I’d bet money on Liddell…Randy won’t be able to catch him.
Chuck wins by KO, again.
The good old slip. Randy slip and Chuck catch him. I think this was all set up so Randy can retire.
Of course, Randy voluntarily got punched in the face by Chuck Liddell.
Well, I’m a huge Couture fan, sucks that he’s retiring. Then again he’s getting older and it’s time for him to hang it up. Can’t wait for the Penn and GSP fight.
[quote]iatguy wrote:
/The good old slip. Randy slip and Chuck catch him. I think this was all set up so Randy can retire./[/quote]
That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Chuck is at the top of his game right now, and against him, there is no margin for error. Randy slipped while throwing a punch and got hit accross the chin, period. Randy’s nose was broken in the first round, and he fought on. Liddell is just too damn tough right now. I’d like to see him move up and fight Arlowski.(Who was in Randys corner)
[quote]40&Big wrote:
iatguy wrote:
/The good old slip. Randy slip and Chuck catch him. I think this was all set up so Randy can retire./
That is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Chuck is at the top of his game right now, and against him, there is no margin for error. Randy slipped while throwing a punch and got hit accross the chin, period. Randy’s nose was broken in the first round, and he fought on. Liddell is just too damn tough right now. I’d like to see him move up and fight Arlowski.(Who was in Randys corner)
[/quote]
its more likely that arlovski will drop the weight (though maybe not if he is holding the heavyweight title) that chuck gain it if they were ever to fight. it would be a sweet fight though!
I was wrong!
Lidell is a great champion. I just hope that Couture does not retire right away. I think his strategy was flawed. He should not have stayed in front of such a devastating puncher as Lidell.
Punch, punch shoot! He didn’t do that.
Again, Lidell is a great champion.
I didn’t get to see the fight, but does anyone else think Liddell is overrated? Maybe he’s one of the best in UFC terms (though I think there is a lot of good new talent), but Rampage handled him in their crossover fight.
I didn’t see the fight, but I’m sad the couture lost.
I admire his dedication in spite of his age.
Is it true that he will retire now?
Liddell is a very different (read: better) fighter than when him and Rampage first fought. Rampage, on the other hand, was on the receiving end of two vicious KOs at the hands of Silva (who I’d love to see bang with Liddell). Rampage’s contract is up with Pride too, so we may see this fight in the next year after Rampage gets fed Babalu or someone like that.
Liddell overrated? Yes, in the sense that Joe Rogan and whoever his announcing partner is way too eager to get on their knees for him (don’t get me started on their worship of Couture, who was a great fighter but not this mythical legend they make him out to be). A wrestling and submissions expert like Ricardo Arona would give Liddell a real handful (as he did to Silva in their 2 meetings), and watching him fight a young buck like Shogun Rua (who is the best at 205 IMO right now) would be a great fight. Certainly ONE of the top fighters at his weight, but not the undisputed best.
And yeah, Couture announced his retirement immediately after the fight, and I think he’s the sort of guy that will actually retire. Age has finally caught up with him.
[quote]veruvius wrote:
I didn’t get to see the fight, but does anyone else think Liddell is overrated? Maybe he’s one of the best in UFC terms (though I think there is a lot of good new talent), but Rampage handled him in their crossover fight.[/quote]
No. Not at all. Go take a look at his record. All of his wins are against game opponents, he has beaten the best of the best. The only loss he has not avenged is against Rampage and I think he would handle him in a rematch. Quinton is not the same fighter he was in '03 and Chuck sure as hell isn’t either. Chuck is now the current LHW champ and has stated numerous times he will fight anyone, and he will. Quinton has been losing left and right and has stated he wants to go back to KOTC and get easy fights. So I think you can see how the two have changed…
Much respect to Randy, its a sad day when the Natural calls it quits. His record wasn’t the greatest, but he was far better then it lead on to. Truly a good character and a game competitor.
[quote]joe bloggs wrote:
Rampage’s contract is up with Pride too, so we may see this fight in the next year after Rampage gets fed Babalu or someone like that.
[/quote]
Gets FED Babalu. Do you have any idea what you are talking about? The same Babalu who has defeated your lofty Shogun? There is no way that Quinton would run through Babalu, I am not even sure if he could pull off a win. Don’t get started with Pride nut hugging here.
