UFC 88: Goodnight, Chuck
After Chuck Liddell beat Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79, Liddell had vaulted back into title contention, needing one more win for a match against Forrest Griffin, which would have undoubtedly been one of the UFC's biggest pay-per-view events in history.
But for the second time in chasing the title he held for years, a member of the Greg Jackson camp got in the way of the mega-fight. This time, it was Keith Jardine's training partner, Rashad Evans, who scored one of the most memorable knockouts in company history at UFC 88, the promotion's debut in Atlanta.
Unlike the 2007 loss to Jardine, a split decision that Liddell lost be being too predictable, this was a devastating knockout that put Liddell down for more than a minute, and was a scary enough final scene that UFC president Dana White wanted it to be Liddell's last fight.
Aside from the knockout that ended the show, the near-sellout crowd of 14,736 fans at Phillips Arena saw a flat card. There were no great matches, and the best match, Kurt Pellegrino beating Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision, didn't air on the live show.
The match that many felt would be the best of the show, between judo experts Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Karo Parisyan, fell apart two days before the show when Parisyan claimed he had injured his back in training. But people were skeptical of that, since Parisyan had done interviews during the week saying he had been using Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, and that he had had a panic attack during the week.
Evans earned himself a title shot at Griffin, with a knockout at 1:51 of the second round. The first round was uneventful, with Liddell looking for the knockout punch and Evans throwing low kicks.
Evans connected with a punch that cut Liddell under the right eye, and his hand speed was frustrating the former champion. Still, Liddell won the round on all three judges cards based on being more aggressive.
The second round had a few good exchanges, and both men went for a home run punch at about the same time. Evans landed first, squarely on the jaw, with a shot that would have knocked out most farm animals, vaulting himself to the top contender spot.
In a battle of former training partners, Rich Franklin apparently learned takedown defense good enough to stop decorated wrestler Matt Hamill with a liver kick at :39 of the third round. Franklin, the superior striker, was able to keep the match standing and wore Hamill's body out with kicks.
Years earlier, before Hamill even knew what MMA was, as a wrestler with Olympic aspirations living in Cincinnati, a mutual friend put the two together as Franklin was looking to train with high-level wrestlers to improve his takedown defense. Franklin was so impressed with Hamill's ability that he suggested when he finished his wrestling career, he should go into MMA. In fact, it was Franklin making a call to Dana White on behalf of Hamill that clinched him getting a spot on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter, which led to Hamill's UFC career.
NOTEWORTHY
Nate Marquardt eliminated Martin Kampmann from the middleweight division, by overwhelming him in just 1:22. Kampmann, who came into the fight with a 13-1 record, decided after the bout to drop to welterweight.
Quoteworthy: "I've been working on my takedowns and I've been working on everything. I just got caught." – Liddell, on his loss to Evans.
RESULTS
Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert, submission (rear naked choke), 1:20 R1
Tim Boetsch def. Mike Patt, TKO, 2:03 R1
Roan Carneiro def. Ryo Chonan, split decision
Kurt Pellgrino def. Thiago Tavares, unanimous decision
Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown, split decision
Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann, TKO, 1:22 R1
Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares, unanimous decision
Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill, TKO, 0:39 R2
Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell, KO, 1:51 R2
