411’s UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson Report 5.26.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.26.2007
Not even the mighty Chuck Liddell can stop the RAMPAGE of shocking UFC Main Event upsets!
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
UFC 70 Predictions:
-Here are the predictions I made for the Forum Pick ‘Em Contest, that way I can be made fun of when I make some atrocious picks.
Carmelo Marrero vs. Wilson Gouveia - Wilson Gouveia via TKO 1st Round
Jeremy Stephens vs. Din Thomas – Stephens via submission 1st Round
Sean Salmon vs. Alan Belcher – Sean Salmon via decision
Thiago Silva vs. James Irvin - Thiago Silva via decision
++++++
Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes – Chris Leben via decision
Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine – Keith Jardine via TKO 2nd Round
Josh Burkman vs. Karo Parisyan - Karo Parisyan via TKO Round 3
Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry – Ivan Salaverry via decision
LHW Title: Chuck Liddell vs. Rampage Jackson – Rampage via TKO 3rd Round
Dark Match Results:
-Credit: Wrestlingobserver.com -Alan Belcher defeated Sean Salmon via Rd 1 Submission
-Thiago Silva defeated James Irvin via Rd Referee/Doctor Stoppage (?)
-The diagnosis for Irvin is a partial ACL tear. Early word is that he will not need surgery but his knee will be in a brace for a while.
UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson:
-Live from Las Vegas Nevada!
-Mike Goldberg welcomes up to UFC 71! He starts by putting over Chuck as the most recognizable MMA star ever, and his ESPN cover.
-Joe Rogan joins us and starts to discuss Rampage! Joe reminds us of the win Rampage has over Chuck, a stoppage, and the fact that this is in Chuck's mind and his only motivation, redemption. Chuck has won 7 straight fights by TKO/KO. And it is a who's who list of who he has ko'd; Babalu x 2, Couture x 2, Tito x 2, Horn.
-They remind us that Rampage is only 28, and young. We see some wild slams by Rampage and his win over Eastman.
-Goldberg says they bring us great matches, and the winner of the main event will face DAN HENDERSON. We get a video of Henderson, and Rogan is excited. He says there are more guys that need to come here to see if they are as good in the octagon as they have been elsewhere.
-In the evening's text vote, Chuck is winning 65% to 35%. As of right now, the voting from my news column is 52% - 48% for Chuck.
-We get a video package for Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes.
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Chris Leben (16-3) vs. Kalib Starnes (9-2-1):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Chris Leben via decision
-Mario Yamasaki is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Leben looks for leg kicks early. Gets a high kick after a light combo. They clinch, to the cage and Starnes looks to nullify Leben, and he is free. Straight left by Leben, leg kick and a body shot by Starnes. Clinch and knees by both men. A nice kick by Starnes, loud. Leben in with a combo, and then a good leg kick. High kick by Leben, he falls but back to his feet. Leben gets it low, but it is good and he continues. Good leg kick by Starnes, misses aright and they circle. Body kick misses, Leben in with wild punches now and then misses a body kick. Starnes back with the leg kick, left by Leben. Leg kick by Leben, fakes a knee and gets a combo but they clinch. Against the cage, knees by Starnes and they separate. Leg kicks by Starnes but Leben with a great left and he has a small cut. Another left by Leben. Starnes takes Leben down has mount and Leben works, under a minute left. Good body shots by Starnes, Leben stays busy and goes for a triangle, nothing. He works, Starnes not doing much, to his feet and gets a few solid rights and the round is over.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: A very even round all around, but I will go with Starnes for the takedowns and Leben was reckless.
ROUND TWO: Round 2 begins and Leben fakes a left. Straight kick by Leben, but he gets knees. Good right by Starnes, knee and a spinning back fist misses for Leben. Leg kicks by Starnes, and then Leben. Nice straight right by Starnes, and a takedown follows. Leben with rubber guard, Starnes not doing much on the ground but now with some short elbows and rights. He stands and gets a big right but Leben gets to his feet. They trade standing, clinch and to the fence. Knees by Leben, they separate. Good leg kicks by Starnes as both are tired, Starnes more so though. He tries to shoot in and fails. Body shot by Leben. A knee follows and a nice jab by Starnes and a straight kick follows. Starnes covers up and plays defense, Leben gets a flurry and rocks Starnes a bit. Starnes is very tired. Leg kick by Leben. Starnes with another good right and Leben with a knee shot. Combo by Leben and a right by Starnes as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Pretty even overall, but Starnes did good defense, got the takedown and a few strong shots, and takes the round again.
