Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Announced as UFC 97 Main Event
Chuck Liddell
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will look to get back into title contention when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC 97 on April 18th in Montreal, Canada.
UFC President Dana White announced the matchup at the at Saturday’s post-UFC 93 press conference.
Despite losing three of his last four fights Liddell remains a top draw and is likely to need only one or two wins before earning another opportunity at the title he defended four times between 2005 and 2007. He dropped the title to Quinton Jackson in May 2007 then suffered another loss to Keith Jardine later that year before bouncing back with an exciting unanimous decision of Wandelei Silva in December 2007. He was then slated to meet Rua in the main event of UFC 85 last summer but “Shogun” was forced off the card due to a knee injury then Liddell was also forced to withdraw from the event with a torn hamstring. He returned to the octagon in September and suffered a second-round knockout to current light heavyweight title-holder Rashad Evans.
A highly-regarded PRIDE veteran, Rua debuted in the UFC in September 2007 to high expectations but suffered the third loss of his career to future light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin via third-round submission in one of the biggest upsets in recent history. Injuries and surgery kept “Shogun” out of the octagon until Saturday night in Dublin, where he scored an unimpressive third-round TKO of 44-year-old UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman.
Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites is expected to co-headline the event.
For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.
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I cant wait to see Chuck get back on track with a first round KO over Rua.
Im reading all these posts and everyones writing Shogun off… He’s had a 16 month lay off and coming off 2 major knee surguries. Yes he gassed early in the Coleman fight but his tenacity and heart got him the win so you cant knock that. I expect to see better cardio, less ring rust and an overall better ‘Shogun’ in the Liddell fight which will secure him the win by TKO in the first!
1 or 2 more wins, really? There are many more guys deserving than him.
none that draw like him. Thats the name of the game right now, not who is more deserving.
chuck is a legend…period, i cant wait for this card Chuck, Shogun, and Anderson Silva?! Hell yea!
Chuck is gonna DESTROY Rua !!!! Just back from UFC93 and Rua was an ARSE !!!!!
Did I miss something Why is a NON Title fight headlining this I know Rua and Chuck are big names and all but your 5 round fight { Title Fight } should be your last fight, also I remember read on MMA Frenzy about Lesnar Vs Mir was supposed to be on this card what happened to that?
No i think its supposed to Headline UFC 98 in vegas with a co-main event of Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Its a co-main event along with Silva vs Leites which is a title fight.
Yeah, I’ve been hearing Lesnar-Mir will be headlining UFC 88 with Serra-Hughes as the co-main event. I think Chuck’s drawing power is greater than Silva’s still and he’ll be on the top of the card, though they’ll clearly be pushing Anderson and Chuck, not necessarily the main fight.
UFC 88??? 98 perhaps!!! Too much Jameson today my friend??
Yeah, I meant 98 obviously.
its because this will probably chucks last headliner
I can’t get excited about this one at all. Watching the Coleman-Shogun fight was like watching fat people have sex. It was despicable. Tossing Chuck into the mix doesn’t really add much prestige. And Anderson vs. Leites doesn’t really sweeten the deal much either. Dana has done just a terrible job lately with the marketing of Anderson Silva. He is suppose to be the best fighter on planet Earth, the UFC’s golden goose, yet in an 18 month span, his opponents will have been James Irvin, Patrick Cote, and Thales Leites. That is not what it’s suppose to look like on the most recent resume of the world’s greatest fighter. Dana has botched the handling of Silva’s reign as MW champion as of late. I’m normally a very positive cat but I don’t like this. However I will surely order the PPV.
Actually, in an 18 month span his opponents will have been Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, James Irvin, Patrick Cote, and Tales Leites. A 9 month span would have been the three you mentioned, but since you said 18, you have to add in Franklin and Henderson, in which case that’s not such a terrible 18 month span. I suppose if you wanted to help your point without getting your facts wrong you could say in a 13 month span those three would have been his only opponents, which would take you back to March 18, after the Henderson fight.
