UFC 97: The "A.D.D." Recap, Including Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, and More

UFC 97 is in the books, and it set a North American attendance record with 21,451 fans in attendance.

Here are the quick results:

Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision

Sam Stout def. Matt Wiman via unanimous decision 

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Chuck Liddell via TKO (strikes) 

Krzysztof Soszynski def. Brian Stann via submission (kimora)

Cheick Kongo def. Antoni Hardonk via TKO (strikes) 

Luiz Cane def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision

Random Thoughts

Anderson Silva

A quick scroll through message boards on any MMA website today will show you that fans are disgusted with Silva's performance from last night. Half seem to have hated it, while the other half just severely disliked it.

I for one am not bothered in the least.

You see, Silva's idol is Roy Jones Jr. As a lifelong boxing fan, I can personally understand, since the two have the same amount of talent and have displayed similar dominance.

Last night was a typical late '90s Roy Jones performance. I watched many a dominating Jones Jr. twelve-round decision wondering why he wouldn't just finish the guy.

The answer is simple: That wasn't his style. It's not Anderson's style, either.

If you engage him, he counters. If you bring the fight to him all night, you're probably going to get knocked out. If you choose not to engage, he will potshot you to an easy decision. Not the most crowd-pleasing thing in the world, but a win is a win.

Maybe Dana White should have let Anderson box Roy Jones last year like he wanted. After getting humbled by Jones Jr. my gut instinct is telling me he would be a hungrier fighter inside the octagon nowadays.

The UFC should match Silva with more aggressive fighters going forward and maybe not make him the headliner—just my two cents.

Chuck Liddell

Dana White announced Liddell's retirement last night, and I hope it holds. I don't want to see Chuck in the Octagon anymore.

At this point, I think guys that he beat in the past would beat him now. For example, Babalu and Tito would be victorious against this Chuck.

His reflexes are gone, and he looked painfully slow in there. Not to mention he absolutely did not keep his hands up as he had been rumored to be working on. He also had no defense for that overhand right, despite the fact he knew Shogun was gonna throw it.

If Chuck was really serious about this comeback, there would be changes he would have made before this fight: Keeping his guard high and tight is one, throwing straight punches is another, and using his wrestling and clinch skills also figures in.

But what we saw last night was the same Chuck we have seen lose the last four out of five matches. Iceman, good luck with whatever cushy job Dana has waiting for you.

Shogun

I'm not sure what to think of his display. I mean, sure, Shogun looked a lot better than he did against Coleman, but he still fought a 40-year-old man who looked every bit of forty in the Octagon. Kudos to him for getting the job done in emphatic fashion, but I must reserve judgment for now.

I want to see Shogun fight against an actual top-205er before I'll say he's back.

Luis Cane would do. Krzysztof seems like a good test—any lower top-10 or 15 guy makes sense. Just make sure he's legit and not Kevin Randleman, who they signed for one fight or something.

Final Thoughts

Cane is now a top-10 guy, if he wasn't already. The UFC needs to put him in the mix. Hell, put him against Anderson Silva at 205; at least he will bring it.

As for Krzysztof, its time for him to step it up a notch too. He made easy work of Stann, who I thought would give him a much better fight.

Kongo needs his title shot sooner rather than later. I don't want to see him lose in one of these "stay busy" fights the UFC keeps giving him. It's easy to tell they are building him up as a title challenger potentially for Brock, though they know he won't beat Brock. Should Lesnar defeat Mir, let's see this fight next.

Now, if Mir wins, then a Kongo fight becomes much more intriguing.