Chuck Liddell potential retirement after ufc 115 fight againest Rich Framklin ?

According to UFC President Dana White, longtime UFC fighter Chuck Liddell, who suffered a first-round TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in the co-main event of Saturday's UFC 97 event, is retired from fighting.

"He's a huge superstar, and we could still sell lots of tickets (with Liddell)," White said. "But I don't care about that. I care about him. I care about his health, and it's over, man. It's over."

The loss to Rua was Liddell's fourth in his past five fights and the third to come via knockout in that span. Although Liddell said he retooled his training camp, and though some of those new skills were on display on Saturday at Montreal's Bell Centre, Liddell still suffered the career-ending loss.

Much of the buildup for UFC 97 focused on Liddell's potential retirement.
eported last week, White had been adamant that a loss for 39-year-old Liddell would mean retirement. "And he did. He kept his word. He was in great shape. He came out guns slinging like he does, but that was it. If that (fight) was a toe-to-toe war and he got flashed (knocked down) a couple times and it went to decision, he'd still be retiring too. He'd still be retiring."

White said the decision is all the easier when considering all that the former UFC light-heavyweight champion has accomplished. White continually states that Liddell is the highest earner in MMA history and the biggest star the sport has ever seen.

"I don't want him to fight anymore," White said. "He [expletive] doesn't have anything to prove. Nothing to prove. He doesn't have to prove anything to me or the rest of world. He has [expletive] loads of money. There's no reason for it. ... I don't care how much he draws. I don't want to see him get hurt."

Liddell attended the post-UFC 97 press conference, a rarity for high-profile stars who suffer losses in their fights. White said it's just the type of person Liddell is. But maybe Liddell just wanted to say goodbye – without officially saying goodbye.

When asked if he had entered the cage for the final time, Liddell was at first noncommittal but later admitted it was probably true.

"Yeah, that's probably the case," Liddell said. "I'm not going to make any decisions until I go home to talk to everybody, talk to my people and my friends. ... But it's probably safe to say (I'm retired)."

The news will likely hit the MMA world hard. Despite his 1-4 record since his final title defense over Tito Ortiz at UFC 66, Liddell remains a fan favorite, a proven par-per-view draw, and an international icon for the sport.

"Fight fans love guys who are real fighters, and you will never in your [expletive] life meet a more real fighter than this guy," White said. "He didn't want to stop. He didn't want to quit. He wanted to take another run at the title. He loves to fight."

Liddell retires with a 21-7 record, including a 16-6 mark in the UFC. His 16 wins in the organizations remain a UFC record.

Liddell, who turned pro in 1998, made his MMA and UFC debut at UFC 17. He won the UFC's light-heavyweight title in 2005 and made four consecutive title defenses before losing the belt to Quinton Jackson in 2007.

According to White, Liddell will remain with the organization, though an exact role has not been determined. However, White said Liddell will likely be involved in the organization's public relations, including the push for MMA legislation in the few remaining U.S. states where the sport is not currently regulated.

"He'll always have a home here," White said. ESPNMMA.com

UFC 115 , Watch - KO highlight video ( Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin )

