Planet Tapout 5.22.07: UFC's Light Heavyweight Division

Posted by Lotfi Sariahmed on 05.22.2007

UFC 71 is headlined by the huge rematch between Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. But while it may be a huge fight, the UFC might be in a lose-lose situation! In the premier edition of Planet Tapout, Lotfi Sariahmed takes a look at the impact this fight has beyond the match. What does it mean for the rest of the UFC light heavyweight division? What could this mean from a marketing standpoint? Lotfi delves into that and more in the brand spanking new Planet Tapout!

Welcome one and all to Planet Tapout! I am your host Lotfi Sariahmed, one of the newest members to the 411 family. Since this is the debut column, I'm really just trying not to break anything. I'll throw in more bells and whistles as we go (For those of you who like the bells and whistles get ready for them). I have the first few topics planned out for this column but after that we'll see what happens (**BELLS & WHISTLES**). If you have any suggestions, thoughts, comments or really anything else send it to me at [e-mail]. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, lets delve into the world of Planet Tapout with this first column.

For diehard MMA fans that have followed the sport for even just the last two years, UFC 71 on Saturday is a big event. We have the return of Ivan Salaverry, as he takes on Terry Martin in a middleweight bout. Two more welterweight title contenders go at it in this stacked division as Josh Burkman takes on Karo Parisyan. But the biggest bout on this card is obviously the main event. The Light Heavyweight belt is on the line as the man of Entourage fame; of course I mean Chuck Liddell, takes on the last man to beat him in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Their last fight was in PRIDE back in November of 2003. Jackson beat up Liddell and won via TKO at 3:10 in the 2nd round. This time around Liddell is looking to avenge his loss while Jackson is looking to become champion and the UFC can't really win either way.

Thanks in large part to The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV, the UFC has seen its popularity soar. If there's any one fighter that's benefited the most from that it's Chuck Liddell. If there were a face of the UFC, Liddell would be it. He wanted to be on HBO's Entourage but only intended on making a cameo. He wanted to say a few words and that would be it. But the producers of the show decided to put together an entire show around "The Iceman."* Then of course you have ESPN the magazine. Liddell is featured in the May 21st issue and he is on the cover holding his son Cade. He's THE guy right now in THE sport everyone is talking about. There's been a debate over whether or not MMA has hit the mainstream yet. If it hasn't yet, it has to be really close with what the UFC and Liddell have accomplished.

Then there's the man he'll be facing on the 26th. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson could potentially be the next Liddell. If he beats Liddell and takes the Light Heavyweight strap, Jackson has the charisma to eventually step in and be the "face" of the company. He came from PRIDE in Japan as a fighter who always entertained in and out of the ring. If he beats Liddell, he will get the television shows and the different sponsors to take notice. So much was made of his arrival in the UFC because this could be the man to take out the vaunted "Iceman." But in his UFC debut, he looked hesitant taking on Marvin Eastman at UFC 67. He still won by knockout at 3:49 in the 2nd round but admitted he was nervous about the fight afterwards. His trainer Juanito Ibarra had mentioned they wanted two to three fights (including the Eastman bout) before taking on Liddell for the title. But with the UFC's light heavyweight division the way it is and Liddell looking for an opponent, Jackson's time has come sooner than expected. Unfortunately, it might be too soon for the UFC.

Chuck Liddell has been the guy in the UFC's light heavyweight division since he beat Randy Couture in their second fight back in April of 2005. For fans that have followed the sport for even just a few years that's not earth shattering news. He's beaten all the contenders the UFC has thrown his way. The problem is, he's beaten all the competition too quickly. The UFC hasn't had the opportunity to develop any clear-cut contenders to his belt. So with this fight on May 26th, the UFC could lose no matter who wins. For example, take a look at what happens if Liddell retains his belt.

If Liddell beats up Jackson like Liddell beat up Tito Ortiz and Renato "Babalu" Sobral that would be the worst-case scenario for the UFC. Sure, Jackson beat Liddell up in PRIDE and logic would state that if Liddell won round two there would be a third fight. But this is almost a completely different audience the UFC is dealing with. If Liddell beats up Jackson and it's not really a close fight, it will be tough to pull off a third bout. If Liddell wins a close fight, then a third fight is a much easier sell. But outside of a maximum of two more fights (including the May 26th bout) for Liddell against Jackson, who else is there in the division?

Is he going to fight Tito Ortiz for a third time? That's doubtful. Liddell beat up Ortiz in their first bout back at UFC 47. He hit Ortiz with a barrage of punches stopping the fight 38 seconds into the 2nd round back in 2004. Their second fight ended a lot like the first. After all the hype, Liddell nearly stopped Ortiz in the first round before finally stopping it at 3:59 in the 3rd round by TKO. So why would there be a third fight anytime soon? Tito Ortiz would have to win a few big fights, starting with his fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 73, before he gets another title shot against Liddell.

