Welcome to the UFC 4.02.07: The Light Heavyweights Revisited
Posted by Zach Marcus on 04.03.2007
Welcome back to the UFC, come inside to read about the Light Heavyweights.
WELCOME TO THE
I have not had the time to do this column in a very, very long time, but now I am back. Welcome back once again to the exciting world of MMA and the UFC. What this column will be is an introduction to UFC AND Pride fighters. This will help all fans to get to know these fighters a little bit better. I did some of these weight classes before, but since it has been so long the landscape of the division has changed, so I will be redoing them.
There will also be some good FREE stuff in every article. There will be some online streaming fights of the best fights of the division and a new feature, MMA trivia. The winner will get a link to download a fight in good quality.
Now onto the more important matter at hand, the light heavyweights. It is clear that the UFC makes most of their money from this division.
News
Pride and UFC "Merger"
As many fans know, the Fertita brothers (NOT the UFC) have bought Pride FC, the major MMA company in Japan. This means the two brands will be separate, with the possibility of some good fights between the brands. I think a lot of people don't realize that Dana White will have no control over Pride because he only has a stake in the UFC. He still wants to show that the UFC is better than Pride.
The Light Heavyweights
In order to help bring you into to the sport I am introduce you to the fighters, the most important people in the sport. This week are the light heavyweights. I will introduce each fighter by stating a few of his key victories, what he is known for, and why I like or dislike him. These fighters weigh between 185 and 205 pounds.
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell (20-3-0) The Champion
Liddell is the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the UFC and easily the promotions most popular fighter. The men that have fallen to the Iceman are the best light heavyweights the UFC has to offer. He has defeated Tito Ortiz twice, current Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture twice, Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral, and Vernon White. His last loss that he must avenge is against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and he will have a chance to do so at UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson. The Iceman is known to be an amazing striker, knocking out almost all of his opponents. He is an excellent counter puncher, meaning he react to his opponents very well, and has the best takedown defense in the sport. What most people don't know is that he is also an excellent grappler, but since his stand up is so good he chooses not to use it. In regards to popularity, he is a very polarizing character. You hate him or love him, there not too much middle ground. His fights always have a big fight atmosphere and I look forward to seeing him fight Jackson.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (26-6-0) The Charismatic Challenger
Jackson has only fought once so far in the UFC, but he has had numerous fights in Pride. He holds a victory over the current Champion, Chuck Liddell and has also defeated Matt Linland, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Bustamante, and Kevin Randleman. His next fight will take place at UFC 71 for the title against Liddell. He is known for his superb wrestling, strength, and amazing slamming ability (look at the end of the article to see video examples). Rampage is also known as a very interesting person to be interviewed, as he has lots of charisma. I love his fights as the pre-fight interviews are very interesting. He has a chance at beating Liddell, but I can't see anyone taking the title any time soon.
Forrest Griffin (13-4-0) The First TUF Champ
Griffin was the Light Heavweight Champ from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. His first fight with Stephan Bonnar was one of the most amazing fights I have ever seen. Since then he has beaten Bonnar again, but lost to Tito Ortiz in controversial fashion and got destroyed by Keith Jardine. He is known for having good cardio and pretty good standup. He is a very exciting fighter and has yet to have a boring fight. When he lost to Jardine he lost his chance to fight for the title in the coming months. He will need a couple fights to re-establish himself as a possible title contender. Forrest is still young and has to time to step up, but until then he will still be a favorite fighter of mine.
Keith Jardine "The Dean of Mean" (12-3-1) The Fast Riser
Jardine was on TUF Season 2, where he was defeated by Rashad Evans. So far in his UFC career, he has lost to Bonnar, but beaten Griffin in amazing fashion, Mike Whitehead, and Kerry Schall. He is very well-rounded and has a chance against everyone he faces. After his fight with Griffin he has been seen as a possible contender for the title soon. We will all see what he is made of as the UFC continues to give him tough opponents. He is the type of fighter I love to see fight as he is able to fight on his feet or on the ground, and at the same time it is very exciting. I look forward to all of his fights.
Tito Ortiz "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" (15-5-0) The Bad Boy With Nowhere To Go
Ortiz is one of the pioneers of MMA. His first fight was way back at UFC 13. He has defeated Guy Mezger, Wanderlei Silva, Ken Shamrock twice, Evan Tanner, Yuki Kondo, Forrest Griffin, and Vitor Belfort. He was a coach on the third season of TUF, and is known for his amazing wrestling, ground and pound, and conditioning. Much like Liddell, you either love him or hate him. Being on the reality show helped his image because it showed people the good coach and tough trainer he is. Right now he is no longer at the top of the division because he has lost to Liddell twice. Until the title changes hands Ortiz will not get another chance at the title. He can be seen as a sort of gatekeeper not for the UFC, but for the title. If you can beat Ortiz then the UFC can look at you for title contention. His next fight may be against either Rashad Evans of Keith Jardine at UFC 71. Like many of the fighters in this division, I look forward to his fights, as well as the preflight promos.
Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida (9-0-0) The Unknown
Machida is a new comer to the UFC defeating Sam Hoger in his debut at UFC 67. He is currently undefeated and holds some very impressive victories. He has defeated Stephan Bonnar, B.J. Penn, Rich Franklin, and Vernon White. He is very good at karate and is able to win on his feet or on the ground. When the UFC brought him in I was very happy because his amazing wins have made him have a good name. Now he must prove that those weren't fluke wins. I don't have much to say about him, but I look forward to his fight against David Heath at UFC 70. We will see what type of fighter he is and whether or not he has a future in the division.
Rashad Evans (15-0-0) The Up And Coming TUf Champ
Evans was on TUF Season 2 and was the heavyweight winner. He then decided that he would be better fighting at light heavyweight, so he moved down. Rashad is currently undefeated having beaten Bard Imes, Stephan Bonnar, Jason Lambert, and Sam Hoger. He is known for his amazing takedowns and takedown defense. When he first entered the UFC he was known as a boring fighter, winning by split decisions. Lately he has been winning by knockout making him much more fun to watch. I really want to see what he can do against some veterans of the sport, like Tito Ortiz.
Michael Bisping "The Count" (15-0-0) The British Golden Boy
Bisping was the light heavyweight champ of the third season of TUF. He has defeated Ross Pointon, Josh Haynes, and Eric Schafer. He is known for his great standup, his fitness, and his amazing ability to get out of submissions. The UFC is still protecting him since his next fight is against Elvis Sinosic at UFC 70 in his home country of England. It makes sense why the UFC wants him to have an easy win in his home land, but he needs some real competition soon. I love his fighting style, but without some good fighter for him to face he will remain a TUF fighter. Griffin was able to break away from only being a TUF champ and I think Bisping can too. The fight I look forward to most is him against Griffin.
Fights of the week
To celebrate my return to writing columns there will be a lot of fights this week.
Trivia of the Week
This is how it will work, I will ask a question here and whoever emails me the correct answer fourth will win the prize. Email answers to zach.marcus@gmail.com
The prize this week is a .wmv file of Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture from UFC 68.
The question is: How many title defenses has Chuck Liddell had in the UFC?
Thank you once again for reading my column this week. Drop me an email at zach.marcus@gmail.com telling me if I should or not. If you want anything specific to be talked about let me know. Next week will either be the welterweights or heavyweights. Let me know which you want. As always email me at zach.marcus@gmail.com with any questions or comments.
