It is hard to imagine that a man that paints his nails and loves to dance is one of the most feared strikers in the world of MMA. “I will dance anywhere, anytime” is what Chuck Liddell told ESPN for an interview last May. This summer he will be dancing in the octagon again as he faces outstanding wrestler Rashad Evans. This fight will be the main bout on the June UFC 85 event in London. Liddell was penciled in to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but after sustaining a training injury, Rashad steps in to take Rua’s place.

Rua re-injured his right ACL that he had previously had surgically repaired after his loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76. The ACL is a ligament that joins the upper leg bone with the lower leg bone, and keeps the knee stable. For UFC fighters or other professional athletes this injury almost always requires surgery. Without the full use and strength of a fighter’s knee, they can’ explode into takedowns, generate leverage to keep their opponent against the cage, as well as they are susceptible to other serious knee injuries.

Chuck Liddell at one time was one of the biggest names in the UFC. He was the reigning champ, and was being marketed everywhere. He was on ESPN, talk shows, magazines, and almost everywhere imaginable a fighter could be. He seemed unbeatable until being beaten for the second time by Quinton Rampage Jackson. After that fight, he suffered another loss to underrated fighter Keith Jardine. This was the first time Chuck suffered back to back losses since joining the UFC. Since the loss to Jardine, Chuck fought the Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva and won via decision. This at one time was the most anticipated fight in MMA history and even with the losses, Chuck is still a highly feared opponent. He has bricks for hands, and is an amazing wrestler.

Rashad Evans stepped up to the challenge. This former Michigan State wrestling standout is currently 11-0-1 with his lone draw thanks to former UFC champion Tito Ortiz. Some feel that Evans did enough to win the fight and should be 12-0-0, but the judges felt otherwise. Luckily, Ortiz was penalized a point for grabbing the fence to avoid a takedown. In his career 11 wins, he only has only been able to stop a fight early 5 times. To this point he has been able to control his opponents and continue to win fights and fans feel that Rashad matches up with Chuck very well, but I disagree. Rashad is another wrestler that Chuck will expose. Evans is an athletic fighter that is always moving, and for that reason many fans feel that he will be able to put Chuck to the test.

This fight will be one comprised of two great wrestlers, and one with great hands. Rashad Evans is more of the traditional wrestler. He takes people down, and has very good mat presence. On the other hand, Chuck uses his wrestling different than most in the game. Instead of concentrating on takedowns, he uses his wrestling sprawl to prevent others from taking him down. This allows him to throw his hands of stone. These are the same hands that have stopped 13 people along his career. I believe that during this fight, Chuck will be able to neutralize Rashad’s wrestling and will finish him sometime in the first two rounds.

This fight could be the next stepping stone for a title shot. Currently the next person to get that shot will be Forrest Griffin. After that, the next contender will either be the winner of this fight, or the Wand vs. Jardine fight. Either way, there is suddenly a circle of talent that will be ready to test the champ at any time. Not only is this the deepest weight class in the UFC, but it is the deepest weight class in the sport. Where else can rival with names like Rampage Jackon, Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, and Keith Jardine? The Chuck vs. Rashad fight will be exciting and full of unknowns, but two things are certain; Rashad’s chin and Chuck’s wrestling will be put to the test. If Chuck loses it could signal the beginning of the end for a future Hall-of-famer, and a rise of a young superstar to the top level.

Forget about the Ortiz vs. Rashad fight; it ended in a foreseeable draw. Herring vs. Nogueira? It only ended in the typical Herring fashion with a judges decision after three rounds of mostly standup fighting. The Florian fight ended with KenFlo victorious and threatening the rest of the 155 pound weight class while his ridiculously obnoxious corner danced and screamed behind him. The focus of the UFC 73 main card was on the two championship bouts with Middleweight Anderson Silva up against Pancrase champion Nathan Marquardt and Lightweight Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk fighting Hermes Franca.

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Well, UFC 72 was your mix of typical Ultimate Fighting Champtionship bouts.

It’s not that the UFC has been giving us terrible cards, it’s just that they have been throwing us the typical Pay Per Views with maybe two big-name matchups and maybe one bout where a belt could change hands. If Dana White wants to retain the claim that the UFC is the biggest name in MMA, we need more big-name fight talks and less UFC President vs. UFC Fighter trashing talking sessions. I’m more interested in hearing more about trash talking regarding Hermes Franca vs. Sean Sherk and Anderson Silva vs. Nathan Marquardt, not Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White.

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It’s been almost a year since light-heavyweight fighter “The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar lost to Rashad Evans via an Unanimous Decision from the judges. Only two months later he lost again to Forrest Griffin by a Majority Decision in a rematch gone wrong for Bonnar. Very wrong.

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