Will
12-31-2006, 08:57 PM
LAS VEGAS, Dec. 30 — When it was all said and done, the outcome was the same: Tito Ortiz lying in tatters after tasting too many Chuck Liddell punches.
The only difference this time around was that it took Liddell an extra round and a half to score the TKO over his rival and former training partner. Ortiz stood his ground much longer than many insiders predicted, as his striking ability was greatly improved since the last time the light heavyweights met in April 2004.
But still, Liddell walked away with a smile on his face and the UFC belt around his waist.
Ortiz actually won the exchanges for the better portion of the action, but in the end it was Liddell who had his hand raised in victory. Liddell was content to throw singular punches throughout the battle, a ploy set in place by trainer John Hackleman and, in essence, played out like a perfectly written symphony.
“We wanted to only throw one punch at a time,” Hackleman told Sherdog.com following the fight. “Our plan was to only throw one at a time and once Chuck would connect, then he'd throw the combos. That’s what happened.”
“This was the most satisfying victory of my career,” a delighted Liddell squealed moments after his triumph. “Tito came out real tough, looked good. It was a good fight.”
In all actuality, all it took was one punch from the defending light heavyweight champion.
Late in the third round, Liddell connected with a glancing right cross that ricocheted off Ortiz's head and sent him reeling. Liddell capitalized immediately and within seconds Ortiz was covering up in a near fetal position along the fence, trying to grab hold of Liddell’s legs.
“The Iceman” wailed away at the former champion and delivered several elbows and punches, though virtually every one of them was either blocked or missed their mark. Referee Mario Yamasaki quickly intervened and halted the action.
“I had him hurt,” Liddell said about the stoppage. “I just kept throwing punches. They decided to stop it. He wasn't defending himself, for sure.”
Many of the fans inside the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena booed the decision to stop the fight seeing as though Ortiz was able to withstand a more vicious onslaught from Liddell in the first round.
A debilitating left hook was dealt behind Ortiz's ear, sending “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” floundering onto the canvas. Liddell, 37, unfurled a serious barrage of shots and it seemed as though Ortiz, bleeding above his left eye, was about to be knocked out at any second. However, his true warrior spirit surfaced and it paved the way for Ortiz to survive the round.
“Well, I was surprised, but I like the refs to let it go,” said Liddell, now 20-3-0. “Tito's a tough guy and I'm sure he says the same thing I say in the room: ‘Let it go until I say it's done.’”
From that point forward, Ortiz (15-5-0) turned the tides slightly in his favor by picking apart the countering Liddell with stinging leg kicks, pesky jabs and penetrating right crosses. The challenger’s attacks kept "The Iceman" at bay for much of the second round and most of the third.
Liddell had a tremendously difficult time uncorking his vaunted right hand, as Ortiz blocked the attrition perfectly, and it seemed as though Ortiz just might pull off the upset.
Ortiz had to settle for trading blows with Liddell because he simply couldn't take his nemesis off his feet. Dozens of shots were thwarted, thusly preventing Ortiz from fighting his fight: the brutal ground-and-pound.
The one time Liddell was taken off his feet, Ortiz couldn't pin him down and within mere seconds, the champion from San Luis Obispo, Calif. expertly worked his way back up to his feet. Still, Ortiz was holding his own and getting the better of Liddell.
Coming into the battle, most figured Liddell would be able to smash Ortiz, but he didn't look as sharp as had in recent fights. Much of that has to be accredited to Ortiz's vastly improved striking ability, but also it just seemed like Liddell was a step slower this time around and he couldn't pull the trigger at will.
Oftentimes throughout the contest, especially after Ortiz had a takedown attempt stuffed, the bleach-blonde Ortiz would leave himself wide open for the counter right hand, but it rarely was thrown.
Finally, Liddell was able to end things, though it was under dubious circumstances.
While Ortiz didn't overly complain about the stoppage, which came officially at 3:59 of the third, when Liddell was pulled off of him, most could tell he was a bit bitter about having to be saved from further punishment when not much was landing cleanly. He also made no excuses about the loss, apologized to his fans and gave full credit to the man who beat him.
“Chuck’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now,” Ortiz said after the fight. “I gotta give it to him. He’s worked his ass off to get where he is, and he showed it tonight. I fought my "A game." That was almost as best as I could fight. I couldn’t get a takedown. I thought I could strike with him. I felt pretty comfortable — then there was the last little situation I got hit with a short or two. I'm only 31, man, I'm going to be in this sport for another five or six years. I'm going to be here for a long, long, long time.”
What's next for Liddell seems to be the ballyhooed rematch with newly acquired Quinton Jackson, the only man to beat Liddell and not suffer the UFC champ’s vengeance.
"Rampage" left PRIDE and fought once for the disastrously reincarnated WFA, only to recently sign a two-fight deal with Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC. While no date has been announced for the rematch, it's expected that Jackson will fight at least once before climbing into the Octagon to attempt to do what no man has ever done before: topple Liddell twice.
“I hope so,” a gleeful Liddell said about a possible rematch with Jackson, who looked on the champion from Octagon-side. “That's up to everybody else — UFC. But I can't wait to get that rematch.”
As for Ortiz, his future in the Octagon remains bright as he gave a solid account for himself in a losing effort. Light heavyweight contenders like Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans and others are all possibilities for future opponents, but it appears as though “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will be out for a while.
Ortiz had to be taken to a nearby Las Vegas hospital to have his head scanned for precautionary purposes, as well as an injured foot, which was reported to be broken during the fight.
“Middle of the third I just made a few mistakes, man,” Ortiz said. “I hit him with an inside kick and it felt like I broke my foot. It hurts. Liddell is an awesome fighter. I can't say enough about him. I just gotta congratulate him.”