But Liddell, who went from fighting for purses of less than $1,000 to earning paydays in excess of $1 million, couldn’t bring himself to retire so easily.
“I just love to fight,” Liddell said, repeatedly, before the bout.
So, he struck a deal with White: He’d clean up the lifestyle issues that concerned his friend and one-time manager and get himself into the kind of shape he’d been in when he was in his heyday. In return, White agreed to give him another chance.
And, indeed, Liddell’s body looked fit and trim, much more like that of a 25-year-old than a 40-year-old.
He also went out with his style of fight, stalking Franklin and gunning for the knockout with every shot he threw.
“He follows big when he thinks he has you hurt,” Franklin said. “But I was never as badly hurt as he thought I was.”
Liddell was doing well in the bout and likely would have won the first round on the scorecards if it was completed. Not only did he land several good punches, but he was throwing high kicks, which he hadn’t in years, and he mixed in some wrestling.
But his lust for the knockout, in a way, cost him the fight on Saturday.
He missed a big right hand and he swung so hard that his momentum carried him forward into Franklin. Franklin fired a right hook that had everything he could muster on it. The blow landed on Liddell’s mouth and badly split his lip, almost down to the chin.
Liddell was out instantly, but Franklin landed a shot before referee Herb Dean could get in to stop it.
“Chuck Liddell came in fantastic shape; he worked hard for this thing and I think him and Rich Franklin tonight fought the type of fights that made them both famous and made them both world champions,” White said in tribute to his friend, who was taken to a local hospital to be examined. “Those two went at it, nonstop, toe-to-toe. It was a fun fight.”
The fight had major stakes for both men. Franklin was coming off a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 in September and was a loser in two of his last three.
While most of the pre-fight attention was focused on Liddell and whether he could get it back together to, as he said, make a final run at the UFC light heavyweight title, the bout had significant implications for Franklin as well.
The light heavyweight division is one of the UFC’s deepest. If Franklin had lost to Liddell, it would have been his third defeat in four outings and retirement might have been in the offing.
Franklin didn’t want to acknowledge it, but he conceded after the bout that he understood he was walking a high-wire as well.
“It maybe was somewhere in the back of my mind, but I really try to push that stuff out,” Franklin said. “What happened to me in my last fight will not predict what will happen to me in my next fight. I really believe that. On any given night, Chuck and I could do this 100 times and there would be several different outcomes.
“This happened to be my night, and last fight it wasn’t. But you can’t help but think that, ‘Well, if I drop three of four, where would that leave me?’ Any time you put your back against the wall in a no-win situation, where ‘if I don’t win this, it’s over,’ you take your mind off the important thing and that’s focusing on my performance.”
Franklin fought more than half of the fight with a broken left arm, suffered when he successfully blocked a high kick from Liddell about two minutes into the match.
He wasn’t planning to quit, he said, but he knew it would help his cause if he could do something to end the fight quickly. When the bout ended, he beamed devilishly, because he knew he didn’t have to figure a way to win the bout without his left arm.
“I was just happy the fight was over because I knew my arm was broken,” Franklin said, explaining his grin. “I definitely wasn’t going to quit. I’ve broken bones before and continued fighting, but there was part of me that was trying to figure what kind of strategy I was going to use to win a fight with a broken left arm.”
Franklin pulled it out and so his career will continue forward, but Liddell will be left to move on to other things. White, who said, “I love Chuck Liddell,” said his friend would have a job for life with the UFC.
But the man who was one of the most significant fighters in UFC history and who helped the company achieve the soaring popularity it now enjoys wanted that job to be swapping punches, at least a bit longer.
He goes out, though, on his own terms, having fought the best of his era and beaten nearly all of them. He finishes with a 21-8 record and a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Six of Liddell’s eight losses came against men who held a UFC title at one point in their careers (Jackson, twice; Couture, Evans, Rua and Franklin) and who themselves are among the best fighters in the sport’s brief history.
Franklin called the victory “bittersweet” because he didn’t want to become known as the man who retired Liddell.
The former middleweight champion scored the knockout, but it wasn’t really Franklin who retired Chuck Liddell.
It was the calendar. Liddell got old and his chin betrayed him.
He went down, though, the way he fought his entire career, firing big punches and bringing the fans from their seats.
Few have ever done it better.
Franklin’s left arm was grotesquely swollen and appeared it may be broken after he blocked a kick from Liddell.