I was explaining that once the Leities fight comes and goes, there will be probably another 4 months before his next fight. So you can start rewinding at that point and I’m betting that 18 month span is probably close to accurate.
The problem is Silva owns every 185′er out there. When the F is he gonna fight Okami? That is what the people want! Okami vs Spider! Heck, put him in there against Sonnen. That being said, I think it’s going to take a submission to finally conquer the Spider, and Leites is a pretty much a submission specialist…Just sayin.
Well since Vince says that MMA isn’t as good, how about we steal a page from WWE’s playbook: THIS IS A CAREER MATCH!!!!!! LOSER IS FORCED TO RETIRE!!!!! NO HOLDS BARRED!!!!!
And no PPV’s sold…
This fight sucks. I think I’ll be in the bathroom for this one.
Maybe you should hop in the octagon instead of the bathroom and take Chuck on. A big bad ass like yourself can probally give us a better fight huh?
Sparky, I am giving my OPINION on a fight that I think is lame and a waste of space on a ppv. Chuck is a walking legend in the UFC. I won’t deny that. In fact, he’s one of the reasons why the UFC is as big as it is. Rua is a Pride legend who, through injuries, age, and possibly the lack of his Japanese strength coaches is a shadow of the fighter he used to be.
I do think Chuck should walk away if he has a bad showing, win or lose. I don’t think he can beat Evans to regain the title, and while that’s no reason to retire, he can only go down in peoples’ estimation.
I think Rua is on his last fight. He has looked absolutely hideously horrible his entire time in the UFC. Period. Thank you for the Pride memories, but please go home, Shogun.
I will repeat: I think this fight sucks. I will probably just go to the bathroom during it or find some other way to entertain myself instead of watching it. I would rather remember Chuck for the memorable knockouts he’s been on the giving end of, not the crap he’s done over the last four fights.
[Keep it clean - admin]
chuck vs shogun.
chuck has still looked great, even the ones he lost he was still a deadly predator and wasn’t gassed. shogun seemed at times to have the skillz still against coleman but was gassed. we’ll see if that’s just because his training was affacted by the knee surgery, or he just is a gasser. he lost to forrest because of his gas tank – which in the case of forest is no disgrace – but against a 44 year old coleman who cut to 205 – not a good sign
if shogun can become a cardio machine he’ll probably beat liddell.
this could be a fight where liddell showcases some wrestling as an answer to rua’s kicks and knees. it could be a fight where liddell actually gets subbed which hasn’t happened since horn in 99 i believe
If my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle too.
WHAT? Who the hell would even consider this possibility seriously…
and it has to happen while liddell is still kicking ass
If Shogun couldn’t beat someone who was staggering for 12 minutes of the fight, he’ll never beat someone with a little cardio. How did this bum ever beat Jackson? I expect a loss to Chuck and it will be Shogun Who?
interesting match up. chuck might have trouble with getting kicked – we might actually see him try a TD. shogun will need better cardio than for coleman. say at least as good as he had for forrest if not better. he gassed in his last 2 – whether he’s prone to gassing or just hampered by surgery/injury..
we’ll see
GREAT FIGHT!
I hope Chuck does get back to his wrestling. His awesome wrestling skills are what use to set up his striking in the first place. If he can once again develop a balanced attack then I think he could get back on top. You cant be a one dimensional fighter these days or people will figure you out pretty quick, espescially when you have a whole team working against you. Its amazing that Chuck dominated as long as he did with just his striking.
Jerod as long as you surely order the PPV thats all they really care about. And you forgot Franklin and Henderson who he beat with an 18 months after he fights Leites.
I just want to add that dana white doesnt set the figts uo joe silva doeas so there isnt much he can do about the spider fights.
