UFC 88 Recap: Evans Knocks “The Iceman” Out Cold
The Ultimate Fighter 2 winner Rashad Evans moved one step closer to a 205-pound title shot as he remained undefeated on Saturday at UFC 88, knocking out former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell midway through the second round of their main event matchup.
UFC 88 “Breakthrough” took place on Saturday, September 6th, in front of a sold out crowd at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and aired live on pay-per-view.
An aggressive Liddell circled and punched in the close-yet-tentative opening round while Evans failed to shoot for a single takedown allowing Liddell to steal the first frame 10-9 on the MMAFrenzy.com scorecard. Evans came out confident in the second, countering Liddell’s rights with solid left hooks before connecting with the “Knockout of the Night” overhand right that knocked Liddell out cold.
A disappointed Liddell, who has now lost three out of four fights, took several minutes to recover from the punch before eventually returning to his feet.
With the win Evans moved closer to a future matchup with current UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.
In the evening’s co-main event former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin successfully returned to the 205-pound light heavyweight division, dominating his former training partner Matt Hamill en route to a third-round technical knockout victory. Despite a large gash near his right eye opened up early in the fight Franklin remain focused and connected with numerous body and leg kicks that slowed Hamill, who was able to take Franklin to the ground just once in their featured bout. After dominating the opening two rounds Franklin finished Hamill off with a kick to the liver in the first minute of the final frame that forced The Ultimate Fighter cast member to tap and the referee to intervene.
Former PRIDE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson won his first bout inside the octagon in over 10 years as he knocked off Rousimar Palhares via unanimous decision. Henderson floored Palhares several times during the three-round bout, including a near finish moments into the contest. Though Palhares attempted to take the fight to the ground and keep it there Henderson escaped several submission attempts in the fights limited time on the ground and was able to keep the fight standing where he picked Palhares apart with crisper striking to earn 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 scores on the judge’s scorecards.
Henderson had previously lost back-to-back bouts while the win snapped Palhares’ six-fight win streak.
In a key middleweight matchup Nate Marquardt dominated Martin Kampmann, defeating the Dutch kickboxer via TKO just over one-minute into the fight. Following a tentative start to the bout Marquardt landed a massive head kick that collapsed Kampmann then finished him off with a flurry of strikes including a big uppercut and shots to the body. Kampmann temporarily withstood the barrage but eventually sank to the canvas forcing the referee to halt the bout.
With the win Marquardt bounced back from a controversial loss to Thales Leites and moves back into the 185-pound title picture while Kampann suffered just his first loss inside the octagon in five fights.
The opening bout of the pay-per-view spawned controversy as Matt Brown was defeated by South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim in a close-but-exciting welterweight matchup. In the opening round Kim took Brown’s back with ease, securing several near-submissions that came up just short in finishing the bout but earned him a 10-9 round on the scorecards. Brown rebounded in the second, securing a 10-9 round with good body shots and tough defense. In a close final round Brown was aggressive early but Kim eventually took the fight to the ground and stole the decision with a late assault of elbows in the closing seconds of the bout. The judges awarded the close split decision to Kim with scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.
In preliminary action Kurt Pellegrino earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory in the “Fight of the Night” against Thiago Tavares, Tim Boetsch stopped Mike Patt via first-round TKO, Jason MacDonald earned “Submission of the Night” honors for his second-round rear naked choke submission of Jason Lambert, and Ryo Chonan defeated Roan Carneiro via split decision in the event’s opening bout.
Evans, MacDonald, Pellegrino, and Tavares each earned an additional $60,000 bonus for their UFC 88 performances.
UFC 88 “BREAKTHROUGH” RESULTS
- Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell via KO – Round 2, 1:51
- Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill via TKO – Round 3, 0:39
- Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann via TKO – Round 1, 1:22
- Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Tim Boetsch def. Mike Patt via TKO – Round 1, 2:03
- Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambert via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 1:20
- Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
For more on UFC 88 “Breakthrough” click here.