But Franklin, the former middleweight champ, didn’t seem to mind, beaming after knocking out one of the UFC’s legendary stars.
Liddell hadn’t fought since being knocked out by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua 14 months ago in Montreal at UFC 97. It was the third time he had been knocked out, and Liddell took the time off to allow himself to recuperate.
He was scoring well on Saturday and dictating the pace of the fight. He likely would have won the first round on the judges’ cards if the round finished, and he looked to apply some late damage when he was caught.
On the undercard, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic won his heavyweight battle with Pat Barry, who made no secret of his admiration for the PRIDE veteran. Filipovic forced a submission with a rear naked choke with 30 seconds left in the fight.
Barry made many fans before the fight by admitting his admiration for Filipovic, but in the first round he went after his idol and knocked him down twice and was in control of the fight.
But Barry’s conditioning seemed to fail him and Filipovic picked up the pace in the second, stopping Barry’s onslaught and forcing him into a defensive mode.
In the third, Filipovic took over and was catching Barry with fast combinations, forcing Barry to retreat. With about a minute left, a combination from Filipovic knocked Barry down. Filipovic landed a series of hard punches on the ground and referee Yves Lavigne seemed on the verge of stopping it.
But Barry turned away from Filipovic, who took advantage and slapped the fight-ending choke on Barry.
Canadian Rory MacDonald, at 20 years old the UFC’s youngest fighter, got a hero’s welcome from the raucous GM Place crowd and then performed brilliantly through the first two rounds against former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Carlos Condit.
But Condit took over in the third round and began to rock MacDonald with hard punches. In the final seconds of the fight, MacDonald was on his back and Condit was pounding him with blows. With just 10 seconds left in the fight, referee Kevin Dornan jumped in to stop it.
Two of the judges had MacDonald up 20-18 at the time of the stop. The third had it a draw, 19-19. If the judges would have scored the fight 10-8 for Condit, as it appeared they might, the fight would have wound up a majority draw.
MacDonald didn’t complain about the stoppage.
“I was confused,” he said. “I was taking some good shots. I was lost. I just couldn’t find my rhythm.”
Ben Rothwell managed to control Gilbert Yvel in most of all three rounds and won a unanimous decision over the Dutchman in an entertaining heavyweight bout.
Martin Kampmann moved closer to a bout for the No. 1 contender position in the UFC’s welterweight division with a solid victory over Paulo Thiago. Kampmann was brilliant in neutralizing Thiago’s punching power and controlling him on the ground.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filopovic took an early beating to come back and choke out Pat Barry in the third round at UFC 115.
Pat Barry came out against his hero, the legendary Mirko "Cro Cop" Filopovic looking to land hard shots. He did about 30 seconds in, dropped Cro Cop with a right hand. Barry then went to the leg kick. And back for more. Cro Cop came in swinging and missing and Barry landed to the inside of the same leg. Cro Cop attempted a hook kick. Barry landed another hard right and again dropped Mirko.
Cro Cop's face began to swell horribly. The announcers speculated that his jaw was broken. Cro Cop threw Pat Barry and got a take down. Then he landed a combination of punches that set the crowd on fire. Then they traded hugs! Then back to exchanging blows. Barry ended with a high kick that just missed.
Mirko looked really bad going into round two. He threw two big left high kicks to open. Then he landed with a kick to the body. And he surged forward behind a punching combination. This is a proud man! Barry with more leg kicks. They tied up and Mirko attacked Barry's thighs with hammer fists then threw Barry down briefly. More knees to the bodies preceded a ref restart. Cro Cop advanced behind double jabs. Then a side kick landed for the Croation. Barry slipped on a high kick and Mirko locked on a front choke. Then he put Barry down on his back. Barry managed to hold Mirko close, but Filopovic worked for better position and attained mount. Then he got Barry's back and worked for a rear naked choke! Barry flipped over but Cro Cop held dominant position to the end of the round. Great come back for Filopovic.
A bruised Pat Barry looked at a shattered Mirko Filopovic across the cage to start round three. They hugged a gain then got to business. Cro Cop fired combinations. Then he landed an axe kick! Cro Cop ducked a right hand and got body hooks. Barry timed a high kick and kicked his leg out from under him, dropping Cro Cop on his ass. Barry pinged with leg kicks. Barry tagged him with a left. Cro Cop answered with an uppercut. And another followed by a combination of hooks. Then they clinched near the cage where they traded standing elbows. Cro Cop landed more. The ref restarted them again . Cro Cop landed hard and poured it on. Then he dropped Barry and pounded away. Cro Cop whaled away and looked at the ref asking for a stoppage. Not getting it, he went for the rear naked choke and got the finish.

