UFC 88 Thoughts & Commentary
UFC 88 from Atlanta, GA is now in the books and we were treated to an exciting night of action including Chuck Liddell getting viciously KO’d by Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin making a successful return to 205 lbs., and Dan Henderson recording his first victory inside the Octagon since returning to the UFC. Let’s get to breaking down the action…
Is Chuck Liddell done?
Is he done fighting? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. Chuck loves to fight, he’s very exciting, and he will do this until his body tells him that he can’t do it anymore. But one would certainly have to think that he’s done competing for the light heavyweight championship. With as stacked as the 205 lbs. division is in the UFC right now it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be able to work his way back into a situation where he gets a crack at the title. He would have to win at least two, if not three fights in a row, and they would have to be against legitimate contenders. That is, unless the UFC fast tracks him back to a title shot which is entirely likely (see: Brock Lesnar). Chuck’s knockout loss ruined a big money fight with Forrest Griffin in December but I don’t think he’s done fighting by any means. For Liddell now, it’s all about pride.
We were all wrong about Rashad Evans.
Every one of us was mistaken about Rashad Evans. He used a perfect gameplan, frustrating Liddell and making Liddell engage instead of the other way around. And when Evans finally picked his spot, he knocked Liddell out cold. Every “expert” in MMA called this one for Liddell and it couldn’t have gone worse for the former champion. Rashad Evans is very, very legitimate. He is now 17-0-1, extremely athletic, possesses big knockout power, and can wrestle with the best of them. He is a very legitimate threat to Forrest Griffin’s title, whether we want to admit it or not. Sorry for underestimating you, Rashad. By shocking the world tonight you have assured that we won’t do it again.
Rich Franklin’s future is at 205 lbs.
185 lbs. should no longer be a thought in Franklin’s mind. The matchups at 205 lbs. are so much more intriguing for him at this point in his career. That’s where the money matchups are right now for him. At 185 he has nothing to do but be the gatekeeper for who gets to get the piss beat out of them by Anderson Silva next. That’s a role that he obviously doesn’t cherish. He proved tonight that he can hang with and beat a big, strong, 205 lbs. wrestler with a good chin and heavy hands and that should be enough to convince him to stay at that weight class. Obviously he’ll do whatver Zuffa tells him to do but it’s evident that 205 lbs. is where he belongs right now, not because that’s the best weight for him but because that’s where his talents and his marketability is best used right now. Fights with Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, a rematch with Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva, the list goes on. Those are big money fights and fights that will sell PPVs. Even the fight with Dan Henderson can still take place at 205 lbs. as that is the weight that Henderson prefers to fight at. After tonight it should be clear to everyone that Franklin’s future is at 205.
What’s next for Dan Henderson?
Dan Henderson did what he needed to do to survive against Rousimar Palhares tonight. Palhares was about as tough of an opponent as you could give Henderson in his third fight since returning to the Octagon. Especially considering that his first two fights were against Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva. Rousimar Palhares was no cupcake for Henderson and he had Henderson in trouble a couple of times throughout the fight. Henderson didn’t look overly impressive tonight and almost got caught a couple of times but he did what was needed to get the win and keep afloat in the UFC. The question now becomes where does he go from here? I don’t see Henderson beating Anderson Silva even if he does want the rematch. A fight with Franklin makes sense but at what weight? Now that Henderson has that win under his belt he’s sort of at a crossroads as to where to go with his career.
Nate Marquardt looked fantastic.
Marquardt absolutely steamrolled Martin Kampmann tonight and didn’t waste any time doing it. Kampmann is known for his striking and Marquardt never even let him get started in that regard, taking it to the Dane from the time the bell rang. Marquardt is a very solid fighter with strong standup and a very good ground game. The problem with him is, just like Franklin, there’s a ceiling at the top of the division and his name is Anderson Silva. There’s only so far for him to go and I don’t think anyone’s interested in seeing a rematch between he and Silva. A rematch with Thales Leites, however, is in order.
Did Matt Brown get screwed?
