should have been..."i got exposed, again."
Knock-out shocker | |
ATLANTA -- Rashad Evans knocked out former light-heavyweight champion Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell in devastating fashion last night at UFC 88.
The crunching punch to the chin seemed to come out of nowhere and left the 38-year-old Liddell, who was attempting to throw a looping right of his own, crumpled on the ground.
Liddell (21-6) suffered the same fate in losing his mixed martial arts title to Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in May 2007.
"I'm fine," a stony-faced Liddell told the post-fight news conference.
"I got caught, man. What do you want me to say?"
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The smaller Evans, who won Season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show, moved and danced in the first round in an attempt to disrupt Liddell's rhythm.
It worked mostly but allowed for little Evans offence although Liddell was left with an abrasion under his right eye. All three judges gave the round to Liddell. The two exchanged more blows in the second but it was anything but a barnburner.
Then the 28-year-old Evans (17-0-1) ended it with one punch at 1:51 of the second round.
Light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin watched from ringside as Evans moved up the 205-lb. ladder with a bang.
"Hopefully it puts me up there, but I'm a patient man and I'm going to enjoy the ride," said Evans, who had promised before the fight he was going to "host Chuck Liddell's retirement party."
UFC president Dana White said Evans' next fight will be for the title.
Liddell, meanwhile, said he would ponder his future.
Evans won a US$60,000 bonus for KO of the night.
Former champions Rich (Ace) Franklin and Dan Henderson also won on the night, as did Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald of Red Deer.
Franklin stopped Matt Hamill 39 seconds into the third round of the co-main event before 14,736 at the Philips Arena card, the UFC's first in Georgia -- with a gate of $2.6 million.
Former Pride champion Henderson (23-7) survived a prickly opponent in middleweight Rousimar Palhares (17-2), winning a unanimous decision.
And MacDonald rebounded from a loss last month to submit Jason (The Punisher) Lambert in the second round.
Light-heavyweight Tim (The Barbarian) Boetch stopped UFC newcomer Mike Patt via TKO with a big right to the chin at 2:03 of the first round.
Japanese welterweight Ryo (Piranha) Chonan defeated Roan Carneiro, a Brazilian now living in Atlanta, on a split decision that could have well have gone to Carneiro.
South Korean welterweight Dong Hyun (Stun Gun) Kim maintained his unbeaten record (11-0-1) with a split decision win over Matt (The Immortal) Brown (10-7) in another bout that could have gone the other way. The crowd thought so, booing the decision.
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