Chuck Liddell knocked out by Rashad Evans in Atlanta at UFC 88
Published Sunday September 7th, 2008
ATLANTA - Rashad Evans knocked out former light-heavyweight champion Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell in devastating fashion Saturday night at UFC 88.
The crunching punch to the chin seemed to come out of nowhere and left the 38-year-old Liddell, who was attempting to throw a looping right of his own, crumpled on the ground. Liddell (21-6) suffered the same fate in losing his mixed martial arts title to Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in May 2007.
The smaller Evans, who won Season 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show, moved and danced in the first round in an attempt to disrupt Liddell's rhythm. It worked mostly but allowed for little Evans offence although Liddell was left with an abrasion under his right eye. All three judges gave the round to Liddell.
The two exchanged more blows in the second but it was anything but a barnburner. Then the 28-year-old Evans (17-0-1) ended it with one punch at 1:51 of the second round.
Light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin watched from ringside as Evans moved up the 205-pound ladder with a bang.
"Hopefully it puts me up there but I'm a patient man and I'm going to enjoy the ride," said Evans, who had promised before the fight he was going to "host Chuck Liddell's retirement party."
Former champions Rich (Ace) Franklin and Dan Henderson also won on the night, as did Canadian middleweight Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald.
Franklin, moving up to light-heavyweight from middleweight where he once was king, stopped Matt Hamill 39 seconds in the third round of the co-main event of the Philips Arena card, the UFC's first in Georgia.
Hamill, an accomplished wrestler, elected to stand and strike with Franklin. The strategy produced some dividends in the first round as he cut Franklin around the right eye, staggered him with an uppercut and then took him down with a minute remaining. He could not take advantage, however, and Franklin landed more blows in the round.
Franklin, whose cut was looking ugly, gave the crowd a thumbs up as he prepared to start the second. The doctor was called in to look at Franklin's cut but let the fight continue. Hamill (6-2) absorbed a big kick but didn't seem fazed until he got another - in the groin. But his offence was limited and Franklin (26-3 with one no contest) kept kicking and throwing.
A kick to the body ended it in the third as Hamill tumbled, clutching his side.
"Hats off to Matt, he fought a great fight," said Franklin, who counts the deaf fighter as a friend.
All three judges had given the first two rounds to Franklin.
Former Pride champion Henderson (23-7) survived a prickly opponent in middleweight Rousimar Palhares (17-2), winning a unanimous decision.
The stocky Palhares is a slick jiu-jitsu fighter and Henderson, a two-time wrestling Olympian who at 38 is 10 years older than the Brazilian, wanted no part of him on the ground. Henderson, who had a five-inch height advantage, defended the takedown and connected a few times with the right in the first round but Palhares survived.
Palhares slammed Henderson in the second, sending the American crashing to the canvas with a thud but could not finish off a leg submission attempt. Henderson's takedown defence was up to the challenge in the third and he punctuated the end of the fight by banging the downed Brazilian with a big punch.
"Nobody knows who he is but he's damn dangerous," said Henderson, who looked happy to have seen the last of the persistent Palhares.
Since returning from the Pride circuit in Japan, Henderson has lost UFC championship bouts to light-heavyweight Quinton (Rampage) Jackson and middleweight Anderson Silva. Saturday's victory was Henderson's first in the UFC since UFC 17 in 1998.
Earlier, MacDonald rebounded from a loss last month to submit Jason (The Punisher) Lambert in the second round.
MacDonald took the fight on just three weeks notice after fellow Albertan Jason (Dooms) Day was injured in training. MacDonald was coming off a submission loss to Brazilian Demian Maia at UFC 87 on Aug. 9 - a setback that came with nine stitches as a souvenir - and saw the quick turnaround as a way of getting the taste of the loss out of his mouth.
MacDonald (22-10, including 5-3 in the UFC) started and ended the first round defending guillotine chokes, with the one at the end of the round halted by the bell. In between he managed some decent ground and pound from on top of Lambert (23-9) and all three judges gave the round to the 185-pounder from Red Deer, Alta.
"It was pretty tight but my head was facing the (arena) screen and I knew I could hold my breath for six seconds," MacDonald said of the second choke attempt.
It was all MacDonald in the second, as the choke attempts seemed to take its toll on Lambert who moved down a weight class for the bout. After an exchange of punches, the two went to the ground. MacDonald got the mount and, when Lambert tried to roll out, took his back and applied a rear naked choke at 1:20.
Middleweight Nate (The Great) Marquardt took out a good opponent in impressive fashion, stopping Denmark's Martin (The Hitman) Kampmann at 1:22 of the first round. Marquardt staggered Kampmann with a kick to the head then punched away at the fence until Kampmann slumped to the canvas.
It was the first loss in five UFC fights for the Dane, who lives and trains in Las Vegas.
Kampmann (13-2) had Canadian coach Shawn Tompkins in his corner while Marquardt (30-8-2) had Jon Chaimberg, Georges St. Pierre's strength and conditioning coach, in his.
Lightweight Kurt Pellegrino (18-4) won a unanimous decision over Brazil's Thiago Tavares (17-3) in a fight that saw Tavares take a terrible beating in the first round and yet somehow survive.
Pellegrino floored Tavares twice early on, hammered him from above and then carved his face open with elbows. Montreal referee Yves Lavigne elected not to stop the fight and the round ended with a bloody canvas and Pellegrino's dyed blond hair was red in parts. The Brazilian looked like a human car crash.
Tavares appeared to tap out to an armbar in the second round but Lavigne let the fight continue.
"Yeah he tapped," said Pellegrino, watching the replay.
Light-heavyweight Tim (The Barbarian) Boetch stopped UFC newcomer Mike Patt via TKO with a big right to the chin at 2:03 of the first round.
Japanese welterweight Ryo (Piranha) Chonan defeated Roan Carneiro, a Brazilian now living in Atlanta, on a split decision that could have well have gone to Carneiro.
South Korean welterweight Dong Hyun (Stun Gun) Kim maintained his unbeaten record (11-0-1) with a split decision win over Matt (The Immortal) Brown (10-7) in another bout that could have gone the other way. The crowd thought so, booing the decision.
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