UFC 115 weigh in & fight card

Today's proceedings begin at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).




Weighing in today are UFC 115 headliners and "The Ultimate Fighter 11" coaches Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell, co-main-event fighters Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Pat Barry, and the rest of the card's fighters. They'll return to GM Place on Saturday for the Spike TV (two preliminary-card fights) and pay-per-view (main card) fights.



Be sure to check out MMAjunkie.com later today for a complete weigh-in photo gallery and images of all 22 competitors.



The official results include:



MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)



Rich Franklin () vs. Chuck Liddell ()

Patrick Barry () vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic ()

Martin Kampmann () vs. Paulo Thiago ()

Ben Rothwell () vs. Gilbert Yvel ()

Carlos Condit () vs. Rory MacDonald ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)



Mac Danzig () vs. Matt Wiman ()

Evan Dunham () vs. Tyson Griffin ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (Not televised)

David Loiseau () vs. Mario Miranda ()

Peter Sobotta () vs. James Wilks ()

Ricardo Funch () vs. Claude Patrick ()

Jesse Lennox () vs. Mike Pyle ()

There have been rumors Rich Franklin replaces Tito Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter Season 11...this pic from the TUF 11 set seems to confirm this rumor with Franklin's picture up on the wall alongside Chuck Liddell.Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell in the works for UFC 115, not rumored April show (Updated)

There have been rumors Rich Franklin replaces Tito Ortiz on The Ultimate Fighter Season 11...this pic from the TUF 11 set seems to confirm this rumor with Franklin's picture up on the wall alongside Chuck Liddell.has learned from sources close to the promotion that the two have verbally agreed to face each other in June at UFC 115, though contracts have yet to be finalized.

The new matchup replaces a planned third meeting between Liddell and Tito Ortiz that had been expected for the promotion's first trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and may have been arranged as a result of Franklin's unexpected involvement in "TUF 11."

The Franklin vs. Liddell matchup was first reported by Fighters Only magazine, though the U.K.-based publication pinned the fight to a rumored April 17 UFC Fight Night card that now seems increasingly unlikely to occur.

Liddell and Ortiz were announced this past December as opposing coaches on the soon-to-debut "The Ultimate Fighter 11" series. At that time, the UFC also announced plans for the legendary figures to meet for a third time at the conclusion of the series.

It was later learned that the matchup was intended to headline the as-yet-unannounced UFC 115 card in June.

With Ortiz no longer in the plans, the former champion's next move is currently unknown.

In February, with "The Ultimate Fighter 11" still filming in Las Vegas, the "Hunting Beach Bad Boy" posted a series of cryptic messages on his Twitter account the led to many to speculate something had run afoul with his role as a coach on the Spike TV series.

"If things couldn't get worse, they just did!" Ortiz stated on Feb. 24. "[Expletive]! "I want to thank all my fans for your support!

"I guess business is business."

Three days later, additional Ortiz comments led to further speculation.

"Thanks for all the support," Ortiz stated. "Thinking that life couldn't get any harder? It just did! Another challenge that god has given me! Wow.

"Many things that challenge us in lives will make us stronger. One thing I can say is don't ever quit. I'm strong because of my family and fans!"

MMAjunkie.com has been told from additional sources that Ortiz was not able to complete the filming of "The Ultimate Fighter 11," though the reasoning behind his absence wasn't immediately known.

Those same sources suggested that Franklin was possibly brought in as a replacement coach to finish out the season's filming, and "Ace" now meets Liddell as an opposing "TUF" coach.

The original announcement of a third matchup between Liddell and Ortiz was met with little fanfare. Many MMA fans felt the matchup was unnecessary with the "Iceman" already owning a pair of wins over Ortiz – a 2004 second-round knockout and a 2006 third-round TKO.

UFC president Dana White has publicly denied that any changes are taking place through multiple posts on his Twitter account.

"Not true!" White stated. "We are doing (Randy) Couture vs. (Rich) Franklin, not Chuck.

"Nothing happened to Tito. Tito and I are cool."

MMAjunkie.com has been informed by additional sources close to the promotion that while a Couture vs. Franklin fight has been discussed, there are numerous obstacles that could potentially prevent the matchup from taking place, and bout agreements have not been distributed.

For more on "The Ultimate Fighter 11," which debuts March 31 following Spike TV's broadcast of UFC Fight Night 21,

Chuck Liddell returns to the ufc ( TUFF ) Coach .....

