Chuck Liddell knocked out!
 

Rampage caught him with a right hook and knocking chuck out early in the first round.

That right there is why MMA is better than boxing you always have a punchers chance.

True. But Jackson had better than a boxer's chance in this one. He's the only guy to have put Liddell on his back and keep him there. And he did it again. Rampage is nasty. His stand-up, ground and pound and slams are some of the best in the business. I was surprised to see Chuck get caught like that especially with how careful he was pedaling around the ring the first minute. It was just a beautiful counter.

I called this fight and told my brother in law that if Chuck loses, this is a serious blow to the UFC. Chuck is the face of the UFC and it seems that the last couple of fighters the UFC has been hyping have all lost. Hughes, St. Pierre, Cro-cop, Ortiz, and now Liddell. It'll be interesting to see what happens now. Dan Henderson getting into the mix though with the Light Heavyweight crown should be interesting. He's a great fighter and has fought some of the best. The UFC needs to bring Fedor over to mix it up with the heavyweights after Cro-cop's loss to Gonzaga.

I notice that ESPN has started covering the UFC now. (Was it cougjunkie that told us this would happen?) They did a pre-fight piece on Sports Center and they had updates and have talked about the results. This will be big for UFC/Pride as it gives them a more legitimate feel.

I hope this shows to real MMA fans that PRIDE is the dominate fighting organization in the world. (I know UFC owns PRIDE and hopes they don't screw things up)

UFC lately is turning in the WWE of MMA. Liddell is the definition of a paper champion. Look at his last 5 fights and tell me one quality opponent.

I am disappointed Dan Henderson will fight Rampage next. I was hoping that Henderson could fight Shogun in the next month and let the winner fight Rampage four months from now.

I hope Dana does the right thing, schedules a Liddell vs. Silva fight, incorporates Sokoudjou into UFC, and really opens up the Middleweight division. I also hope that he brings Fedor over and that they can get the best of PRIDE fighting consistently in the US like they do in Japan.

Liddell just fought Ortiz is that not a quality opponent?

Ortiz, Couture, Sobral, and Horn. Those aren't push overs.

I too hope that Shogun and Fedor make it over to UFC also. I like the Liddell vs. Silva fight to set up a match against Henderson or Rampage.

Dana White said Liddell vs Wanderlei is next, this fight would have been so much bigger if Wanderlei wasnt coming off of two losses and chuck also coming off of a loss.

Do you think it hurts MMA not having a superstar?

I think MMA has several superstars. A MMA superstar can suffer a loss or two and not have it effect his popularity that severely.

You being serious?

Look at Chuck's last series of fights: Ortiz, Horn, Couture, White, Sobral. None of those dudes, save Couture and the Ortiz of five years ago are on the level of Silva, Henderson, Arona, Nogeira and Shogun.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with MMA, if Dana stops playing favorites and delves into the overall better talent pool of PRIDE; he has the chance to make UFC the biggest fighting organization in the world and virtually end boxing.

I think Dana is still trying to keep the two leagues different and will instead try to set up super fights between the two like at the big New Year's fight, etc. I am not sure I agree with this approach. It'd be nice to see some old style tournaments to have guys content for title shots. I like the Liddell vs. Silva fight, but I don't think Silva is the same fighter he was either.

I don't think he can end boxing. It will always remain, but how significant it will be, I don't know. MMA though is riding more than just a wave and ESPN's coverage of the sport is indicative.