I don’t know. It was an awfully close fight with both fighters having their moments throughout the fight. Kim definitely took round one and Brown definitely took round two. But round three was where it got really interesting. Kim had the two takedowns but was unable to do much from his position while Brown seemed to be the much more aggressive fighter and got the best of the standup. From a pure position standpoint you can make a case that Kim rightfully won the fight. I don’t think Brown got screwed. He certainly fought very valiantly, proved that he belonged in the cage with Kim, and will most certainly be back for future fights. For what it’s worth, Cecil Peoples was the only judge who had it scored for Brown.
Adam Morgan is
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Greg Jackson is officially the kryptonite to Chuck Liddell. First Keith Jardine implemented a great gameplan of leg kicks, and now Evans implemented a stand-up, make Chuck be the aggressor vice counter-puncher gameplan. WOW, just WOW.
I agree with WOW!!! Doesn’t this fight automatically set-up a Forrest/Rampage rematch – maybe even Rashad/Wand and Shogun/Machida?
I don’t think we were that wrong about Rashad! Many experts said Rashad didn’t have a change OUTSIDE A LUCKY PUNCH OR KICK
wat happened? was rashad out striking liddell into a corner? was he dominating liddell on the ground?
I hate you Ahmad Rashad
The fact that Peoples gave it to Brown should tell you that Dong really won
I guess now that he has lost 3 of his last 4 fights we can officially call this the end of the chuck Liddell era. While there’s no doubt he is still a dangerous striker he isn’t a serious title threat anymore. I think this point in time is kind of a changing of the guard in the ufc with Tito gone, chuck in his twilite, and the emergence of Forrest griffin, rashad Evans, lyoto machida, Brock lesnar,etc. Thanks for the great run iceman, it was a helluva ride.
The biggest knock on Rashad wasn’t addressed by the article. The biggest criticism against him was that he was a talented but boring wrestler who couldn’t finish. His knock out of Liddell quieted the criticism, but not completely. He needs to finish fights like this consistently. UFC doesn’t like fighters who are unexciting even if they win, and that’s especially true of wrestlers. Matt Lindland and Jake O’Brien are examples.
Yeah, I agree that Forrest/Rampage, Evans/Wand, and Shogun/Machida makes sense. With that, Chuck doesn’t have the time to climb back up the LHW ladder, so a move to HW is the next logical choice. Liddell-Nog, Liddell-Lesnar, Liddell-Couture IV, they’re all big moneymakers that Chuck can end his career on.
Not, not every one of us was mistaken. I expected him to win. Of course, all of my other picks were wrong.
I hope this doesn’t mean we are going to hear about Chuck taking Police on a High Speed Chase in a Monster Truck sometime in the next week…
Wow!! That doesn’t seem to quite describe what I saw 2night at Philips Arena. Just saw Chuck Lidell get blown up by Rashad. Such a profound shocker I still can’t believe it. That KO was so brutal. The shock reverberated around the arena. Rashad game has exponeitially grown since his last fight some 9-10 months ago. Everybody can save the ‘I thought Rashad was gonna win’ bullshit. Nobody who is honest thought Rashad had a snowball’s chance in hell in this fight, let alone visit a nuclear bomb to Chuck’s chin rendering him asleep before his body hit the mat. Is Chuck done? For all intents and purposes his star has risen and fallen. The new blood has taken over the Ufc. If he does get that title shot it would be such a croc of bullshit.
i was really shocked by the outcome of Evans/Liddell fight… just like everyone else. I thought Chuck was doing what he was supposed to in the 1st round but went away from his game plan in the 2nd. Chuck is legendary in counter-striking maybe started to stalk Evans in the 2nd more than he should have, maybe under estimating Rashad…. Rashad had surprisngly quick hands i thought. I give Rashad all the credit, as he as been critisized for not finishing his fights. He deserves a title shot in my mind after this fight. Now we know that Rashad has a heavy right!! As for Chuck, i still think he has a couple fights left in him but his hand speed maybe slowing down due to age… as it was pretty evident in this fight.
How is would get a title shot the UFC set it all up for Liddell if he had won the fight so it’s either Evans or Machida..Machida is also getting screwed here..It’s called Karma I love it cause the UFC wanted so badly to see Liddell vs Griffin..we all know it..Karma Evans vs Griffin for the LHW Title in December.