There was a time Chuck Liddell might have had the strongest chin in mixed martial arts. Hit him with a big shot and he’d grin maniacally and fire a power-packed punch of his own in return. Few men could take the blows Liddell could absorb and remain conscious, let alone upright.
And now, it seems, neither can Liddell.
The most popular fighter in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been knocked out in three of his last five bouts, including his last two, and was urged to retire by his close friend, UFC president Dana White, following a knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 97 in Montreal in April 2009.

More From Kevin Iole

Chuck Liddell's performance has tapered off in his latest bouts but he's opting to return to the Octagon.
(Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

Liddell is not a man without options, and he doesn’t need to fight to make a living. He’s got plenty of money, and White has promised him a job for life. Yet, despite the warning signs, he’s opted to return to the cruelest sport.
He’ll appear as a coach in Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which will debut March 31 on Spike TV, and then will fight bitter rival and opposing coach Tito Ortiz at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver.
Fighters are unlike any other athletes alive and accept risks that few others would ever consider. There’s something inside of them that is different from the rest of us that makes them willing to put their bodies in harm’s way again and again.
Athletes in other sports who overstay their welcome simply suffer embarrassment. A pitcher who loses four or five miles off his fastball doesn’t leave the game with brain damage; he only suffers the indignity of a bad record and a bloated earned run average. But a fighter who has been repeatedly knocked out and comes back for more risks a lot more than just another defeat.
Liddell, 41, who has an accounting degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is well aware of the risks any fighter accepts. Despite his recent losing skein, though, he insists he’s at no greater risk than he was when he was in his prime and the most-feared gunslinger in the UFC.
They all say that, of course.
Sometimes, they’re right, but overwhelmingly they are not. When they’re not, even in the best-case scenario, they wind up with something like pugilistic dementia.
Liddell took eight months off without so much as hitting a mitt after his loss to Rua in order to allow his body to heal. He dearly loves to fight and kept a brutal pace, not only by fighting some of the world’s best punchers but also by sparring regularly in the gym. After he was blasted by Rua, he knew a long rest was in order.
“That’s one of the reasons I took some time off,” Liddell said. “It takes time to heal. I didn’t even hit the mitts until January, and I’ve only had a couple of light sparring sessions since then. One of the reasons I took some time off was because I thought I was being hurt by shots that don’t normally hurt me in the Shogun fight.
“That’s what prompted me to want to take a year off. I never thought about retiring. I still think I can beat people. I still think I can fight.”
In his defense, he’s faced some of the meanest men any man could face. He was knocked out by a shot from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 71 that probably would have knocked down a wall.
He survived a three-round firefight with Wanderlei Silva and was knocked out in UFC 88 by a lightning-fast shot he did not see from Rashad Evans.
But when he was knocked out by Rua, White had seen enough and took the initiative at the post-fight news conference to announce Liddell’s retirement.
“He can still sell out shows and he can still sell pay-per-views, but he’s done,” White said that night. “He helped build this company and he helped build this sport, but he’s done. Even Michael Jordan turned 40, and he was done.”
Liddell didn’t come out definitively one way or another, but in the face of White’s unrelenting pressure to retire, Liddell said at the news conference, “It’s probably the end.”
The more he thought about it, though, the more he decided he could still compete. He simply could no longer keep up the pace he kept as a younger man. Liddell took the rest of 2009 off. He decided not to throw and, more significantly, not to take any more punches for the rest of the year.
Last month, on one of the final days of filming of TUF 11, he looked very physically fit, broad through the chest and shoulders with a flat stomach. But a ripped body has nothing to do with how well a fighter can take a punch.
