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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist By now Chuck Liddell has come to his senses after being separated from them Saturday night in Atlanta by Rashad Evans' right hand and can now begin dealing with what comes next. This was a highlight reel knockout that ranks up there with any in UFC history and will now be Evans' calling card and the requisite highlight clip to show before every Evans fight from now on.
If you would have told me that Rashad was going to knock Chuck out, I would have raised an eyebrow and wondered how you came to this prediction. By no means is this to suggest that I imagined that there was no way on earth this could have happened but rather was not something I considered could occur as I felt Rashad's gameplan was not going to include trading blows with Liddell. By no means does this knockout serve to establish Evans as an elite striker as any fighter would have been dropped by such a precise shot to the point of the chin. Now this does not mean I am not being respectful of Rashad's punching power but rather stating that it was a combination of things that led to this KO.
Chuck Liddell is not an elite puncher. There, I said it. Chuck Liddell has built a career off of being the deadly striker but the truth is that he punches with poor mechanics and always leaves himself open for a counterpunch. If Chuck were to trade punches with even a Golden Gloves level boxer, he would be eaten alive in no time at all. Chuck throws looping punches and while he does have power, he is too wild to be considered an elite puncher.
Liddell being knocked out by Quinton Jackson was due to his backing out with his hands down and he paid for it. Once again, Chuck threw a wild uppercut and left his other hand down and was in no position to defend any shot that Evans could possibly throw at him. Chuck made his name off of his power and by finishing his opponents but he never was a skilled striker. You take that into consideration and allow for slowed reflexes due to age along with his already poor defense and you have a fighter who is well on his way to being knocked out again and again should he continue his career.
Chuck Liddell will not retire, but I personally feel that he should do just that as he has shown to be a fighter who is running on fumes rather than a full tank of gas that he once had. The last thing to go is a guy's punch and this is why even your older boxers can still have a chance in the ring because they have that "puncher's chance" that could prove to be enough to come out on top. The reflexes go and the punches may not be as crisp and as accurate as they once were but should one connect the fight could be over. This is exactly where Chuck is at this point in his career. His bread and butter is striking and he still does have a puncher's chance but everything else has eroded to the point that he is more apt to eat the punches rather than feed them to his opponent. The man who once gave us highlight reel knockouts is now on the receiving end and this will continue should he decide to keep fighting. His skills and his recent record do nothing to suggest otherwise, in my opinion.
This is why I am not overjoyed to see Rashad Evans face Forrest Griffin for the title just yet. Chuck would not have truly deserved a title shot had he defeated Evans and knocking out Liddell does not suddenly make Rashad worthy of one either. Chuck Liddell was a name opponent and his name was ranked higher than his ability to fight should have been. Evans has done nothing but win fights in his career but I would like to see him win one more before getting to face Griffin. The fact of the matter is that Evans is not a draw and while this should never be the basis for receiving title shots, it is a matter of business in the UFC to put the more marketable fighters into more advantageous positions. Rashad Evans does not create a buzz and I think it would be best to feature him on the card in December against another top fighter at light heavyweight.
I think Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida would be an excellent matchup and would give two deserving fighters a chance to showcase their skills and see who can give the other man the first loss on his record. Neither fighter has shown to fight an exciting style and the only reason Rashad could be ahead of Machida is because of the knockout of Liddell and the willingness to engage. Neither man has been known as a crowd pleaser and as such neither man has made themselves marketable and able to sell a show based on fans wishing to see either fight.
UFC 88 was sold on Chuck Liddell putting himself in line for a title shot, and to suggest otherwise is asinine as it could have been Chuck Liddell going up against Chuck Zito and it would have done boffo at the box office. Evans is a fight away and needs another decisive victory over an opponent before he will get full respect from the fans and to make it certain without doubt that he deserves a title shot. Evans vs. Machida would be the fight for me or you could have Rashad go up against Rich Franklin and see what happens in that fight. Quite honestly I feel that Quinton Jackson should not be returning to the octagon for some time as he has so many issues to work out but should he return sooner than later I would also be fine with Rampage against Rashad as Evans' next fight. Rashad proves he deserves consideration from us but one more fight against an opponent deemed to be in his prime would go a long way towards earning a spot among the top fighters in his weight class.
