Jon Fitch doesn’t fight with the same electricity as fellow welterweight Georges St. Pierre. He doesn’t have champion Matt Serra’s charisma. Nor does he have Karo Parisyan’s flashy moves.But unlike the rest of the 170-lb. division, he’s on a winning streak that puts the rest to shame.
“The UFC has the deepest 170-lb. division in the world,” said Fitch (15-2, 1 no-contest). If you’re in the UFC and you think you’re at the top of the heap I want to fight you.”
The “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine held session Saturday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., with a shocking upset of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.
Jardine chopped away at the “Iceman’s” legs for the duration of the bout, and floored the ex-champion with a right hand in the second frame before taking a split decision. “Kicking is my thing,” declared Jardine, who upped his record to 13-3-1. The loss for Liddell marked the first time in his career that he has dropped consecutive contests. Judges Cecil Peoples and Richard Bertrand saw the contest 29-28 for Jardine, while Marcos Rosales gave two rounds to Liddell. On the undercard, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was supposed to be the PRIDE import that would tear through the UFC. Somebody forgot to tell Forrest Griffin.Griffin, the light heavyweight winner of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” dominated the Chute Boxe star for 14 minutes before putting him away with a rear-naked choke with 15 seconds remaining in the final period.
Former Pride fighter Mauricio “Shogun” Rua lost the first fight of his Ultimate Fighting Championship career Saturday night, submitting to Forrest Griffin in a stunning upset at UFC 76.
Rua, whom many MMA fans considered the best light heavyweight in the world, entered the Octagon first, which is usually the role of the underdog. But having Griffin enter the Octagon second was a nod to his popularity as the first Ultimate Fighter winner. Just about everyone expected Rua to win, and most people expected Rua to win easily.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its only Southern California appearance of the year tonight with a Honda Center card noticeably lacking a title fight, and anchored by a main event that’s expected to be one-sided.
Nevertheless, in UFC 76, the mixed martial arts organization is not skimping on showcasing the depth of its strongest divisions, light-heavyweight and welterweight.
In addition to the main event fight pitting recently deposed light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (20-4) against Keith Jardine (12-4-1), the UFC will unveil one of its latest PRIDE Fighting Championships signees, light-heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (16-2) of Brazil, along with a welterweight clash between top title contenders Diego Sanchez (19-1) of San Diego and Jon Fitch (19-2) of San Jose.
Have you had your fill of the Ultimate Fighting Championship yet? Well, the company isn’t about to let their fans take a break. The UFC presents their fourth card in the past four weeks with UFC 76: Knockout, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. This show looks to be one of those sleeper shows, where you look at the card and aren’t impressed at first glance, but then look deeper and see the potential for an intriguing show.
Here are eight items worth following come Saturday night:
‘The Iceman’ last entered the ring in August when he lost the light-heavyweight title to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at UFC 71.
He will be looking to get back to winning ways and reclaim his place among the title contenders.
But ‘Dean of Mean’ Jardine has a point to prove after his last Octagon appearance saw him lose in just 48 seconds to Houston Alexander.
Jardine said: “It will be a real honour to fight Chuck, he’s the greatest light-heavyweight champion ever and I’m excited to fight him at UFC 76.
The light heavyweight bout between Chuck Liddell versus Keith Jardine isn’t the only thing to watch out for at UFC 76: Knockout as the upcoming event also marks the return of Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez.
On Saturday, September 22, Sanchez will step up on the Octagon and come to blows with fellow welterweight contender Jon Fitch at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Sanchez, the 25-year-old winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 1, ended his undefeated run in a fight with Josh Koscheck at UFC 69. Several weeks after his fight, UFC president Dana White announced that Sanchez was sick on the eve of the bout and almost had to retire with the detection of Hepatitis C. Eventually, doctors concluded that the initial findings were incorrect and officially diagnosed him with a staph infection.