ROUND THREE: Round 3 begins, Leben's right eye is a bit swollen and Starnes with a good right again. Leben forward, a flurry and he chases Starnes around with good combos. Straight kick by Leben, and then a leg kick. Straight kick by Starnes, covers up and Leben with another small flurry. Great body kick by Leben and Starnes was rocked and very tired. To the ground they go, Leben in mount and works body shots. Short elbows by Leben, and then more body shots. Leben stands and then drops a big left. Half guard by Leben, short elbows and hammer fists. Starnes turns it and has top control. Leben with lefts and rights from the bottom. 2-minutes to go and Starnes is doing nothing on top. Bog elbow by Starnes finally and Leben keeps working. Some small body kicks by Leben. Leben very busy from the back as we head to the final minute. Starnes to his feet, and a big right to Leben. Side control, and now into half guard. Starnes looks for a kimura, but fails. Starnes really working for side control, drops some punches now and hammer fists as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Leben was very aggressive and finally took a round clearly to me, even with Starnes looking string at the end. I will go 29-28 for Starnes. Eddie Bravo agrees.
-The Result: Kalib Starnes via Unanimous Decision: 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28.
-Joe is with Starnes. He respects Leben and he thought Leben would take the decision. Leben says screw the judges, we had a great fight. They boo him. He says he made mistakes, but he had fun. Starnes talks us through some replays. Leben dedicates this to his nephew and Starnes says he loves his daughter.
-We see Josh Burkman and Karo Parisyan preparing for their fight.
-A UFC 72 promo runs.
-More main event hype.
-We get a video package for Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT - Houston Alexander (6-1) vs. Keith Jardine (12-3-1):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Keith Jardine via TKO 2nd Round
-Steve Mazzigatti is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Quick touch and they are set to go. Jardine in with a right, another and Alexander is rocked. To the cage they go, and Alexander rocks Jardine! Jardine is down and Alexander is all over him with shots! Jardine with numerous rights, a knee, HUGE uppercut and Jardine is done!
-The Result: Houston Alexander via Rd 1 TKO (0:48)
-Rogan said that Jardine was pissed he had to have this fight and that he shouldn't look past Alexander, and damn if he wasn't right.
-Rogan is with Alexander now. Rogan says it was a tremendous victory. Alexander says he knows he has ability, and he is here. He says he slipped early and wasn't hurt with the first big shot. He talks us through the replay and says he has REAL Punching power. This dude has a boatload of charisma. He puts over Jardine, and says he appreciates this chance.
-We get hype for Chuck vs. Rampage.
-We get a video package for Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT - Terry Martin (17-2) vs. Ivan Salaverry (12-4-1):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Ivan Salaverry via decision
-Mario Yamasaki is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Big kick by Salaverry misses. Leg kick by Salaverry, a bit high and Yamasaki checks, and we go. Body kick by Salaverry, Martin circles and in with a light combo. High kick by Salaverry, almost slips and follows with the inside leg kick. Martin in with lefts, gets Salaverry back tracking and into the cage they go. Clinch, they battle for position and Salaverry with a great job of working against the takedown. Martin tries a slam, counter and Salaverry has the forearm, but gets dumped on his head, Martin follows with hammer fists and that is all! That seemed a little early a stoppage to me.
-The Result: Terry Martin via Rd 1 TKO (2:04)
-Joe is with Martin. Martin says he thanks his coaches, and he says his dad told him he could dominate 185. He challenges Anderson, and is not worried about any 185 dude. He talks us through the replay, and says he was out when he hit the ground. He calls him "Mr. Salaverry" out of respect.
-Video promo for UFC 72.
-We see Chuck and Rampage preparing.
-The text poll is 67% for Chuck.
-We get a video package for Josh Burkman vs. Karo Parisyan.
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT - Josh Burkman (19-3) vs. Karo Parisyan (24-4):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Karo Parisyan via TKO Round 3
-Herb Dean is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They went nose to nose on the stand off, and they are ready to go. No touching, they gout, throw and both land hard shots. They back off, hard leg kick by Josh, Parisyan catches it and gets a right. Against the cage, Josh looks for a takedown. Off the cage, right by Parisyan. High kick by Josh and Parisyan back with a right. Leg kick by Josh, but Parisyan stops a takedown. Big right by Parisyan, misses an uppercut. Leg kicks by Parisyan, who keeps changing his stance. High kick by Parisyan, Josh in with shots and they back off. A hard leg kick by Parisyan, a knee and Josh slams him down. Mount by Josh, Parisyan works out and eats a right and kick. Parisyan goes for a sweep, into the cage they go. A good combo and judo throw by Parisyan. North south position now, he maintains position and lets Josh up. To the feet they go, good right by Parisyan off a counter. Leg kicks by Parisyan, misses a high kick. Josh shoots in, Parisyan looks for a kimura as Josh tries to counter. Josh picks him up, into the cage and round one ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Excellent round. Overall pretty close, but I will go with Parisyan taking the round.