Tags: Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, dong hyun kim, Jason Lambert, Jason MacDonald, Kurt Pellegrino, Martin Kampmann, matt brown, Matt Hamill, Mike Patt, Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Roan Carneiro, rousimar palhares, Ryo Chonan, Thiago Tavares, tim boetsch
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does somebody know why rashad evans touched is nipples before the fight ?
HAhahahahah that **** had me on the floor i payed 45$ to see chuck get knocked out in the 2nd round.
i liked rashads game plan
he felt liddell out in the first round faught abit moore in the second but the fusterated SLIGHTLY over confidant liddell took a fiew moore risks and payd
i think the nipple touch is the greg jackson secret to winning…….gsp touched his nipple won….jardine didnt and lost….evans did and lhw version of cro cop gonzaga/greatest ko ever
i predicted i cant believe though i didnt think liddell would get iced out cold…man rashad melt the iceman into ice cream and rashads right was rocky road….lol
http://mmafrenzy.com/2008/06/13/chuck-liddell-vs-rashad-evans-in-september-at-ufc-88/#comment-60476
Go here. You will laugh your ass off.
That was a crazy over hay maker Evans threw! Was a great card, Hamill should some good skills but that leg kick to the ribs had to of cracked something. Marquardt looked really good, MacDonald is improving and has his strikes. I was upset the crowd was booing Kim, that was a very good fight to start the ppv. Chuck’s chances at a title shot are now gone, let him fight Machida, get knocked out again, and retire.
Rashad just did Forrest Griffon the biggest favor ever! I see Forrest being able to out point Rashad fairly well, but he’d have gotten KOd by Chuck
Damn, my prediction was way off (chuck by decision), i’m glad Rashad won though. Atleast i knew Rashad wasn’t gettinmg ko’d lol.
Rashad>Griffin
I didnt see Hamill tap. I don’t know why they say he tapped if you watch the replay he clearly did not tap. not that it matters.
soo evans gets a title shot!??!?!!
man that would be suprising…
anybody got the word on that!?!?
real nice showing by Franklin, looked good at 205 and should stay there as long as he can avoid the spider
now we all know how kampmann vs anderson silva would go down. great ko by rashad.
Wow Liddell is done !
He looked shocking last night.
I’ll give Rashad credit he did look ok but nothing more i’m more stunned on how poor Chuck looked.
Please Joe Silva make Evans vs Machida next month so we can see to 2 of the most overrated snooze fest collide for a shot the title.
I’m also shocked how nervous Kampmann looked like the occasion got to him.
Dana has confirmed that Rashad will get a Title shot against Forrest in December.
Forrest must be thanking his lucky stars he had a huge grin on his face after the fight.
Can not see Evans beating Forrest as Forrest is too smart of a fighter to fall for Evans tatics or lack of them (i.e not throw a punch in the 1st round
.
Great Coverage once again Kris!
@Raffy,
Hamill taps out on the way down, his hand is on his head, he does it 2x before Franklin starts punching him so Hamill stops tapping and covers up, it took 3 replays before I saw it.
I cannot believe the violence of Evans punch. Just hearing it was sickening. Evans is a legit threat. Power, can wrestle, stronger than most…..I cannot believe how much he has matured and betterd himself as a fighter. I remember how gassed he used to get on the TUF. He looks good, but that KO was unreal. It was kinda like watching your dad get beat up though when Liddell fell…..
wow evans just turned the iceman into ice cream and still you guys doubt him……i guarentee that rashad beats forrest and wins his title………as long as rashad does the greg jackson nipple twist before the fight he will win..jk but r
wow i knew it everyone thought iceman would win i wanted him to but rashad is better but knocking him out! wow and what the hell is with the nipple touching?!?!
rich one by tyo like i thought rich will very good at LHW
and dan hederson didn’t finish him wow the other guy must be good or dan wasn’t going far a finish i dont know
remember one of weirdest things i have ever seen rashad pinching his nipples!?!?!?!~ what the heck is with that!!??
Us and Chuck says:
Wow Liddell is done !
He looked shocking last night.
I’ll give Rashad credit he did look ok but nothing more i’m more stunned on how poor Chuck looked.