Liddell, though, has no concern. He believes he’s done what he needs to do to protect himself and is convinced he’s still among the top 205-pounders in the world.
“I can still beat anybody in the world at my weight, so make of that what you will,” Liddell said. “The difference now is, there was a time when I didn’t think anybody could beat me. Now, it’s a slight shift. I don’t think there’s anybody I can’t beat.”
Ortiz, clearly, is one of those men. He’s already knocked Ortiz out twice and wasn’t interested in facing him a third time when White initially broached the subject.
“I didn’t want to give him the exposure,” Liddell said.
White, though, is as persuasive as he is strong-willed, and he convinced Liddell to take the spot as a coach on TUF and to fight Ortiz after the season ended. Liddell reluctantly agreed, but it wouldn’t be long before he’d be champing at the bit to get his hands on Ortiz again.
Especially after Ortiz told reporters at TUF 11 media day that Liddell is a recovering alcoholic and that White did an intervention to get him treatment.
“Thank God that Dana gave him an intervention, and he’s sober now,” Ortiz said. “He’s been sober since November, and he looks like a different person. It’s awesome. I’m proud of him, really proud of him. A lot of people can’t do that. I kind of went through that myself, but I looked in the mirror and I realized that wasn’t the life I wanted to lead. Liddell avoided rock bottom and a disastrous outcome.
“I’m proud he’s found sobriety. A lot of fighters, and a lot of people in general, don’t do that. They fall off the face of the earth, and sometimes they’ll find them in a hotel, dead, or behind a wheel, dead. Thank God Chuck isn’t one of those guys. Thank God he found sobriety, and I’m proud of him, very proud of him.”
Liddell denies he’s an alcoholic or that White did any sort of intervention. He conceded he likes to drink and said when he does, he frequently gets rip-roaring drunk. He said, however, he could start and stop when he wants.
White also denied doing any sort of intervention and chalked it up to “Tito being Tito.”
Liddell, though, was suddenly eager to fight Ortiz again.
“I just didn’t want to give him the press, or give him the exposure from the show, for nothing,” Liddell said of Ortiz. “Dealing with him for 40-something days, I wasn’t really too excited about that either. I just don’t like the guy, and I really didn’t want to be bothered. I finally agreed and on the first day, he goes out and says I had to have an intervention and that I’m an alcoholic.
“The intervention, according to him, was in September. I didn’t stop drinking until late November when I started getting ready for the show. It’s one of those things, that as I’ve gotten older and older, I’ve taken longer to get ready for fights. I treat my body better and better now as I’ve gotten older. So what he says, it just isn’t true and didn’t fit in with anything close to what the facts are.”
Liddell says he hasn’t had a drop of alcohol since he began training for the reality series and won’t until after he meets Ortiz in June. He’s going to come hard after Ortiz when the fight starts to make him pay for his comments.
“Coming into this, the only thing that worried me about fighting him was coming in with that attitude that, ‘Oh, I’ve already knocked this guy out twice,’ and treating it like a tune-up fight,” Liddell said. “But I was confident that somewhere within the span of the show, he would do or say something that would get me motivated to train the right way. And guess what? First week, he did. I was like, ‘Done and done.’ I’m ready to go after him. I’m going to train to bury him. I’m going to hurt him. I’m going to knock him out.
“I got him in the third and I got him in the second, now I’m going for the first. I want the hat trick.”
So Liddell soldiers on, believing he can reclaim his past glory. He believes he can get to the top in what is the deepest weight class in the UFC. If he gets the knockout against Ortiz, as he’s done twice before, he’ll almost certainly continue to fight. And he’s going to face increasingly better opposition the more he wins.
White tried to save Liddell from himself and force him to retire after UFC 97. But when Liddell insisted, White essentially threw his hands up in the air.
“I’m his friend, not his father,” White said plaintively.
Liddell insists he’ll walk away when he doesn’t believe he’s capable of competing. I don’t doubt his sincerity, but the fighters are usually the last to know when they’ve lost it.
Liddell doesn’t believe he has. For his sake, I sure hope he’s right.