ROUND TWO: The round begins, they circle and Parisyan in with a good right. Leg kicks follow, straight right and then grabs Josh, but they separate. Josh misses an uppercut, but a great leg kick connects, buckling the leg of Parisyan as he was able to land a right. Josh is throwing hard, but not getting a lot. High body kick by Parisyan, but a great right by Josh rocks Parisyan. Parisyan with 2 good rights, and then another. Josh misses another big right as Parisyan continues to push. Josh gets tagged again and he is getting slow and tired. Parisyan is taking his time, measuring Josh, gets a knee and a combo follows. Hey jab at each other, and more leg kicks by Parisyan. Josh keeps dropping his hands, but he gets a combo. Great combo by Parisyan, and then a right follows. Parisyan grabs Josh, clinch, they work towards the cage and knees and rights by both men. Leg kicks and a right by Parisyan. Nice right by Parisyan again, and then another leg kick as round 2 ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Parisyan was more aggressive, and did more damage as Josh continues to tire. Parisyan doesn't even look winded. He takes this round as well.
ROUND THREE: Here we go with round three. Knee by Josh, and then a straight right. Parisyan gets good right as Josh misses wildly again. More combo work by Parisyan lands. Josh slams Parisyan into the cage, they clinch and Parisyan gets a double under hook, but reversed by Josh. Josh gets a good takedown and he has Parisyan against the fence. Josh on top, Parisyan swings his body and escapes, nice. He looks for the standing kimura, sweeps and rolls and locks it in now. Parisyan lets go, as he didn't have it deep. Parisyan with a body lock, and then a combo on Josh. High kick by Parisyan grazes Josh. But he gets a straight left on Josh. Parisyan misses a high kick and all Josh can do is a light jab. Lefts by Parisyan, Josh is very tired as we are under a minute left in the fight. Josh shoots in, Parisyan counters and works to keep him up. Knees by Parisyan, Josh in with a light combo as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Josh worked really hard, but Parisyan still dominated in my opinion. 30-27. Eddie Bravo thinks it was much closer than I did, and went 29-28.
-The Result: Karo Parisyan via Unanimous Decision: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
-Joe is with Parisyan. Joe puts over the fight, as well as Parisyan's stand up an conditioning. Parisyan says he brought the heat, and he wants his title shot. He says he won't beg, but he needs his title shot back. Parisyan says it is hard to watch people get title shots, he beat Serra and wants his title shot. He thanks his camp, Randy and others. They go through the replay. Parisyan says he just brought the heat, and then sings a song about how great his judo throws are. Tremendous.
-Chuck and Rampage prepare.
-Goldberg says this will be a busy summer for the UFC.
-We get a video package on UFC Fight Night on June 12th, UFC 72 and TUF Finale June 23rd as well as UFC 73 July 7th.
-We get a video for Jeremy Stephens vs. Din Thomas.
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT - Jeremy Stephens (13-1) vs. Din Thomas (22-7):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Stephens via submission 1st Round
-Big John McCarthy is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They touch and go o work throwing jabs. Din shoots in and takes Stephens down. He has top position, works body shots and some hammer fists, nothing major yet. Stephens is working to stop damage, Din passes for side control and almost got a kimura. Din back to mount, some elbows land and he gets side control again. Nicely done. He has control, looks to turn Stephens and gets another good elbow. Din looks for the kimura, gets Stephens back and gets the rear naked choke. Stephens rolls, Din on the back and lets it go, Din on his back and he gets a boy scissors. He works to get the choke back, Stephens works to keep out of it and rolls to the side, Din on top and then rolls back. Punches by Din, and then looking for the choke. Stephens escapes and stands and drops down bombs on Din! Dives with a right and misses, Din on his back and defends and both to their feet as the round ends.
LARRY'S SCORE CARD: Great end to the round, Din dominated while Stephens had to play defense the entire round. Din takes it.