Chuck is a puncher, first and foremost. And as they say in boxing, the last thing to go in a fighter is his power. That’s a huge reason why Tyson lasted as long as he did, even with his eroded skills. He was always a punching threat. Same with Chuck. As long as Chuck still has that right hand, he’ll continue to fight, because he’s always one punch away from a KO.
Having said that, he looked his age tonight. He threw one punch at a time and hoped he could counter Evans. But Evans was too slick and beat the old man to the punch.
i’m baffled..
i mean, Rashad went from the guy who couldn’t finish, to a guy with KO finishes for 3 of his last 5 fights..
i mean, how many people have KO’s over Liddel?? only 1 person has managed to knock him cold [Rampage] .. and Rashad evans just became part of that group.. that has to be the best feeling in the world..
i mean, it just amazes me..
this HAS to go down with GG/CroCop, GSP/Serra, Forrest/Rampage and a few others as one of the biggest upsets in MMA History..
i mean, how does liddell go from taking bomb after bomb from Wandy and not even blinking, to getting KO’d by Rashad..
i mean, i’m just flabbergasted..
i can’t even talk right now..
man..
Liddell, just.. needs to work on his blocking i guess.. i mean, all these years, his striking has left openings in his chin, and just recently it’s been picked up on.. Rampage sent him down cold, Jardine put him on the mat once, and now Rashad..
with the performance he had against Wandy, i figured this outcome impossible.. he was so.. flawless in that fight..
idk..
i would absolutely HATE to see Liddell become the next Ken Shamrock..
i know this isn’t the end of Liddell..
i bet in his next fight he’ll be unstoppable..
but.. he just needs to hit the gym HARD.. and get those hands up..
Rashad truly is.. a prodigy..
give him Machida.. please..
wow..
as for everything else.. i can’t stand Nate Marquardt.. BUT, i’m almost convinced he’s invincible.. i think as long as his opponent’s not Anderson, he’ll beat them.. maybe one day i’ll enjoy Nate, but, as for now, i just can’t stand the guy..
and.. anybody think Lambert’s gonna lose his contract? i mean, he just hit 3 in a row.. and they’re all in devistating fashion..
i’ll give him 1 more fight at most.. and if he doesn’t win.. he’s out.. they’ll have no other choice.. kinda sucks..
“We” is a strong word. I was afraid that Chuck would have to lose, but he WILL be back. He won’t become the next Shamrock, because he’s actually a great fighter. I agree Liddell vs. Griffin would be great, but I would also love to see a Griffin vs. Evans. Then, Evans vs Jackson.
“Kampmann is known for his striking and Marquardt never even let him get started in that regard, taking it to the Dutchman from the time the bell rang.”
Nice win by Marquardt for sure,
BUT
Just to be clear – Kampmann is DANISH not DUTCH.
CS.
Meh. Chuck looked weak and less muscular than usual at weigh in I thought. Rashad looks bigger at each fight now. His man boobies are gigantic. Well, I’m not accusing anything, just sayin.
I’m thinking Chuck would have lost this fight tonight. No matter fighting Rashad, Lyoto, or even old man Wandy (do we forget Chuck’s loss to Jardine as opposed to Wandy devouring him?). Actually, watching his Jardine fight right now, Chuck looked better then than tonight.
No need to pretend the guy is a God… he should fight as long as he draws a crowd/money, or wins. Don’t have to throw him out completely… he just may not get a title shot right away.
Are you serious about Kim taking down Brown in the 3rd round and wasn’t able to do anything? Maybe you didn’t watch the last minute of the fight when Kim elbowed Brown’s face into a bloody mess?
I thought early last week that Rashad would beat Liddel after watching that countdown to UFC 88 on spike. Rashad isn’t 11-0 for nothing and keeps improving as he goes. He has a very Fedor-like quality.
Humble
trains hard
adapts to each opponent
and doesn’t take it personal when he isn’t considered the favorite… Evans takes what is given to him.