Credit: Mike Sloan, Sherdog.com
The only difference this time around was that it took Liddell an extra round and a half to score the TKO over his rival and former training partner. Ortiz stood his ground much longer than many insiders predicted, as his striking ability was greatly improved since the last time the light heavyweights met in April 2004.
But still, Liddell walked away with a smile on his face and the UFC belt around his waist.
Ortiz actually won the exchanges for the better portion of the action, but in the end it was Liddell who had his hand raised in victory. Liddell was content to throw singular punches throughout the battle, a ploy set in place by trainer John Hackleman and, in essence, played out like a perfectly written symphony.
“We wanted to only throw one punch at a time,” Hackleman told Sherdog.com following the fight. “Our plan was to only throw one at a time and once Chuck would connect, then he'd throw the combos. That’s what happened.”
“This was the most satisfying victory of my career,” a delighted Liddell squealed moments after his triumph. “Tito came out real tough, looked good. It was a good fight.”
In all actuality, all it took was one punch from the defending light heavyweight champion.
Late in the third round, Liddell connected with a glancing right cross that ricocheted off Ortiz's head and sent him reeling. Liddell capitalized immediately and within seconds Ortiz was covering up in a near fetal position along the fence, trying to grab hold of Liddell’s legs.
“The Iceman” wailed away at the former champion and delivered several elbows and punches, though virtually every one of them was either blocked or missed their mark. Referee Mario Yamasaki quickly intervened and halted the action.
“I had him hurt,” Liddell said about the stoppage. “I just kept throwing punches. They decided to stop it. He wasn't defending himself, for sure.”
Many of the fans inside the sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena booed the decision to stop the fight seeing as though Ortiz was able to withstand a more vicious onslaught from Liddell in the first round.
A debilitating left hook was dealt behind Ortiz's ear, sending “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” floundering onto the canvas. Liddell, 37, unfurled a serious barrage of shots and it seemed as though Ortiz, bleeding above his left eye, was about to be knocked out at any second. However, his true warrior spirit surfaced and it paved the way for Ortiz to survive the round.
“Well, I was surprised, but I like the refs to let it go,” said Liddell, now 20-3-0. “Tito's a tough guy and I'm sure he says the same thing I say in the room: ‘Let it go until I say it's done.’”
From that point forward, Ortiz (15-5-0) turned the tides slightly in his favor by picking apart the countering Liddell with stinging leg kicks, pesky jabs and penetrating right crosses. The challenger’s attacks kept "The Iceman" at bay for much of the second round and most of the third.
Liddell had a tremendously difficult time uncorking his vaunted right hand, as Ortiz blocked the attrition perfectly, and it seemed as though Ortiz just might pull off the upset.
Ortiz had to settle for trading blows with Liddell because he simply couldn't take his nemesis off his feet. Dozens of shots were thwarted, thusly preventing Ortiz from fighting his fight: the brutal ground-and-pound.
The one time Liddell was taken off his feet, Ortiz couldn't pin him down and within mere seconds, the champion from San Luis Obispo, Calif. expertly worked his way back up to his feet. Still, Ortiz was holding his own and getting the better of Liddell.
Coming into the battle, most figured Liddell would be able to smash Ortiz, but he didn't look as sharp as had in recent fights. Much of that has to be accredited to Ortiz's vastly improved striking ability, but also it just seemed like Liddell was a step slower this time around and he couldn't pull the trigger at will.
Oftentimes throughout the contest, especially after Ortiz had a takedown attempt stuffed, the bleach-blonde Ortiz would leave himself wide open for the counter right hand, but it rarely was thrown.
Finally, Liddell was able to end things, though it was under dubious circumstances.
While Ortiz didn't overly complain about the stoppage, which came officially at 3:59 of the third, when Liddell was pulled off of him, most could tell he was a bit bitter about having to be saved from further punishment when not much was landing cleanly. He also made no excuses about the loss, apologized to his fans and gave full credit to the man who beat him.
“Chuck’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now,” Ortiz said after the fight. “I gotta give it to him. He’s worked his ass off to get where he is, and he showed it tonight. I fought my "A game." That was almost as best as I could fight. I couldn’t get a takedown. I thought I could strike with him. I felt pretty comfortable — then there was the last little situation I got hit with a short or two. I'm only 31, man, I'm going to be in this sport for another five or six years. I'm going to be here for a long, long, long time.”
What's next for Liddell seems to be the ballyhooed rematch with newly acquired Quinton Jackson, the only man to beat Liddell and not suffer the UFC champ’s vengeance.
"Rampage" left PRIDE and fought once for the disastrously reincarnated WFA, only to recently sign a two-fight deal with Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC. While no date has been announced for the rematch, it's expected that Jackson will fight at least once before climbing into the Octagon to attempt to do what no man has ever done before: topple Liddell twice.
“I hope so,” a gleeful Liddell said about a possible rematch with Jackson, who looked on the champion from Octagon-side. “That's up to everybody else — UFC. But I can't wait to get that rematch.”
As for Ortiz, his future in the Octagon remains bright as he gave a solid account for himself in a losing effort. Light heavyweight contenders like Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans and others are all possibilities for future opponents, but it appears as though “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will be out for a while.
Ortiz had to be taken to a nearby Las Vegas hospital to have his head scanned for precautionary purposes, as well as an injured foot, which was reported to be broken during the fight.
“Middle of the third I just made a few mistakes, man,” Ortiz said. “I hit him with an inside kick and it felt like I broke my foot. It hurts. Liddell is an awesome fighter. I can't say enough about him. I just gotta congratulate him.”
Credit: Mike Sloan, Sherdog.com