ROUND TWO: Here we go with round two. They throw jabs to start, huge spinning back fist lands and Stephens also follows with jabs. Another big left and Stephens shows life. Uppercut by Stephens, leg kick and then the inside body kick. Din with a leg kick, jabs and fakes a shoulder, avoids a right by Stephens and back to the jabs by both men. They both land shots, leg kicks by Stephens now and Din shoots in, but Stephens on top. Elbows by Stephens, Din wraps him up from the bottom and gets an arm bar, Stephens pick shim up, slams him down but Din holds on and about rips his arm off. Stephens says he didn't tap, but if he didn't he should have because he was going to be an arm short. He didn't, but Big John stepped in at the right time I feel.
-The Result: Din Thomas via Rd 2 Submission
-Joe is with Din. Joe says it was a great arm bar. Din says if he didn't tap, he would have broken his arm off and taken it home with him. They walk through the ending replay. "I'm slick as a mutha fucka ain't I? Hey Floyd, all of you boxers talking shit, where you fuckers at? I'm the fucker to fight!"
-Joe is with the stars of Hostel II. They pimp the flick.
-A drunk David Spade and other Hollywood luminaries pick the winner of Liddell vs. Rampage.
-The text poll is 66% for Liddell.
-Couture joins the team for the main event. Randy says he thinks Rampage could take it in 3 or 4 rounds.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: Dan Henderson is here watching the bout, as announced, he gets the winner. Here we go! Leg kicks by Chuck, jabs now and Rampage looks to back him into the cage. Back center and jabs by Rampage. Chuck with a straight right, a jab and Rampage wants some and Chuck throws a left hook. They both throw wild and Rampage gets a left hook from it. Jabs by Chuck, Rampage nails Chuck and he is down! Rampage dives on him, pounds away with hammer fists and Big John stops the fight.
Chuck is pissed. We see the replay and right hook, hammer fists and then Chuck goes flat and THEN Big John stops it. Good stoppage.
Afterwards Chuck asks his corner what happened, he is a bit out of it still.
-The Result: NEW CHAMPION RAMPAGE JACKSON via Rd. 1 KO
-Joe is with Rampage, and says it sounds good as hell to be called the champ. He says this feels good. He says you can boo all you want, but he has his fans and proved he is the man. Rampage says we can do it again if people think there is controversy, but then he sees the replay and agrees with the ref. Rampage says he is training hard and he will be champion for a long time.
Joe is now with Chuck. Chuck says he is fine to his kids. He says he got caught and it happens, nothing else to say. He will always want a rematch. Joe puts him over, and he gets a great ovation from the crowd.
Joe is with Rampage again and he says Dan Henderson has come to UFC to challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Dan has both of his titles with him. Dan says they are friends, so is Chuck, but this is sport and business. He will be happy to make money with friends. Rampage says they have put a lot into this sport and it is time to get paid. He says Dan has a killer crib, and he wants one now.
Dan says this is the best for the fans, and we will see who the VERY best is after this fight. Rampage makes fun of Dan's fake teeth. Tremendous.
-Goldberg puts over the upset as part of the year of upsets. Randy says he is 2 for 2 in his last picks. Joe says he is going to Randy for betting advice. Randy says Rampage just countered Chuck well and just took it to him. Randy says Chuck will be back and better than ever.
-Talk turns to Dan Henderson vs. Rampage. Joe says he is world class and whether at 185 or 205 he is dominating. Randy says they were teammates and started in MMA together, and he has developed and is a very dangerous man.
Carmelo Marrero (6-1) vs. Wilson Gouveia (8-4):
-Pre-Fight Prediction: Wilson Gouveia via TKO 1st Round
-Mario Yamasaki is the official.
-The Fight: ROUND ONE: They touch and circle, Gouveia avoids a takedown. He dances, nails a right and gets a leg kick. He avoids another takedown, in with a combo and backs off. Leg kicks by Gouveia, he hangs his left very low and gets a right. Leg kicks by Marrero and then some by Gouveia. They trade jabs, Gouveia with a better hook and leg kick. Another leg kick about breaks Marrero's leg, he falls to the ground and Gouveia almost had a guillotine but back center cage. Knees and lots of rights by Gouveia, tries a guillotine again and mounts as well. Marrero taps.
-The Result: Wilson Gouveia via Rd 1 Submission
-Joe is with Gouveia. He says he is improving and Gouveia thanks him. They walk through the replay. They discuss his sick leg kicks.
-Goldberg and Joe run down the show, and DIN got the submission of the night. They continue the run down, talk of Rampage's win and that's the show!
Stay tuned for Monday Morning when "My Take on MMA" returns with a complete breakdown and final thoughts on UFC 71~!
Feel free to send in your thoughts on the show! If you do, please include your BEST and WORST fight, and score the PPV from 0-10!