Joe Silva sets them up, but Dana still approves or disapproves them.
smart fight for chuck i like it, rua is a big big name in mma but he looked shiit inside the cage so im guessing early knockout for the iceman, even tho chuck is not on the best of form from what ive seen of shogun chuck should be able to knock his ass out.
Hopefully Chuck gets KO’d again
Why?
Dont know just think everyone makes excuses for him losing…
screw that he should be going into 205 and going for the title, there is no reason bj penn should be able to walk into the ring and say he wants gsp and he gets a title shot? why cant anderson do that go in and kick rashads ass? he will be unstoppable anywhere he fights i say go challenge the champ at 205 and become the first to hold two titles! because bj wont be able to beat gsp!!!!!!!!
Anderson Silva won’t do that for several reasons. 1. He’s never been champ at 205, BJ has been at 170. 2. He’s a slightly humble guy, BJ is not. 3. Lyota Machida is his friend and he does not want to mess up his chance at being champion at 205.
that’s a bad ass fight I think chuck wins by ko round 2 but I don’t see chuck nor rua winning the title rua looked horrible in his las two and chuck can’t beat rampage or evans
This a matchup that could be great but it really depends on which Shogun shows up. Shogun won’t have to worry about being taken down for once because we know Chuck likes to stand and bang. However, Shogun’s striking, even though sometimes exciting, has many holes and his defense is subpar. Add in the lack of cardio Shogun has, Shogun could be ko’d by the end of the first round. If Shogun loses, he may be cut or his contract may be lowered because he hasn’t shown anything to the UFC and its fan to be considered in the top echelon of the UFC.
i don’t know whos gonna win chucks gatting old and he is getting koed lately
also i though chuck liddell vs randy couture for ufc 99
If Shogun doesn’t show up any better than he did in his last two fights, Chuck should not have any problems picking him apart and putting him to sleep.
I sincerely hope Rua works on his Cardio before the Chuck fight, he was a little better this fight but still looked gassed early on .
I agree this is a good fight for Chuck to get back on track for a last run through the 205 division. After watching Rua vs Griffn and now vs Ole Man Coleman i sincerly doubt Rua has any shot of making it 3 rounds. Eventually Chuck will catch him and given Rua and his 1 gallon gas tank it’ll probally happen in the 2nd round. Should Chuck lose this fight by some miracle from the Brazil heavens i would have to say it’s time to hang em up. I don’t see that happening. I see a reinvented Liddell sending a message that he’s not through by a long shot. Prediction, one punch KO in the 2nd.
about time
if chuck wants to win this he is gonna have to do something other than throw bombs on the button… while yes it works, i wanna see him submit rua… if chuck can do that then he doesnt need to make like the dinosaurs.
Dana feels the need to carry his friend from now on. Jobs for the boys I guess
chuck should mix it up.
shogun should go train at altitude
Chuch lidell shouldn’t be fighting rua. Thank your boy Dana white lidell cuz if you weren’t kool with him, you’d be fighting houston alexander,james irving, or brandon vera(like it should be).
OR……….he is STILL to-date the most dominant LHW champion in the history of the sport in a day when LHW champs change hands every month. But no, yeah, you’re right. Good one.
chuck will dominate and win by ko!
CHUCK vs Rua
Rampage vs Dean
winner vs winner = title shot
I don’t know about that. Jardine isn’t consistent enough to be a real challenger, and, to be honest, neither has Chuck recently. I say after/if Liddell beats Rua, have Griffin/Liddell, Jackson/Evans.
this is Chucks only shot at the title i think he is gunna do it. Chuck is the F’n man, mang! he gets to avenge 1 of his losses if he beats Rua. and build himself back up! the jardine fight was bad for him…. but i beleave he is gunna be a much better fighter this time around.. he is gunna use his wrestling and some jits and be the champ again!
chuck had his day in the sun, I want to see anderson silva vs shogun rua, and lesner vs fedor.
after seeing shogun fight coleman i dont think liddel should have a problem with him.liddel wouldve ended that fight in the first round against coleman.