TUF 11 Cast Announced full cast of the 28 middleweights fighting for a chance to become the next Ultimate Fighter. TUF 11 premieres March 31.Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz to Coach Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter

TUF 11 Cast Announced | UFC | SPIKE.com

The UFC announced during The Ultimate Finale the next step for dance star Chuck Liddell will be a return to a coaching position on The Ultimate Fighter, opposite rival Tito Ortiz.
If you thought Rampage and Rashad hated each other, these two might literally kill each other before taping closes on Season 11. I also don’t expect Chuck to consciously object to a bout with Ortiz

TUF 11 Cast Announced | UFC | SPIKE.com

MMA World Rankings for 2009 / 2010

The November 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.
In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to http://www.independentworldmmarankings.com/.
Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Heavy.com); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA and Head Kick Legend).
Note: Due to the fact that he has not competed in the welterweight division for over one year and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, Jake Shields is no longer eligible to be ranked in the welterweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the middleweight division.
Note: Due to the fact that he has not competed in the heavyweight division for over one year and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future, Randy Couture is no longer eligible to be ranked in the heavyweight division. He is, however, eligible to be ranked in the light heavyweight division.
November 2009 Independent World MMA RankingsBallots collected on November 24, 2009
Heavyweight Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.) 1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest)4. Frank Mir (12-4)5. Shane Carwin (11-0)6. Brett Rogers (10-1)7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 No Contest)8. Junior dos Santos (9-1)9. Cain Velasquez (7-0)10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.) 1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1)4. Quinton Jackson (30-7)5. Anderson Silva (25-4)6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)7. Forrest Griffin (17-6)8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)9. Dan Henderson (25-7)10. Thiago Silva (14-1)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.) 1. Anderson Silva (25-4)2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2)3. Dan Henderson (25-7)4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)5. Demian Maia (11-1)6. Jake Shields (24-4-1)7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)8. Yushin Okami (23-5)9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest)10. Jorge Santiago (21-8)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.) 1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)2. Jon Fitch (19-3, 1 No Contest)3. Thiago Alves (16-6)4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)5. Matt Hughes (43-7)6. Dan Hardy (23-6)7. Paulo Thiago (12-1)8. Mike Swick (14-3)9. Carlos Condit (24-5)10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.) 1. B.J. Penn (14-5-1)2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 No Contest)3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)4. Kenny Florian (11-4)5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)6. Diego Sanchez (21-2)7. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 No Contest)8. Frankie Edgar (10-1)9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)10. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.) 1. Jose Aldo (16-1)2. Mike Brown (22-5)3. Urijah Faber (22-3)4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)6. Raphael Assuncao (14-1)7. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (17-3)8. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2)9. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)10. Michihiro Omigawa (8-8-1)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.) 1. Brian Bowles (8-0)2. Miguel Torres (37-2)3. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2)4. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)5. Dominick Cruz (14-1)6. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2)7. Joseph Benavidez (10-1)8. Damacio Page (12-4)9. Rani Yahya (15-4)10. Will Ribeiro (10-2)
The Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’ actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy match-ups.
Inactivity: Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time they fight.
Disciplinary Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for each weight class.

UFC legend and hall-of-famer Chuck Liddell to go "Dancing with the Stars" in September

We suppose, if nothing else, it'll bring some street cred to ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."UFC superstar and hall-of-famer Chuck Liddell will join 15 other celebrities on the upcoming ninth season of the reality-show competition, which pairs each celebrity with a professional dancer.Liddell, perhaps not surprisingly, is the first mixed-martial-arts fighter to appear on the highly rated dance program, which debuted in the U.S. in 2005."I want to win," the 39-year-old Liddell told UFC.com. "I don't like losing in anything, so I'll work as hard as they'll let me."Three other athletes will join Liddell this season: former NFL player Michael Irvin, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Natalie Coughlin and professional snowboarder Louie Vito. The rest of the cast includes singer Aaron Carter, "Iron Chef America" host Mark Dacascos, politician Tom DeLay, singer Macy Gray, actor Ashley Hamilton, actress Melissa Joan Hart, model Kathy Ireland, model Joanna Krupa, actress Debi Mazar, singer Mya, reality star Kelly Osbourne and entertainer Donny Osmond. Liddell last fought in April, when he suffered a knockout loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 in Montreal. It was Liddell's fourth loss in five fights, and his third via knockout during that span. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said the fighter would enter retirement. But Liddell and his trainer, John Hackleman, have repeatedly stated they haven't shut the door on the fighter's career, and earlier this month at UFC 101 Q&A session with fans, White said he didn't want Liddell fighting again but that he wouldn't stop him if he wants to make a return to the octagon.Liddell, though, recently said he wouldn't return any sooner than next year, which opened the door for the "Dancing with the Stars" stint.And before the harassment begins, keep in mind that many notable athletes have appeared on the show, including NFL legends Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice; NBA Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler; Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno, Shawn Johnson, and Maurice Greene; and former boxing champions Evander Holyfield and Laila Ali.Liddell said the show producers had contacted him previously about appearing on the show."They asked a couple different times, but it would be too much time to take off from training for fights," Liddell stated. "Now I don’t have any fights coming up and I'm not training, so it's something to do."Liddell also hopes to change the public perception of MMA fighters."I'm going to go out, be myself and show what kind of people we do have in this sport," he stated. "I'm sure the reaction will be mixed (among fight fans). My friends are going to be excited, and I'll never hear the end of it because they'll make fun of me, but it should be fun and I think everyone will like it."The new season of "Dancing with the Stars" premieres Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Chuck Liddell knocked out by Rashad Evans in UFC 88

