Chuck Liddell (21-6) vs. Mauricio Rua (17-3)
The semi main-event of the evening is a big-name Light Heavyweight showdown between former UFC Champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and former World #1 Light Heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Both names were once synonymous with greatness at 205 pounds, but recent poor performances have put some tarnish on both men’s reputations. This is a do-or-die fight for both men. The winner will be able to parlay a big win into some more high-profile fights, but another big loss for either fighter would undoubtedly spell the end of their time as a top Light Heavyweight. Liddell -175 / Rua +145 current odds
“Shogun” Rua was, at one point, considered unstoppable at 205 pounds. In PRIDE, he was destroying Top 10 fighters left and right, including Ricardo Arona, Little Nog, Alistair Overeem, and Quentin “Rampage” Jackson. He hit his first snag, though, when his arm snapped like a twig after a powerful takedown from Mark Coleman. While he did recover from the injury, and put together another impressive string of wins, that incident marked the beginning of Shogun’s well-publicized string of major injuries.
His UFC debut was pushed back because of a knee surgery, and when he finally did fight, he looked out of shape and lethargic, getting manhandled by Forrest Griffin for much of their fight and finally submitted. His next fight, a rematch with Coleman, was over 18 months later, and while he did win the fight, he looked unimpressive and out of shape again.
His opponent, Chuck Liddell, is synonymous with UFC and the Light Heavyweight division in particular. A multiple-time champion, Liddell holds wins over a bevy of future hall of famers, including Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and Wanderlei Silva, along with almost every other notable light heavyweight employed by UFC this decade. Chuck’s style itself is legendary, the potent combination of unbeatable takedown defense and power punching known as Sprawl and Brawl.
Recently, though, the only sprawling Chuck has been doing is sprawling out on the mat unconscious. Both Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans sent Liddell to dreamtown, and he was thoroughly out-kickboxed by gatekeeper Keith Jardine. In fact, his only win in his last four fights was against an equally depleted Wanderlei Silva.
This has all the makings of an interesting stylistic matchup. While Shogun is well known for being a knockout artist, his Muay Thai really isn’t all that good, at least technically. One of his less-recognized gifts is a surprisingly good and extremely underrated ground game. Against Liddell, though, that is irrelevant, since Shogun doesn’t have anywhere near the wrestling he would need to take Chuck down. Truth be told, I expect Liddell to surprise most of his fans, and actually use his wrestling offensively to take Shogun down if he gets in trouble. For the most part, though, this should be decided on the feet. Rua, like all of his former Chute Boxe teammates, is often times recklessly aggressive.
Against many opponents, this has worked to his advantage, but Liddell has made a career of walking backwards and flooring his opponents with huge counter power punches. Considering that stylistic advantage, and Liddell’s hugely superior cardio, I see Shogun biting off more than he can chew midway through the second round and eating a trademark Liddell counter haymaker.
Chuck by TKO, round 2.
