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2008-04-22 08:09:04
Chuck Liddell Pulls Out of UFC 85 After Gruesome Injury
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The much anticipated fight between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans has been cancelled after Liddell tore his hamstring while training late last week.
UFC.com has a particularly gruesome photo of Liddell's leg up on their site. As you can clearly see, Liddell severely injured his leg and would have been in no condition to continue training for his bout about Rashad Evans at UFC 85.
Apparently Liddell still wanted to fight, but UFC President Dana White told him that there was no way.
This is certainly disappointing for both Liddell and the UFC. Liddell was looking to build on the momentum of his victory against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 - Nemesis after two disappointing losses to Keith Jardine and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. The UFC is obviously disappointed because UFC 85 is taking place at the O2 Arena in London, England, and Liddell is the company's biggest draw.
The UFC is expected to announce a new main event shortly. You can always count on the UFC to give their fans excellent replacement matches when a much-hyped fight is cancelled due to injury. At UFC 79, Matt Hughes was scheduled to fight Matt Serra until Serra suffered a back injury. Many fans were disappointed as the two had been building quite a feud up on the Ultimate Fighter. The UFC quickly responded by booking a terrific replacement match, as Georges St. Pierre stepped in to take on Hughes. You can expect the UFC to do the same thing at UFC 85.
I'd love to see Rashad Evans remain in the main event, as he certainly deserves to be there. But who could he fight?
In terms of drawing power, a fight against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson certainly would have worked, but Jackson is already booked to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 86.
Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine are out, as they are squaring off at UFC 84.
Lyoto Machida would be an interesting match-up (battle of the undefeated?), but Machida is fighting Tito Ortiz at UFC 84. Ortiz vs Evans would be an interesting fight as well, as the two men fought at UFC 73 and it ended up as a draw. This would be an easy sell, as Ortiz has tremendous star power. The only problem is that:
-Ortiz only has one more match left with the company
-White would never book Ortiz in a main event at this point
So who does that leave?
Dan Henderson is a possibility, but he would have to move back up to the Light Heavyweight weight class after dropping down to take on Anderson Silva at UFC 82. This would be a great fight, and Henderson already won over fans in the UK after fighting Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 (Henderson lost the five round fight by unanimous decision).
Mauricio Rua is injured and Thiago Silva is fighting at UFC 84. The list of possible opponents for Evans is getting rapidly pared down. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou? Might be an interesting match-up but certainly not main event material.
Unless the UFC wants to make a completely new main event that doesn't involve Rashad Evans, I can see the only real possibility at this point being Henderson - Evans, if Henderson moves back up. It will be interesting to see what the UFC does.
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