Sad to see Randy get knocked out again, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Chuck is in a zone right now and his hands are lethal. Classy move by Randy to retire even after he just signed a 3-fight contract with UFC before the fight. I think this was his last fight and I hope he moves into the commentary booth.
Overall the PPV was very good…Riggs-Diaz was a good fight and I’ve read that they got into a second fight in the hospital. Apparently Diaz sucker-punched Riggs after some trash talking.
Looking forward to the next PPV. Franklin-Louiseau and Penn-St. Pierre should be great fights.
[quote]“Nut hugging”. Such an easy term to throw out when someone disagrees with you, and of course you have to call me ignorant after. But let’s get to it:
Quinton has been losing left and right and has stated he wants to go back to KOTC and get easy fights. So I think you can see how the two have changed…
Gets FED Babalu. Do you have any idea what you are talking about? The same Babalu who has defeated your lofty Shogun? There is no way that Quinton would run through Babalu, I am not even sure if he could pull off a win. Don’t get started with Pride nut hugging here.
[/quote]
First, if by “left and right” you mean Jackson’s lost 3 of his last 7 in the past two years, starting with his loss to Wanderlei in the GP. The other two people he lost to were Wanderlei in the rematch and Shogun. Babalu hasn’t fought someone of either Silva or Rua’s calibre since Liddell, which for anybody’s curiosity, ends with the clip that you see a whole lot on Spike TV of Babalu eating a left roundhouse from Chuck.
And gee, I’m sorry, are you talking about Babalu beating Shogun in 2003?
I know you took into consideration that in the past year Shogun has dominated Jackson, Ricardo Arona, Allistair Overeem, and Little Nog in the GP.
And I know you took into consideration that in the past year Babalu has beat Van Arsdale, Sonnen, Wiuff, and Guillet…big names there. The only fighter of note he’s fought since Shogun (who was what, 22 at the time?) is Jeremy Horn, and that was 3 years ago as well. Jackson has beat fighters of a similar quality as Pride tries to get his confidence back, and also a top fighter in Arona.
Since 2002 Jackson has been taking on some of the best fighters in the business, and you can’t say the same about Babalu. Flat out, Babalu has never beat any top fighter in or around his prime, unless you want to count Horn, who doesn’t fight too many top tier fighters himself.
So don’t call me a nuthugger without cause. People that disagree with you aren’t necessarily wrong, and it seems like you’re the one firmly wrapped around the short hairs of Babalu and the UFC.
Sad night.
My head was kind of leaning toward Liddel but my heart was with Randy. The UFC just lost its most dignified professional. Anyone, not just pro-athletes, can learn a lot about how to conduct themselves by watching Randy Couture.
Im not ashamed to say that I consider the guy one of my heroes. It was tough to see him go out like that.
Chuck is going to be very tough to beat, although I think Silva could do it. The guys that are hesitant about Chuck’s power(Randy wasnt in their first encounter) get tooled. I agree with Zeb that I thought Randy’s strategy should have been to shoot. The up-top clinch game plays into that devestating right cross. However, Chuck has great footwork, a great sprawl and freaky striking power. Maybe it was just time for the Natural to ride off into the sunset. Truthfully, I think he was planning to retire either way it turned out last night.
Hopefully, the game will have another Captain America one day. Its a tough act to follow and when you look at the way certain guys act(Brandon Vera’s post-fight jibberish comes to mind), it can sour you on the whole thing. There is a very good reason that
the crowd elevated Randy to hero status last night, even in defeat. It was pretty cool to see that in the end the quite, humble professional got his due.
It was also nice to see Chuck step back and let it happen. Two class acts.
The shit-talking pro-wrestler wannabes
should take note.
[quote]joe bloggs wrote:
“Nut hugging”. Such an easy term to throw out when someone disagrees with you, and of course you have to call me ignorant after. But let’s get to it:
Quinton has been losing left and right and has stated he wants to go back to KOTC and get easy fights. So I think you can see how the two have changed…
Gets FED Babalu. Do you have any idea what you are talking about? The same Babalu who has defeated your lofty Shogun? There is no way that Quinton would run through Babalu, I am not even sure if he could pull off a win. Don’t get started with Pride nut hugging here.