Knoked The F#cked Out !!

UFC Fight Results ! Iceman Needs to retire ??

In an incredibly surprising fight Rashad Evans has knocked out the former light heavy weight champion Chuck Liddell in UFC 88. Chuck Liddell went for a fierce upper cut and Rashad Evans countered with a right hook and knocked out Chuck Liddell with no follow up needed. This propels Rashad Evans very far up the 205 ladder and puts Chuck Liddell’s future in question. What do you think the future holds for Chuck, should he retire?

UFC 88 Main Card Fight Results

Chuck Lidell vs. Rashad Evans
Rashad Evans defeats Chuck Liddell by KO - Round 2
Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill
Rich Franklin defeats Matt Hamill BY TKO - Round 3
Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares
Dan Henderson defeats Rousimar Palhares via Unanimous Decision
Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann
Nate Marquardt defeats Martin Kampmann by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1
Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Dong Hyun Kim defeats Matt Brown by Split Decision
Preliminary UFC 88 Fight Results
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
Kurt Pellegrino defeats Thiago Tavares by unanimous decision
Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch
Tim Boetsch defeats Mike Patt by TKO (Strikes) - Round 1
Jason MacDonald vs Jason Lambert
Jason MacDonald defeats Jason Lambert by Submission (RNC) - Round 2
Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
Ryo Chonan defeats Roan Carneiro by Split Decision

Big UFC 88 Fight In Atlanta!

-UFC 88 FIGHT CARD FOR ATLANTA

MMAWeekly.com Staff
The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its first trip to the Philips Arena in Atlanta on Saturday night. The main event is a light heavyweight feature bout between former champion Chuck Liddell and Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner Rashad Evans.Liddell and Evans were first scheduled to fight on June 7 at UFC 85 in London. Evans had stepped in to face “The Iceman” when Liddell’s original opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, had to withdraw due to a knee injury. A subsequent injury to Liddell and several mis-starts with replacements saw Evans eventually withdrawn from the card as well.The two will finally meet on Saturday night at UFC 88 to narrow down the list of contenders to current UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.In other action at UFC 88, Rich Franklin, running into a middleweight roadblock named Anderson Silva, returns to the 205-pound division to face Ultimate Fighter alumnus Matt Hamill. Nate Marquardt and Martin Kampmann jockey for position in the queue to challenge Silva for his UFC gold. Dan Henderson works to retain his position as a contender in the middleweight division, while his opponent, Rousimar Palhares, looks to take Henderson’s place in line for a title shot.UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGHSeptember 6, 2008Philips ArenaAtlanta, GeorgiaMain Card Bouts:-Chuck Liddell (#4 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Rashad Evans-Rich Franklin (#3 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Matt Hamill-Karo Parisyan (#10 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida-Dan Henderson (#9 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Rousimar Palhares-Nate Marquardt (#8 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Martin KampmannPreliminary Bouts:-Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares-Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch-Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown-Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald-Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan

Who will win??

UFC 88 Chuck Liddell VS Rashad Evans

Who will Win ?? Chuck Liddell should rebound , from here and beat Evans within the the first or second round by TKO ! Any Thoughts?? Rematch w/ Jackson ,or title fight w/ Griffin ???