Rashad Evans' victory over Chuck Liddell does more to prove that Chuck is in fact past being a top flight fighter than anything else. Evans now has a big name to slap on his resume and a highlight video of the powerful knockout to carry with him for the rest of his career but his career will be defined based on his future fights rather than this one fight. He should hope so at the very least as a win over a 38 yr. old Chuck Liddell should be one of many accomplishments to be proud of when Rashad's career is finished.
"Sugar"'s career is really now just beginning and he is definitely poised to enter his prime years in the sport. Chuck Liddell's career is for the most part over as suffering such a vicious knockout defeat not only does damage physically but also emotionally as a fighter begins to feel vulnerable and fights with fear rather than the confidence needed to be aggressive in fights. This fight can only make Rashad even more confident which is not something he was lacking prior to Saturday night and Chuck will surely feel less sure of himself in the days to come.
The end of Chuck Liddell's career has not come just yet as there is still plenty of money to be made and plenty of matchups to be made that fans would not mind seeing. Chuck's name looms large as his chance of regaining his position in the sport becomes smaller. There is a comeback fight and possibly a rematch with Wanderlei Silva and maybe even one with Quinton Jackson to be had for Chuck.
The fans have not turned their backs on him and Dana White and the UFC surely will not do so to one of the men who is responsible for the mainstream success of the company. Nor should they turn their backs; but if everyone truly cares about Chuck we should perhaps guide him away from fighting and into a retirement from the sport while he still has his faculties as well as a few dollars in the bank.
Liddell is a marketable name and his earning power will not necessarily diminish in retirement so I do not see him as having to fight in order to sustain himself in the years to come. The "Iceman" was a great fighter and he was great for the sport and while we want to cling on to those memories and revisit them each time he steps into the octagon, we should do just that and close the book on his career and our desire to see him fight once more. Fighters fight and as long as fans are willing to pay for it there will be promoters willing to bring them the match and serve everyone's interests while not serving the fighter's true interest.
Muhammad Ali should have never fought Trevor Berbick and it was a sad sight to see as Berbick beat Ali from pillar to post for 10 brutal rounds. Ali could not get sanctioned to fight in the USA and had to travel to Nassau, Bahamas in order to be allowed to take this fight. Larry Holmes had just destroyed Ali and Holmes even admitted it was hard to beat up his idol and that he took it easy in later rounds so as not to maim Ali. Berbick was not a worldbeater of a fighter and his victory sent Ali into retirement and could have possibly helped him along to being in the state that he is today due to many years of absorbing punishing blows. Chuck Liddell is no Muhammad Ali in much the same way that no musician is equal to Elvis Presley. Ali was one of a kind but to MMA so is Chuck Liddell and we need to look back on the mistakes Ali made and try to encourage Liddell so that he does not make similar choices.
Chuck Liddell's career ended on Saturday night and whether or not he does continue fighting this fact will not change. The once defiant warrior who would trade punches with anyone and never back down has finally reached the end of the line. There may never be another "Iceman," who both captivates the fans as well as entertains us in the octagon, ever again but this is not a good reason to wish to see Chuck fight once more. His time has come and gone and it would be better to revisit those memories than to allow him to continue fighting if only to serve our selfish desire to cheer him on once more.
Congratulations to Rashad Evans for his decisive victory over Chuck Liddell and I wish him the best of luck in his future as well as wishing to see him fight the best so as to find his place in the sport. Congratulations to Chuck for a valiant effort in Atlanta and for all of the memories of his many great fights in the UFC. However it will be shame on the UFC if they should put Chuck back into the octagon once more. I guess we are a society which cannot ever stand to see a hero walk away as walking away seems to be akin to quitting in our collective minds but this time let us allow a hero to be a hero for knowing when to quit rather than become a painful reminder of what happens when you are not brave enough to admit when it is over.
The "Iceman" was iced on Saturday night and his career should be on ice as well, not for our sake but for his. For once, Chuck Liddell should back down from a fight and we should support his doing so.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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