First, if by “left and right” you mean Jackson’s lost 3 of his last 7 in the past two years, starting with his loss to Wanderlei in the GP. The other two people he lost to were Wanderlei in the rematch and Shogun. [/quote]
Yes that’s exactly what I’m talking about. He lost 3 times to fighters with the same game plan and same style.
Okay, now I know you ride the short bus. BABALU BEAT RUA AFTER LIDDELL.
[quote]
And gee, I’m sorry, are you talking about Babalu beating Shogun in 2003?[/quote]
No the other time he beat him, genius.
Beating Jackson was almost a given when you consider how he had done against Wanderlei. Beating Allistair really isn’t all that impressive, honestly. He DEFINITELY did NOT dominate Little Nog. Try watching that one again. The onyl impressive win against an equally impressive opponent is against Arona. Get off his nuts.
Don’t even get me started with Wanderlei. He is so overrated its scary. He has recently had to defend his belt for the … what? 3rd time or sometihng. He could only beat so many japanese cans before they put him in with quality opponents and now look at what’s happening … 3-2 in his last five with 2 of his wins being very close and imo controversial JD over Yoshida and Arona.
And Babalu hasn’t faced any quality opponents? He has torn through everyone the UFC has put in front of him. He has 3 fights and 3 submission victories. What more do you want? Also, why isn’t 3 years ago Babalu’s prime? You say he hasn’t beat any top fighters in his prime, but then go on to say that Shogun is such a good fighter. Woops.
I’m not saying Shogun is bad. I never did say that. The fact of the matter is that you are over estimating Rampage and grossly underestimating Babalu.
First, it?s very true Jackson lost to Chute Boxe fighters three times. He also got rid of Colin Oyama (or whatever his name is) afterwards, and as far as I know he?s freelancing, training with Quest and whoever else. That puts him in a position to learn from his losses and use the great deal of physical talent that he has to better use. His record has him going up against better talent than Babalu, and yes, I should have chosen my words better, but I have no doubt that Jackson would still beat him if they fought.
To clarify (and I realize now that it was very unclear), I meant that Babalu hasn?t beat any fighters who were in THEIR primes. You ask what more do I want, and yes, he?s beat everyone that UFC has put in front of him, but what?s that worth when none of the fighters are top-level? He?s a good and underrated fighter, but Shogun in 2003 is a shadow of the fighter he is now. He?s matured physically and technically as a fighter, and now has to be considered one of the top-5 or top-10 in the world right now (though I?m not sure how well he?ll do in heavyweight).
And I?m really sorry I didn?t look at the dates that closely, it?s a good thing we aren?t nitpicking. The fact remains Babalu took on a young, relatively inexperienced Mauricio Rua and beat him soundly, and when faced with a higher level of competition in Liddell, got KTFO. Does the loss to Liddell matter now, so long after the fact? Not a whole lot, but seeing Babalu beat so-so fighters like Van Arsdale isn?t keeping Chuck up at night.
And yeah, I watched the Rua ? Nog fight again just because you asked me to so politely, and it was a clear unanimous decision. Rua was never behind in a round. I?ll pick my words better then to make you happy: He beat all of those fighters in clear, uncontroversial decisions.
And I agree about Silva to a degree, but I don’t really know what that has to do with Babalu and Jackson. He’s no slouch, and as far as his legit title defences, outside of Hughes and Fedor not many fighters have held onto belts while facing numerous legit (very important distinction) challengers.
And to hopefully curb this argument, Babalu?s victory over Van Arsdale probably means he?ll get another crack at Liddell, so we?ll see then if he?s what you make him out to be.
[quote]veruvius wrote:
I didn’t get to see the fight, but does anyone else think Liddell is overrated? Maybe he’s one of the best in UFC terms (though I think there is a lot of good new talent), but Rampage handled him in their crossover fight.[/quote]
I think Couture used a poor game plan because he followed Liddell around the ring. I cannot stand the way Liddell fights in UFC, he is constantly backing away and looking to counterpunch, Couture should have just stood in the middle of the Octagon and made Liddell come to him.
Liddell did not fair well against Rampage because the ring in Pride is not nearly as big as the cage in UFC. There wasn’t as much room for him to manuever away and all of his angles(to run to) got taken away. If he were to fight under Pride rules against any of the top 3 LHW, he would get owned. Under UFC conditions, however, he has a much better chance, and I think he may even be able to take out Wanderlei…I’m not saying he’d be favored, but I think he’d have a legit shot.