What about the aforementioned Rashad Evans? He was the guy everyone underestimated from Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. But he was the winner in the heavyweight division that season. Then everyone got on him for never finishing a fight. Then he went and beat his last two opponents by knockout. He knocked out Jason Lambert back in September then knocked out Sean Salmon with a brutal head kick. Evans is a talented fighter with a wrestling background coming out of Michigan State. But is he ready for Chuck Liddell? The answer to that should become clearer after his fight with Ortiz but training in Albuquerque, New Mexico in Greg Jackson's camp means no one should sleep on Evans.

What about the other light heavyweight title contender out of Greg Jackson's camp? Keith Jardine is a light heavyweight built like a truck. He was the favorite to win the heavyweight contract during season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter. But while Evans won that contract, Jardine has done well for himself in the UFC. He is 4-1 with his one loss coming by a controversial decision against Stephan Bonnar. But it's his last fight that put him in this conversation. At UFC 66, Jardine took on Forrest Griffin in what was supposed to set up Griffin for an eventual title shot. Jardine had different plans though and dominated Griffin from start to finish in that fight. He won by TKO at 4:41 in the 1st round. Despite the win, Jardine still needs at least one or two more big wins before a title shot. If that fight were to happen right now, Jardine wouldn't stand much of a chance against Liddell.

Out of those three potential contenders to Liddell's belt, I think Evans has the best chance to get a shot at it. But I don't think any one of those fighters could challenge him right now. The hardcore fans right now are screaming, "What about UFC's buying PRIDE? What about the light heavyweight fighters in PRIDE?" The problem with talking about the PRIDE light heavyweight fighters, or any PRIDE fighters really, is two-fold. One is that as I type this column the UFC doesn't officially own PRIDE yet. There are still some problems in signing fighters and paperwork. Then once all those issues are settled, the Fertitta brothers have said they wanted to keep PRIDE running as a separate organization. They only wanted to merge the two promotions for their "super fight" PPV's probably at the end of the year. So the only other fight we'll see is Liddell taking on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua from PRIDE. The luster on a Liddell v. Wanderlei Silva fight has almost completely worn off. The point to all this is, if Liddell beats Jackson on May 26th, there are only a couple of more fights out there for him. He's said he wants to move up to heavyweight to test his skills. How much longer is he going to wait if no one else poses a threat to him in the light heavyweight division?

Of course there's always the possibility Liddell loses to Jackson. Then the division opens back up again and a lot more questions are raised. Maybe Liddell gets an immediate rematch. Maybe he has to fight a tune-up bout first. Who would he fight? Would Jackson defend his belt before fighting Liddell again? Would Liddell just go straight to heavyweight after a loss? But despite all these interesting questions, the UFC suffers here as well. While Jackson can take Liddell's place as the face of the UFC, it has to build Jackson up like they did Liddell. He (Liddell) is the star of the brand right now and a lot has been invested into him. He is the most recognizable champ they have right now. Sean Sherk, Matt Serra and Anderson Silva don't come close to Liddell in terms of popularity. As for the heavyweight champ Randy Couture, he could get there but he hasn't held the belt long enough. The UFC would inevitably lose out on some marketing opportunities because no one knows who Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is yet. ESPN is not putting Quinton Jackson on the cover of their magazine yet. Entourage is not producing a show around Quinton Jackson yet. The UFC has spent so much time building up not just Liddell as a fighter but as the man people will identify with when they think of the UFC. It has gotten to a point where the fights in the UFC don't just impact who fights who next. But it also impacts who is getting that next big advertising deal. Anyone who has followed both PRIDE and the UFC for the last few years will tell you that Jackson has a great shot to beat Liddell. It wouldn't be a big upset. But the UFC would have to build another fighter back up for the sake of marketing. It's not exactly starting from the ground floor because Jackson has a lot to work with. But in that battle to get to the "mainstream," Liddell was helping the UFC take the right steps forward. If Liddell loses that belt, they take a few steps back.

But of course this is the UFC and this is a business. UFC 71 will have one of the highest PPV buy rates all year. People love Liddell and the hardcore fans have been waiting to see this fight. The UFC bought out an entire organization (the WFA—World Fighting Alliance) just to make this fight. So on one hand they're getting what they want. But the light heavyweight division could be in some trouble sooner than anyone thought. What happens to the division post-Liddell? We'll have a better idea on where the division is headed after the fight on May 26th.

So there you have it folks. The first edition of Planet Tapout is in the books. Once again send me your thoughts, questions, comments whatever to [e-mail]. It's been a pleasure and I'll talk to you again Tuesday after UFC 71. Enjoy the fights everyone.


*Credit NBC Sports online column "The Iceman Fires Back at Tito" by Mike Chiapetta with the information*