will play into Kampmann’s favor. Look for the Dane to get a decision victory as he dictates the pacing and location of the bout.
Heavyweight Bout – Ben Rothwell (30-7) vs. Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1) – These are two big sluggers that are going to probably tire themselves out early in the fight. The key to victory will be the bigger size and better wrestling skill of Rothwell, who should be able to use his weight to lay on Yvel and tire him out quicker. Once Yvel is gassed, look for Rothwell to pounce and score a second round TKO win. Welterweight Bout – Carlos Condit (24-5) vs. Rory MacDonald (10-0) – There is a lot of promise in MacDonald, who is just 20-years-old, but he is stepping up in competition with this fight against the experienced Condit. Condit will be ready anywhere the fight goes and MacDonald still has some learning to do before he can get into contender status. Look for Condit to out-class MacDonald on their feet and on the ground as he scores a decision win. Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Tags: Ben Rothwell, Carlos Condit, Chuck Liddell, Gilbert Yvel, Martin Kampmann, Mike Swick, Mirko Cro Cop, MMA, Pat Barry, Paulo Thiago, Rich Franklin, Rory MacDonald, Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC 115 Preview: Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin Posted by Staff (06/11/2010 @ 10:30 am) When Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Rich “Ace” Franklin meet in the octagon this Saturday night, no titles will be on the line but as our MMA writer Drew Ellis writes: a career will likely end, while a legacy will be shaped. Ellis previewed UFC 115 for Bullz-Eye.com, which you can read here. Below is a taste of the preview and a gallery dedicated to the fight. Enjoy! The main event of Saturday’s card features two former UFC champions when Rich “Ace” Franklin and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell meet. At one time, both were considered among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but now, the two are thought to be past their prime.
Liddell (21-7) is making his return to the octagon after being away for over a year. His last fight was a first round knockout loss to current light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Liddell won the UFC Light Heavyweight title back at UFC 52 against Randy Couture. That win was part of a seven-fight win streak that saw Liddell defend his title four times before running into Quinton Jackson. “Rampage” knocked out Liddell in the first round of that fight, which started a string of four losses in five outings for Liddell. The problem that Liddell has been facing is that he was so successful for a stretch earlier in his career that he believed he didn’t have to continue to evolve. He continued to rely on his punching power, while his opponents found new ways to gain the upper hand on him. As Liddell refused to change, wins subsequently turned to losses and now, a loss to Franklin will end his career. (Or so says UFC President Dana White.) The road hasn’t been much different for Franklin (27-5), who won the UFC middleweight title at UFC 53 by defeating Evan Tanner. From there, Franklin put together some dominant wins over mediocre talent in Nate Quarry and David Loiseau.
Read the full UFC 115 Preview at Bullz-Eye.com. [nggallery id=4 template=carousel images=8] What a difference 5 years makes in MMA Posted by Drew Ellis (06/05/2010 @ 9:50 am)  The main event of UFC 115 next weekend would have been one of the biggest fights ever five years ago. Former champions Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell will meet in a fight where in all reality, the loser should retire. The winner won’t have much of anywhere to move up the ladder and the loser will really only deserve to be on a PPV undercard. It is amazing how quickly things have changed in MMA and looking back just five years ago to see who the UFC champions were and where they are now. On June 4, 2005, the UFC held UFC 53: Heavy Hitters where Franklin won the middleweight title over Evan Tanner. As of that show, here is a look at who the UFC champions were and how their careers have quickly headed south. Heavyweight Champion – Andrei Arlovski: At UFC 53, Arlovski defended his title for the first time defeating the late Justin Eilers by TKO in the first round after Eilers blew his knee out. It was Arlovski’s fifth-straight win at the time, all of which were by stoppage. Arlovski followed that win with a one-punch KO of Paul Buentello at UFC 55 and was largely considered the most dominant champion in the organization. However, a bizarre loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 59, in which Arlovski has Sylvia beat but then was caught with as straight jab that led to a TKO loss, started the downfall of his career. Another loss to Syliva led to a five-fight winning streak, but the fighter was never quite the same. He lost his aggression and confidence and has since lost three-straight fights and is almost an afterthought in MMA. His most recent fight was a decision loss to Antonio Silva, which was a sad performance where he never showed the aggression that made him the dominant champion of five years ago. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Tags: Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski, B.J. Penn, Chuck Liddell, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Tim Sylvia, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship
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