A Fan's View from his Couch: UFC 97 Recap
Liddell vs Rua
The Iceman's career has been hung up in the meat freezer and put on ice, the door that is the entrance back to the hierarchy of the 205 pound division may be closed forever... As sad as it is for me to say Chuck is officially punch drunk, he is exactly that. A much younger and much more athletic Rua picked Liddell apart with relative ease. Hats off to the Iceman, a great fighter, a great champion and a future Hall of Famer - hands down! Rua now moves on to take his once rightful place atop the UFC's light heavyweight division. All fight fans must remember, MMA wouldn't be what it is today without Liddell!
Silva vs Leites
Yaaaawwwwnnnn, oops, pardon me while I wipe away my drool after that 25 minute snoozer. Hey, at least we all we given a chance to collect our thoughts and dream about the career that was Chuck Liddell seeing is how that is all myself and my friends did during this enormous disappointment. The only thing more frustrating in this fight was listening to the broken record that was Joe Rogan trying to make excuses for the abysmal showing by both men. You can almost pin point the moment that either Dana or the Fertitta brothers got in Rogan's ear and said do whatever it takes to make people think Silva is 'doing what it takes to stay champion.' I was honestly more annoyed by him than I was the 25 minutes of foo foo fighting in the MAIN EVENT! Anyone have $45 I can have so I don't feel as sore as I did Sunday morning for shelling out the cash?
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Cantwell vs Cane
Like Dr. Frankenstein, Cane came out and methodically took "The Robot" apart from the opening bell. A chorus of 1,2,3s found there mark over and over again leading to a broken bridge on Cantwell's nose and a very calm and relaxed Cane seized the spotlight and took full advantage of the opportunity at hand...That was until Cantwell found his range with the leg kick, using them as a feeler and than a jab... He never really had full control of the round, but they obviously split the first two rounds and it came down to the third and decisive round... A boring third round seemed more like a sparring session as opposed to a "climbing the 205 ladder fight" ended with little fanfare, but with a one sided 29-28 win for Cane... Up next for Cane, maybe Jardine as they both like to stand and bang... For Cantwell, its his first lose in the UFC and in 5 fights overall, he deserves and will get another shot to prove he belongs on the payroll.
Kongo vs Hardonk
So I didn't get my vicious elbows from Loiseau, but Kongo displayed Tito Ortiz-like dominance from the ground and pound... I haven't seen 7 minutes of one person reigning over another since the end of The Hills Have Eyes Two... Kongo continues to display the skills and attributes that will embroider his name on the scroll that is the heavyweight rankings... With 4 wins in a row and 6 of 7 here's to Carwin vs Kongo in the not so distant future...
> Find the entire list of UFC 97 results for all 12 fights on the card for Saturday night's event!
By Greg Vorse
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
A Fan's View from his Couch