—–
So really, what do KO’d nuts taste like? Rashad looked ok and nothing more? He destroyed your idol and you’re going to give him ok and nothing more?
I guess it’s time for Liddell to hang it up then. He’s beyond Hughes’s level of “I’m just here to make a little money….I don’t have the heart to really fight”.
Retire Liddell.
lol thats what i said after he lost the title and lost to jardine but he wanderklei but then he got injured so i said it time to retire but maybe not yet have a couple fights but non going for title more like if someone beats him the get closer to title
What a shock, I was wrong on all my picks.
Liddell got to see first hand what he has done to a number of fighters. That was one of the best KO’s I’ve ever seen.
Franklin looked ok, not great. If he is going to contend for the title he better step up his game a little bit more than that.
Henderson followed his game plan perfectly. He didn’t want to be on the mat with this guy and he easily out punched him. Wish he would jab more, quit trying to land the big right every punch.
Kampmann, well he finally fights someone good and sh*ts his pants.
Matt Brown got jobbed. I thought he clearly won the 2nd & 3rd rounds. Thats what happens when you leave it up to the judges!
This is for all you guys on Kampmann’s bandwagon, which I’m not, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frank Dux my man.
man that knoc out look brutal!!!
i fear he might of killed chuck! thats why i still believe chuck isnt gona become champ anymore and that puch was more brutal than the rampage punch! and i still wonder why rashad pinched his own nipples?!?! :0
andi alot of you thought kampmann was going to kill and become chap and beat anderson silva if he can do that why didnt he win the fight it was like the oppisite
greg jackson trains his fighters to to do that, old barbarian fight techinique. wakes the inner demon out of the person. anyone wishes to spit and twist my nipples?
i believe hammil was scared to fight franklin!!! he wasnt aggressive in anyway, his takedowns were weak and looked just looked out fo it.
Nipple pinching/rubbing is the key to bringing out your inner strength.
MMA’s stand up game has evolved into a much more skilled style of fightng than it has been in previous years. Chuck’s unorthodox/dangerous stance with his hands wide apart and ugly side stepping/hopping footwork is not going to help him win matches any time soon. The sport has evolved as a WHOLE and the competition is superior to what it was a few years ago. Chuck was asking to be KO the way he fought this match and his corner was careless in letting him pursue the KO in the manner he did. I wonder why Liddell and his corner never changed game plans and tried throwing Evans a curve ball. Evans approached the fight like a true boxer. He had great foot work, picked his shots and lacked pushing the pace. However, the end result made me think of that lame, “sweet science” boxing slogan. Chuck is over the hill and officially a one trick pony with his right hand. I feel a move up to HW is the right move for Chuck to make at this point. I was disappointed Liddell didn’t try to work his way into a clinch or even attempt a takedown. The element of suprise could have helped Liddell in this match. If Liddell wants to walk around the cage waiting, wishing and hoping to land his signature right hand, HE IS DONE! MMA is about being a well rounded fighter and everything Chuck did last night was the exact opposite. He was probably far over confident and it cost him dearly. Now Chuck is the victim on the 2008 KO of the year. Liddell and his camp approached this match terribly.
F uckin chuck walking in there once again like he’s gonna just whip his a ss in 10 seconds pi sses me off.Good for rashard i guess not a big fan but he did well.[still bitter]Oh and timecat franklin looked GREAT not ok.Hamill is very strong.For franklin to dominate him the way he did is very impessive.
ya chuck is always gonna lose all you have to do is watch this rashad vs chuck fight and the chuck vs rampage fight who it is to beeat chuck by a KO thats why i think chucks out of it he needs his hands to be higher and when i saw his ufc debut he seemed like ne would do better if he stayed that way i think he could of done better on people using his wrestling skill having a ground game and good stricker but he needts to put up his hands more
he acts like his hands are like 100 punds stones having them so low
KOuch,
I couldn’t agree with you more about chucks game plan or lack there of.But i think thats just it.In my opinion he still has the best hands in the division,and he can still contend.He needs to change it up a little.It’s like he don’t give any respect to guys like rashard and jardine.But looking at the wandy fight you would of thought he learned his lesson.
