I Did It Again.

My sincerest apologies to Georges St. Pierre, Cro Cop, and now, Chuck Liddell. Dana White and the entire UFC fan nation, too. As I predicted would happen at the end of my post predicting Chuck Liddell to retain his title, I was wrong, once again. It's obvious that my blessing makes fighters lose. Unfortunately, it's finally happened to a fighter I like. Now, to make some sense of this disaster area we call the UFC. The last two upsets I could handle -- this, not a shot. I didn't even like Georges St. Pierre, so that was fine. And I thought Cro Cop was overrated...no problem there. But Chuck Liddell, the poster boy of the UFC, recently featured on the cover of ESPN, HAD to win. Didn't he?

With Rampage's shocking first-round knockout of Liddell (it is still to be determined whether or not Jackson used his signature chain during the fight), it is not just the Light heavyweight division that has been thrown into disarray, it is the entire organization. Although the UFC boasts a new signee a day (more on this later), it is proving to have the title stability of the WWE Hardcore Championship. I suppose this is what happens when you ACTUALLY get the best fighters together (think Ali-Foreman-Frazier from 1971 to 1975) -- the title changes hands rapidly. I know I'm just getting upset over a function of what Dana White and various PRIDE signings have done for the sport, but I also know that it's not good for the sport. Liddell was the UFC's Rocky, and after the entire sports world put their marbles in The Iceman's basket, he simply and plainly lost. Will they be interested enough to come back for more? We'll probably have to wait a few cards (until UFC 74-Couture's next fight) to find out. Will the hype from this fight have trickled off by then? It's possible. With a Liddell win, the UFC would have solidified viewership and further concreted the dynasty-like image they worked so hard to build. With Rampage, none of this is possible. He breeds uncertainty and little name recognition. I can't wait to see the pictures of Dana White putting the belt on Rampage; I wonder if White threw up in the ring or at least waited to get backstage...

A quick recap of the fight: Liddell and Rampage traded uppercuts and hooks until Rampage caught Liddell with a right hook, sending him to the mat. Rampage jumped on top, landing three or four blows, forcing Big John McCarthy to stop the fight. Liddell jumped up immediately after the fight, showing that he had, in fact, NOT been knocked out. During post-fight interviews, Rampage was met with boos and Chuck seemed stunned as he was barely able to answer questions. From the tape, it looked like Liddell was close to being out cold, so the stoppage was probably justified. It was just a case of a fighter getting caught.

Prior to the fight, Dan Henderson (PRIDE Welterweight and Middleweight champion) was announced as being the newest 205 lb. fighter for the UFC. He's the guy who most recently knocked out superstar Wanderlei Silva. With his defection, Silva and Fedor are the only true great fighters who remain outside of the UFC. I expect both to be signed within six months, which will all but make the rival organizations defunct. With Rampage's win and Henderson's signing, this completely opens up the Light heavyweight division. It now contains Rampage Jackson (Champion), Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. The last three on that list represent the pre-UFC 71 #1-3 in the world. With the new signings in the Heavyweight division, it contains Randy Couture (Champion), Tim Sylvia, Cro Cop, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, and Gabriel Gonzaga. Unfortunately, the the top two divisions in the UFC are TOO wide open and it will be some time before a legitimate champion is resolved. What the UFC wants to avoid is a round robin dilemma (as it has in its Welterweight division) in which no one fighter can make an undisputed claim to the belt. You know, the kind of claim Liddell was able to make before tonight's fight.

So stick around, UFC fans; it's going to be a long five years.

A note to our readers: next week, the url for The Irish Whip will be changing to irishwhip.blogspot.com instead of benanddrew.blogspot.com. Please change your bookmarks accordingly.