Rashad has all the qualities of fighter who can dominate this division for 5 to 10 years. Liddle to his credit has always been under pressure to deliver and I think this fight was no different, Dana/UFC/all the fans wanted that signature chuck knockout and chuck trying to deliver that gets KO’d again.
It is sad in a sense cause chuck has to be chuck forever now to “us” fans and every fight is under the microscope. Rashad is stepping into that spotlight and we can only see what happens when the same amount of pressure from everyone is on him now… can he deliver the excitement and pick up where chuck has left off?
I’m impressed with Rashad, but not quite as impressed as so many others. This is the first fight I’ve seen where he looked like he had a game plan of any kind. He took Chuck out of his usual countering style and took a huge, risky shot that paid off (not unlike something Chuck would do). Chuck has a good chin, but that punch practically put him into a coma. It’s nice to see that Rashad has some serious KO power to go with his dance moves. Maybe now that he’s found that haymaker, we’ll see him finish some more fights. Beating Chuck just proves you have him figured out. That’s not impossible since Chuck’s been fighting the same gameplan for years now. You have to win your next fight decisively to really make a statement.
Am I the only one out there that was not impressed with the Chuck/Wandy fight? I thought neither of them were that overly impressive and the fact that Wandy then followed that fight up by putting down the glass chinned ‘Dean of Gleam’ still doesn’t have me sold on his relevancy either. I guess what I am saying is… I think Chuck and Wandy are both cooked. Chuck showed that against Sugar and Wandy will prove that out in his next marquee match-up against whoever. That’ll be loses in 3 out of 4 for both of them. Next stop for these two are back to back beatdowns of Tito where Dana will overpay Tito to return to the UFC in order to give his two ring buddies a ‘name’ win each.
Rashad fought smart…not great(I had Chuck taking a close Rd 1 but down on Rd 2 at the time)….but that punch was for real and you can’t take that away from him. Look at what’s in store at the top of the LHW ladder…. very versatile stick and roll guys (Griffin, Machida and now remarkably even Evans) who can change their styles depending upon the opponent. Add Rua, Jackson and Ace with only Alves will still really wanna bring it down to the mat. Some entertaining fights ahead.
like i said 2 days ago, Chuck is at his Fat Elvis stage. nuff said
this has truely messed my day up, i knew rashad wasnt an underdog, i now know chuck is past it and i dont care what he says ..he was lookin past this fight, i think chuck would have whooped forrests ass but thats not gonna happen now, and as for him makin his way back up the 205 ladder? forget it the new blood in the weight class is too much for these old veterans, yea i wasd hopin chuck would get the title shot, and ye i know the same is gonna happen to randy, ad in my humble oppinion i dont think the fedor fight will hapen…..
Dutch – from the Netherlands or Northern Belgium…
Dane – from Danmark…
There was not a single “Dutchman” on the ufc card. Get a clue.
Wow, that punch was so fast that it was a literal blur, even on the slowed-down replay. I have to give Evan’s credit, if I even knew he could deliver a punch of that speed and power, I would have given him a chance.
It reminded me of some of those punches by Bruce Lee that they had to slow down in post production just to make it obvious that he was actually punching.
As usual, Evans seems to have been “misunderestimated” (to use a Bushism;)
While I give credit to Rashad for his performance, many seem to have forgotten the Bisping and Ortiz fights. In neither of those did he look particularly impressive.
I would like to see another strong performace before I am willing to put Rashad towards the top of the rankings.
Was this a new Rashad, or was this simply one that used the proper game plan to beat Chuck?
didnt get to catch the fights last night, but the few highlights and articles i’ve caught have been exciting.
all congratulations due to rashad. insane knockout. i dont think his matchup with forrest will be nearly as big of a draw as liddell would have been, but i think alot of newer fans (whoever were exposed to the ufc by TUF) will be all over it. either way… crazy to think the two guys fighting for the title next will both be products of that show. never wouldve guessed it a few years ago.
anyone care to contemplate how far franklin is from a 205 shot of his own? that makes two straight wins for him (more than wand, jackson, etc). it’s wishful thinking, but i really like his chances in a rematch with machida, and in a title fight with either griffin or liddell. and dare i say it… but if he were to get the 205 belt… a superfight rematch with silva? perhaps i’m getting overboard. lutter and hamill arent exactly contenders
as for liddell… i dont think he’s done. after his fights with couture, people said the same things about randy. i’m sure he’ll make the inevitable move to heavyweight, and revitalize his career. maybe take some time off beforehand?
