UFC 97: One Former Champion Falls; Anderson Silva Defeats Thales Leites

Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell may have entered the octagon for the last time. 

Liddell was defeated by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua last night at UFC 97 Redemption. Both fighters looked to be in excellent shape before the fight. After the bell signaled the start of the first round, it was obvious that something was not right with Liddell. I think the fact that Dana White put so much pressure on his friend Liddell may have been the cause. 

Dana White came out and publicly stated that if Chuck Liddell did not win or perform convincingly, that this will be the last time you see him in a UFC ring. All I can say is thanks to Dana White for being such a good friend to a man who has helped to catapult the UFC into the sport that it is today.

You could've waited until the fight was over to have this conversation with Chuck privately. This lends itself to what other sportscasters have stated about White wanting the spotlight all to himself.

Anderson Silva is the world's best pound-for-pound fighter and he showed that again at UFC 97. Silva dismantled Thales Leites in five rounds. Most wanted the Silva of old to go in there a take out Leites in the first round.

But after all, fans did not pay to watch Silva for three minutes, instead they were entertained for the full 15 minutes. Although some will argue that they wanted to see Silva take out his opponent quickly instead take him apart one round at a time, what is evident is that Leites was very one-dimensional. 

Leites' take down attempts were stuffed by Silva. Silva picked his strikes carefully while Leites fell on his back. "The Spider" deserves all the credit for putting on a show. Maybe the UFC match makers will give Silva an opponent worthy of his immense talent.