A battle between two of the best 205 pound MMA fighters on the planet is back in the mix.
In a recent interview with KSBY 6 Action News in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and trainer John Hackleman both stated that a September 2008 fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is more than likely going to take place.
A fight between Shogun and Liddell is one that many MMA fans are dieing to see.
Both have beaten a laundry list of great MMA fighters all over the world. Anytime you can match up two aggressive strikers of their caliber you have the makings of a highlight reel fight.
This fight was originally scheduled to happen at UFC 85 in London—however, both fighters have been set back due to injuries.
First, Shogun ruptured the ACL in his left knee—the same knee he had previously had surgery on after his fight with Forrest Griffin at UFC 76.
Liddell was also forced to withdrawal recently due to a tear of his right hamstring.
The main event for UFC 85 is now Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves.
Rescheduling the Shogun vs. Liddell fight for September is a definite possibility. By the time September rolls around Liddell will most certainly be healthy, healed, and ready to fight.
On the other hand, Shogun may not be completely ready by then. He is going through a much more rigorous rehabilitation due to the severity of his injury.
It would be in Shogun’s best interest not to fight at less than 100 percent. We all saw how a seven month layoff and a bum knee served him when he was upset by Forrest Griffin at UFC 76.
Shogun is obviously anxious to show MMA fans in the United States what he is made of—why he was considered by most publications as the best 205 pound fighter in the world prior to his loss to Griffin.
My advice to Shogun would be to keep your head up, complete the rehabilitation process, train hard, and then see where the calendar stands.
Most importantly, be patient. You are only 26 years old, you have all the talent in the world—your time will come.
Whether that happens during the month September remains to be seen.
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2 months ago
I have a feeling, they will save Liddell for the winner of Rampage/Griffin as their big fight in December. Liddell/Rampage might be the only fight that could get upwards of 750k PPV buys right now.
Nice job with the article.
2 months ago
jardine deserves a title shot if any, he beat forrest and chuck
from 2 months ago
However, Forrest beat Shogun, who was considered to be the number 1 contender which is why he is getting his shot.
It does bother me that Forrest is the next to get a title shot, but he isn't ranked higher than 4th on most light heavyweight rankings that I have seen lately.
from 2 months ago
AMEN bro!!!! With all due respect to Forrest, Jardine Deserves a title shot before he does!
Machida will be closer to a tiel shot with a victory over Tito!!!!
2 months ago
I think Jardine definitely deserves a shot, but that's not a money fight. Come December, they're going to want a money fight.
2 months ago
I think if machida beats ortiz at ufc 84 then he deserves to fight liddell for the right to face the rampage/griffin winner. Machida would by far have the best resume of anyone else (13-0, wins over bj penn, rich franklin, sokoudjo, bonnar, and ortiz plus he'd finally have some big time exposure after beating a guy like ortiz.
Jardine's reckless abandon has made him too inconsistent for me. He has great wins over liddell and griffin but, on the other hand, he lays eggs against bonnar and houston alexander. He has 3 wins in his last 5. I just don't know how to gauge this guy. We'll see how he does against wanderlei. That should be a bar room brawl.
As for shogun I honestly hope he's not fighting liddell in sept b/c i don't think he'll be physically ready by then.
from 2 months ago
I have to agree with that one. If Machida can prove his UFC chops by beating Ortiz, his record and resume alone warrant him getting a number 1 contender match.
Jardine is still a question mark in my mind. He beat Griffin the same way that Alexander beat him, with a shot no one was expecting. Sure he beat Chuck, but it was the worse fight I have seen Chuck fight in a long time, if not ever.
It may not be fair to say, but it still feels like Jardine has something to prove.
2 months ago
i agree with any outcome that doesnt have chuck getting his butt whooped by rampage again. He is never going to beat rampage, not here, or on mars. he is getting long in the tooth and rampage is entering his prime, so the best thing chuck can do is root for forrest to win.
2 months ago
Bryan-
I agree that liddell will never beat rampage, however, a rematch could be a huge ppv draw and good for business.
Liddell will likely have to go through machida, jardine, or shogun first though, which is easier said than done.
2 months ago
im not sure he can beat shogun, as I felt shogun should/would have beat Griffin had he not gassed late and was noticeably nervous in that fight. I think the fight would be similiar to the wanderlei/chuck fight, only with shogun performing better and probably earning a decision. Im not sure about chuck in a rematch with jardine, time will tell if that fight was an abberation or just chuck getting beat. As far as machida goes, his fight with tito should answer all questions about him.
2 months ago
Chuck, Rashad, Jardine, Machida, Wandy, and Shogun are all vying for a title shot. Dana knows that Rampage/Chuck 3 would sell amongst casual fans, so he may set that match up if Rampage and Chuck both win their next fights.
I predict that Wandy and Machida will win their next fight, along with Rampage. Chuck then beats Shogun but loses to Page for the third time. Machida will then have won another fight and will fight for the title against Page.
As long as Rampage doesn't face a Brazilian fighter he should be fine. If Shogun and Wandy get back into top form they might beat him again. Machida has a shot at dethroning Page also; it depends on how he handles a strong wrestler in Tito.
There are gonna be some great match-ups at 205 in the future. I can't wait to see what happens when the dust settles.
2 months ago
Okay, hers two quick predictions: Tito lays on Machida and a eeks out a lack luster decision; And Shogun cant keep, or possibly even get Chuck down. Chuck wins, TKO in the middle of round three. Make tha three predictions. The UFC looses intrest in Tito, and he goes to Elite XC to massacre Kimbo ( TKO ground and pound, Round Two)
2 months ago
Good article. I agree they shouldn't hesitate to postpone the fight until Shogun is more well-prepared. Hopefully it's not pushed back later than November though. I think the winner will likely, and probably should become #1 contender right away. It sets up a rematch scenario for all outcomes except Griffin vs Liddell, which may be an even greater draw. Those 2 are probably the most popular UFC LH fighters bar-none. You might even be able to say most popular UFC fighters period. The point is it sets up perfectly for the UFC. BTW I just wrote an article which is related to this but has much more too. (my only article so far)
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