I don’t see him as a hw but you never know.Maybe he should just hang them up.You can’t teach an old dog knew tricks unfortunetly.
RJA,
I agree whole heartedly on your Franklin comment. I got worried for him when Hammill got the takedown. Hammill’s strength is FAR underrated. Next up…..Franklin vs ???
Assuming Chuck doesnt retire, what’s his next fight? Rematch with Jardine? Shogun?
Franklin vs bisbing
As long as franklin stays away from MW division he’ll be ok.Silva seemed serious about wanting to protect his belt lol.
Franklin vs Jardine, Machida, Irvin or Bonnar…. I’m drawing blanks trying to think of potential match ups right now. I’d love to see him take on Wandy or Rampage but they will be busy with each other.
I’ve always the quiet, get it done attitude of Rashad and last night he showed it again.
He’s good, very good and the ice man will have to live off of his savings it would appear. The endorsements are over.
Like Rashad more than any other fighter that night especially those loons who babble bout god – maroons.
LOL at the key to inner strength…
what about rich vs rua!?!?!?!?!
I think Chuck v Shogun should happen! so we can see the final nail get drilled into liddell’s coffin
DBiz
Not much of a Liddell fan but yeah i was shocked how slow and inaccurate he was.
Evans showed me nothing he was ****ting bricks before the fight started (hence the nipple twisting) and looked petrified in the 1st round.
Chuck got sloppy and Evans got lucky that’s how i see it.
Evans is up with Bisping & Machida in the most overrated fighter category he got lucky….again
Agree, Evans is still crap in my book. I want wandy to destroy him.
You guy are still doubting Evans? I think his performance last night said it all. What a beautiful KO. I got feed up with Joe talking that Evans was “showboating”, that’s his fight style.
The key to Chuck has been unlocked. The 205 division is really messed up now, who gets the title shot?
US and Chuck, who cares what he looked like. That first round was even anyway. If he did not throw a bunch, tell me how Chuck had looked worse thean Rashad after the first round? Rashad = snooze fest? The guy has 2 of the greatest knockouts in the history of UFC. He’s got some of the fastest hands at 205, and is onlygoing to get better.
Evans did a number on the “I got Iced Man” but I am more shocked than impressed. Chuck was obviously not the same guy that took it to Wandy. That is because Wandy has a different style from Rashad. Rashad was elusive where Wandy attacks. That is Chuck’s best opponent, one that attacks and is aggressive. Chuck is best as counter puncher. Rashad frustrated Chuck into coming after him and Chuck paid for it. The last three fights Chuck lost were due to opponents not playing Chuck’s game. I still think Rashad is overrated and boring. The only thing this did is prove that Chuck is done at the
2 of the luckiest knocks outs ever too !
Although both were good knock outs…..
…….i can’t see Rashad “dry humping is my middle name” Evans ever producing another 2 knock outs like that again
Can not see Lyoto “The match Drags-on” Machida, Forrest, Wandi, Rampage, Shogun, Vera and Thiago Silva falling for Rashads dancing and prancing tatics.
He got Lucky !!!
us and chuck…
rashad would beat the crap out of machida..vera..and silva!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i guarantee that!!!!
he might even be able to take out shogun….
LMAO !!!
I hate Machida but even i know Evans can not be beat Lyoto the guy is on another level.
Vera could go either way, Shogun ?
No chance more chance of Cote Killing Silva next month Breidis Prescott style.
Wandi will bull rush and KO him quick just as quick as Jardine got KO’d
machida will not beat evans!!!!!!!!!
silva will kill him and will probably kill anybody else he comes in contact with…he might even eat rashads family after he knocks him out..the guy is crazy…
but i dont think you are giving rashad the credit he deserves…
Machida vs Silva got canned due to injury.
WTF!!!! bring back Tito to kick Evans
I don’t even want to try and predict anything about Evans anymore… good grief… But, I will predict that Anderson Silva will NOT march through the LHW’s like he did through the MW’s… Remember Franklin has foined the LHW ranks now… He’ll knock Silva out (just kidding).
