Dean of Mean : Wins by shocking UFC posterboy Chuck Liddell.

Forrest Griffin: shocks superstar and highly regarded Brazilian star, “Shogun” Rua.

Diego Sanchez: Sheds staph infection and Greg Jackson’s entire camp, but ultimately
loses to arch-nemesis’ training partner, Jon Fitch.

To review -

TUF Fighters: 2-1

MMA online media: Miserable unappreciative children, as always.

One group finished with a winning record. The other stayed consistent. I loved UFC
76. That is all.

E-mail John Philapavage at johnnyp@mmaopinion.com

How much worse can it get for Chuck? We have strip club photos on the internet, the loss of the light-heavyweight belt, and now there is talk of retirement.

Not only did the “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine publically announce that he would force Chuck Liddell to reconsider his career as a fighter, he beat him via a unanimous decision during UFC 76 and ruined Wanderlei Silva’s chances of making millions. Mr. Jardine, you are a very very bad man. Will Dana White punish Jardine and make him fight Rampage, Dan Henderson or former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva? I sure hope so. Although I am not a huge Liddell fan, I feel for the guy and was really hoping he could bring his career back to life with a knockout win on Saturday night. Dana needs to make a decision on the future on these fights and let’s hope it is a good one.

I guess there is only one thing to say regarding Liddell’s decision to stay with MMA (although I think it was said enough during UFC 75); good luck Chuck!

Tonight is UFC 71’s loser versus loser.

Liddell-Jardine just doesn’t seem like a fantasy matchup to headline an Ultimate Fighting Championship card. With the two fighters coming off first round losses during UFC 71, expect both to seek redemption during “Knockout”, the UFC production set for tonight, September 22nd in Anaheim, California. Expect the winning fighter to ask for a shot at the Light Heavyweight title while the losing fighter temporarily contemplates retirement. No matter what happens, I can’t see either fighting being satisfied unless something drastic happens.

You know that the UFC organization wants Chuck to win and we can all see why. If Liddell wins tonight, he will soon face former Pride light-heavyweight champion Wanderlei Silva. Every MMA fan and their brother wants this match to happen. Maybe Dana will influence the judges to pull off another Bisping-type decision or simply use Cecil Peoples again to ensure a Liddell victory. You know we can all count on Cecil to do something ridiculous and hand a win to the fighter he wants to win. At least the UFC is taking place in a state that allows for sanctioned MMA fights, that’s always a plus.

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