Well, as I’m sure you already know, the world of mixed martial arts was KO almost as fast as the right hand hook punch that brought down the fighter that many considered virtually unstoppable and easy, at least up to this point, the The most feared forward in the light heavyweight division. Of course I’m talking about the highlight fight of the night during UFC # 71 with Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.
Liddell, who had been defeated several years ago by Jackson during a Pride fight in Japan, has been on a quest to avenge the only three (now four) losses in his illustrious career. The first two went to Randy Couture and Jeremy Horn. They both took amazing revenge in recent bouts. The third loss, and now the fourth, was to Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.
Now I have seen both men fight numerous times and I have great respect for the capabilities of both. I have to admit that my heart was pulling for Liddell, but my instincts told me that Jackson was going to accept it. Check one for the intestine and zero for the heart.
As we all know, Liddell is primarily a standing fighter and should still be considered one of the most feared forwards in the light heavyweight division. Even though he suffered a “lightning” knockout in this fight, this does not appear to be a damaging knockout in terms of long-lasting effects, and should not affect his ability to hit with devastating knockout power in his two. hands.
Jackson, who is a very aggressive fighter, is primarily known for his punching skills and phenomenal “ground and punch” fighting skills. Jackson is also extremely strong and has fought very talented and tough opponents in the Pride organization.
What follows is a detailed professional analysis of the fight from start to finish, concluding with some final thoughts on both fighters. Please note that these are my views from my own perspective of the events that occurred. They are not intended to get rid of any thoughts, words, etc. negative or derogatory. on any of the fighters involved. I have great respect for anyone, and I mean anyone who steps on the mat. So with more teens, let’s get started.
THE FIGHT:
From the opening bell, Jackson was clearly the aggressor as he raced through the Octagon to face Liddell. Throughout the fight, Jackson controlled the center of the octagon and made Liddell move around the outer edges. Jackson’s defensive skills with his hands were clearly evident throughout the entire fight as he constantly had his hands up and his elbows tucked to his sides, which would have made any boxing coach smile proudly. Liddell, on the other hand, had his hands wide apart, leaving the entire front of his body open, and especially the left hand was too low and far from the head. What would ultimately prove to be Liddell’s undoing.
The first landing hit of the fight was a left leg roundhouse kick to the inside of Jackson’s left thigh. There didn’t seem to be much to this kick and it seemed to be more of a sentiment type of punch than one thrown with dubious intent. Liddell didn’t immediately follow the kick, but after a few moments he landed a couple of punches to Jackson’s head as he and Jackson moved through the Octagon. Neither of these hits connected.
Moments later, Jackson threw an ineffective left jab while Liddell threw an ineffective right hand. None of the blows landed. At this point, Jackson seemed to be a bit frustrated by Liddell’s movement around the ring and dropped both hands and invited Liddell to come in and fight. Liddell responded with a left hit that landed but to little effect. Liddell followed up with a right uppercut and a left hook. Both were ineffective. Jackson countered these punches with a right hook followed by a left hook that was strong and powerful but didn’t seem to land to any effect.
Liddell threw a left jab that was pretty ineffective, and then moments later, he looped a left hook into Jackson’s body. This was not so much a mistake as leaving his left hand and arm dangling around his waist, rather than immediately returning him to where he should have been throughout the fight. That is with your left hand around your head and your elbow in to protect the left side of your body.
Jackson took advantage of Liddell’s mistake and after effectively defending the looped left hook to the body, he then brought his right hand around and over Liddell’s upper left arm on a perfect counter right hook to the side of Liddell’s head. . This resulted in Liddell being knocked down, but not for the time being. However, this was soon rectified when Jackson pressed the attack and jumped on Liddell, landing two solid right hands on Liddell’s chin while he was on the ground, actually knocking him out momentarily, prompting referee “Big John “McCarthy intervened. and stop the fight.
Folks, we now have a new UFC light heavyweight world champion, Quentin “Rampage” Jackson.
THE KNOCKOUT:
Now, there were two main contributing factors that were directly responsible for the effectiveness of Jackson’s hook shot, one of which Jackson himself had no control over. That contributing factor was provided by none other than Liddell himself. I have broken these two factors down by fighter and they are as follows:
Liddell:
If you watched the knockout closely, and did it multiple times with my Tivo, you can clearly see that Liddell had left his left hand and arm dangling around his waist after throwing the looped left hook into Jackson’s body. This resulted in leaving the left side of his head completely open and vulnerable to attack. After reviewing this fight many times, I guess the reason Liddell left his left arm hanging was due to improper training and carelessness. I don’t know what Liddell was thinking leaving himself open like this knowing how powerful Jackson is. Liddell seems to have forgotten rule number one in professional wrestling: “Protect yourself at all times.”
Jackson:
He obviously took Liddell by surprise when he landed that beautiful right hook punch to the head. What some of you might not have noticed, though, is the near-perfect defense he used to ward off Liddell’s looping left hook to the body that immediately preceded the right hook to the side of Liddell’s head. Jackson kept his hands up and his elbows in for the entire duration of this fight and this proved critical in protecting himself from Liddell’s looped left hook to the body. That and ducking his head just before throwing his right hook around and over Liddell’s upper left arm, which happened to be hanging around his waist at the time, rather than around his head where it should have been.
MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Here are my thoughts on how each fighter could improve their respective skills regarding this particular fight.
Liddell:
1. Keep your hands up! I know this sounds simple and it is. I learned this the hard way myself on more than one occasion.
2. Make better use of your own kicking ability by throwing more than one kick. You only threw a lone kick the entire fight, and it seemed to be more of a sentiment kick rather than a deliberate throw.
3. Throw your punches with a purpose; don’t move them lightly for no apparent reason.
4. Don’t allow your opponent a chance to dictate the pace of the fight.
5. Learn and practice how to avoid being hit while fighting very close to your opponent, and when you cannot avoid the blows, how to minimize their effect by taking them on your arms and rolling with the force of the blows.
Jackson:
I’m really hard-pressed to find real flaws in Jackson’s performance. Having said that, the only thing I can really recommend at the moment is that you keep training hard and don’t rest on your laurels and you could be a champion for quite some time. Or until you face Dan Henderson.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Although this fight resulted in a loss for Liddell, I think you will see him come back even more dangerous than before as he has an indomitable spirit and will learn from the mistakes he made in this fight. However, I think it would be foolish for him to come back for a title shot right away. He should first have a couple of set-up fights to regain his confidence and skill level before facing Jackson or Dan Henderson, whom he choose to beat Jackson when their unification fight for the Pride and UFC titles comes to a close. of this year. As far as Jackson is concerned, this was without a doubt one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen from him. Although I am picking Henderson to win his fight, I am looking forward to one of the best fights of the year in this match.
