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Featuring Ivan Trembow's Self-Important, Random Rants on Mixed Martial Arts, Video Games, Pro Wrestling, Television, Politics, Sports, and High-Quality Wool Socks Ivan's Blog Main Page Archives September 2002 November 2002 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 June 2003 October 2003 August 2004 October 2004 November 2004 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 October 2007 December 2007 January 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 |
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Mixed Martial Arts--- Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva Announced by Ivan Trembow Originally Published on MMAWeekly The UFC has announced that Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will finally be fighting each other at a UFC event in November, provided that Liddell is able to successfully defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Title against Renato "Babalu" Sobral on August 26th at UFC 62. Though the rankings vary, Liddell and Silva are widely regarded as two of the top three 205-pound fighters in any MMA organization in the world, along with Silva's teammate and fellow Pride star Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who won a 16-man Grand Prix tournament of 205-pound fighters in Pride last year. When asked during the post-UFC 61 press conference whether the Liddell-Silva fight will be a title fight, UFC president Dana White reportedly said, "It will be for the title." When asked by another reporter whether Silva is signed for a certain number of fights in the UFC, White reportedly said, "Yeah, three [fights]. We're probably going to have him for three." When asked by another reporter whether there will be more Pride stars fighting on future UFC cards, White reportedly said, "Possibly. Every year, we try to take it to another level." Though it wasn't specifically mentioned by the UFC, a few other things will also have to happen (or not happen) in order for Silva vs. Liddell to take place in November. Liddell will need to not only beat Sobral on August 26th, but he will also have to beat Sobral without sustaining any injuries in the process if he is going to fight Silva in November. Liddell has been out of action since February due to foot surgery. In addition, Wanderlei Silva will have to escape unscathed from his fight (or fights) on the "Pride Final Conflict Absolute" card on September 10th in Japan, which is just two months before his scheduled fight against Liddell in November. Silva will be fighting on the Pride card in the final four of Pride's 16-man Open Weight Grand Prix, in which the other three semi-finalists are highly ranked heavyweights Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Cro Cop, and Josh Barnett. The semi-finals and finals of Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix will both take place on September 10th, so Silva will be fighting twice in one night if he wins in the semi-finals. While Silva's fight against Liddell in the UFC would not be dependent on whether Silva wins or loses in the Pride Grand Prix, Silva would certainly have to emerge from the event injury-free, win or lose, in order to be able to fight Liddell in the UFC two months later. It has not been announced whether Liddell will also be fighting Silva in a Pride ring (under Pride rules) in Japan at any time in the future. Another factor that has not been addressed by the UFC or Pride is how the Silva-Liddell match-up will affect each fighter's potential title defenses against fighters from their own companies. Prior to the Silva-Liddell announcement, Tito Ortiz was believed to be #1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title (after the Liddell vs. Sobral fight in August), while the top contenders for Silva's 205-pound title in Pride are believed to be Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. One also has to wonder what exactly is going to happen if Silva manages to beat Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. One would certainly think that the UFC would not sign a Silva-Liddell fight without having a contractual guarantee that Liddell gets a rematch if he loses to Silva, but that is pure conjecture and is just one of the many questions that MMA fans are pondering right now. In the big picture, though, it all boils down to the fact that it looks like Chuck Liddell is going to be fighting Wanderlei Silva in the near future, and that's something that hardcore MMA fans have been waiting to hear for years. Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Send your feedback, questions, or hate mail to ivan@ivansblog.com If you're looking for all of the content from my other site, Master Gamer, you can find it here. |