not the most flatering fight for “Decision Dan” but i think a lot of people forget that he is boring a lot of the time but he’s also quite good at getting out of submissions. if palhares can improve his striking he’ll be a very lethal threat in the division.
i was pissed people were booing Kim … for what??
and Adam in your article you say that “did brown get screwed?” first you say “i don’t know” then you say “i don’t think brown got screwed”. pretty clear that Dong won the fight to me, strictly agression doesn’t win fights
if any of u guys didnt see the fight, they are showing the KO on espn
What everyone here is forgetting is that we just had another 205 pounder added to the picture in Rich Franklin. I would expect to see a Franklin/Machida, Franklin/Silva (Wanderlei), or Franklin/Jackson, to get to the title. Whatch n See!
What’s with the “WE were wrong about Rashad”? You got a mouse in your pocket?
were is this we coming from, do you mean the others that predicted the fight for your site? i won big money on sugar, despite the nipple thing rashad did just what i thought he could do, be waaaay to fast for that old man. i also predicted every other fight too, maybe i should have my own column
Rashad’s getting his title shot. He earned it in devastating fashion. Gonna be an intriguing matchup. Post-fight Chuck said ‘I lost because I’m one-dimensional’. Maybe Chuck can refine his game and make one last run at it. I just don’t see him being able to learn new tricks at this stage. It will be so hard for him to trust his new training and not fall back on old habits. Fighters must be ever evolving to continue to compete.
Oh that Cecil Peoples. I wonder who he had as the winner of the Evan/Liddell fight? Probably, someone random like Teila Tuli.
adam u earned my respect back, ur the first and only “expert” to admit you were wrong about rashad. props.
I think you’re way off on one thing… I think Nate would give Anderson Silva a lot of trouble if they fought again, i would even pick him to beat Silva.
Sorry i didn’t really word that the way i intended. What i meant was I would love to see Nate beat Silva’s ass. I may be the only one but i’m sick of Anderson Silva beating nobodies and being “#1 Pound for Pound fighter.”
Even if he does beat nobodies in multiple weight classes.
“We were all wrong about Rashad”
We were all not wrong. I was right. Check your post Adam I told you Chuck was going to get his old ass KO’ed. He can only back peddle and look to counter only so much before he has to bring the fight to his opponent. Rashad has slicker boxing then everybody thinks, and he has been training for fight forever with Jardine who obviously knows how to win a fight against Chuck.
I love being one of a very small group of people who pick a fighter and is right. Made some good money on BoDog to. The only other guy I saw to take Rashad was some writer on mmaontap and he was probably doing it just to be different. I actually thought Rashad was going to shock everybody. Go check the old posting comments.
First of all, Matt Brown was not “robbed”. He clearly lost the fight and won round two. Cecil Peoples should be ashamed of himself and the UFC has to make a movement to remove this man from judging. Lets look at the past…
Sherk/Florian- Watch Kennys face at the decision (50-48 IMPOSSIBLE)
Hamil/Bisbing-Matt was robbed via Cecil.
Lets not forget the famous Penn/Hughes fight. That fight alone should prove the man is insane and unfit for judging. Look it up MMA supporters and lets not let this man ruin this sport. WTF, this guy pisses me off so much!
evans isnt the most exciting fighter, but he wins
1. Chuck Liddell is not done, I would like to see him fight Mauricio Rua next.
2. I’m not an expert but I spend way too much time studying this sport and I called Evans winning this fight.
3. I like Rich Franklin at 205 I didn’t think he would beat Hamill but he did, although Franklins face looked like he lost.
4. I think Dan Henderson should fight Yushin Okami next and stay at 185 lbs.
5. Nate looked awesome give him Rich Franklin that would be one heck of a match.
6. Matt Brown had a lot of heart but I think matt’s face told the story when it came down to decision. I feel kim won the fight but hey make a rematch if you have to.