I think a fight that makes sense right now is Machida vs. Rua… if machida doesn’t have an “injury” before that fight… The winner of that fight should get a shot at Griffin/Evans.
But is that really fair?… Rua just had a shot at Griffin and Griffin won. Rua had a knee injury and he’s been out… Should he be considered ahead of the other guys?
Me too i hate Machida and Evans lol,
But i want Machida to win over Evans
i told all u fools who kept sayin lidell was gonna walk through evans!!! now rashad’s fightin for the belt.
bisping sucks!
Bisping does suck… agreed… I don’t really think a person is a fool for thinking the exchamp might win a fight against a guy who had a draw with Ortiz because Ortiz grabbed the fence… Evans will face Griffin and then there’ll be a new #1 contender… I really don’t see what race has to do with it though. I have to say all that racial stuff has no place in today’s sports. That’s a real letdown that race would be brought into these discussions…
I said Liddell would win because I wrongly thought Liddell had enough experience to know how to handle Evans… It had nothing to do with race… I feel like we’re back in the 60’s now…
dolfang..
i dont think it is fair…rua has not really done much in the ufc..he does not deserve a shot @ the title..
i like the machida vs rua idea…and who ever wins should have to fight w silva if he winds his next fight…then the winner of that will fight forrest/rashad
he *wins
There are a ton of guys that we could put in the equation. I would like to see some good matchups. RHYMES, I kind of like that plan. I’m just not sure… are you talking about Anderson Silva or W. Silva?
i meant W SILVA!!!
i think it’s a koo plan…it could open the doors too many exciting match ups…
i.e.
rampage vs franklin anyone!?!?!!?
That makes sense… Anderson shouldn’t even be in the mix since the only LHW he’s fought is the sandman… an appropiate name for a guy that goes to sleep so easy… He’s nothing… am I being too harsh on Irvin?
haha nah i think irvin needs to remove him from the lhw divsion….it is too stacked…so is A SILVA officially apart of the lhw div…if he is, who would u wanna see him fight next…i say they throw the winner of vera and jardine…just to feel him out…
remove *himself
As far as I know A. Silva doesn’t want to be a part of the LHW division… but who knows what tomorrow will bring
thats true…man he’s going to kill cote…
The UFC needs to let James Irvin go after the spectacle of him taking one shot from a middleweight and then curling up on the mat and waiting for the ref to stop the fight… He’s a bum and doesn’t deserve to have a place in the UFC.
Cote has to hit and hope…
The Cote fight is another one… Who in the wqorld thought Cote would stand a chance against Silva? That’s laughable… but last night I thought Liddell would go through Evans like a chainsaw too…
DolfanG I hear you there
well this is MMA
lol irvin was a punk man!!! that fight was hilarious…but your right…he is not no fighter!
but that evans n liddell fight exciting….i am a big rashad fan…he was my fav on the tuf season that he was on…people underestimate him…
I underestimated Rashad… but then, I also underestimated Forrest… How dumb am I?… I didn’t underestimate Irvin. I knew he was a bum before the fight. It’s kind of funny… W. Silva beat up Rampage… Rampage beat up Liddell… Liddell beat up W. Silva… It’s all about match-ups. Who will match up well against whom?
Don’t listen to me after last night… BUT, I think an Evans vs. Griffin fight might be a good one! Griffin can take a punch and keep on coming. He’s not the best at BJJ or have great knockout power, but he’s tough and non stop… OK… I’ve talked myself into it. I want to see the outcome of that fight.
LMAO…
one big happy UFC family
hmmmm, not sure what i think about evans. i think he’s definetly and underated fighter, so i’ll give him credit there, but he’s kinda douchy, i can’t say that i like his antics. it says alot about someone if matt the ego hughes says you’re too cocky (TUF 2). beyond that i just don’t think he’s marketable so i hope he never gets the title.
Matt didn’t understand…none of us understood he was trying some of his 52-Jailhouse Rock stuff. I still don’t like the system but it makes for an interesting Anthropology project.