Chuck Liddell VS Anderson Silva on UFC 95?

by Anton Tabuena on Nov 17, 2008 10:11 AM EST Comment 11 comments

The UFC will return to London's O2 Arena for a third time on February 21.

SunSport understands Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, 33, has been asked to appear on the card, with a potential bout with light heavyweight star Chuck Liddell already being mooted.

That potentially mouthwatering clash would see The Spider step up to the 205lbs division to face 38-year-old Liddell - who is desperate to get back on the victory trail following his devastating loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 88.

Liddell was slated to fight Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua at UFC 85 but injuries to both men put that clash on ice.

And with Rua set to face Mark Coleman in Ireland at UFC 93, a Liddell v Silva clash looks a real possibility.

The UFC would surely make a lot of money with this fight. But in the long run would it actually be good for them?

A win for Liddell would catapult him back into title contention and a loss wouldn't diminish Silva's image much since the fight is at a bigger weight class.. But another devastating loss from liddell could mean retirement for him.

Although the fight isnt official yet, im not a fan of it happening. Since Silva only has a few fights left before he retires, I would rather see him go for the top ranked guys in the Division, like the winner of wandy/rampage, or jardine, then gun for the belt. Chuck wants another run for the title and i dont think that fIghting someone as dangerous as Anderson Silva would help him achieve that.

A raft of British fighters will be asked to appear on the UFC 95 bill, with welterweight star Dan Hardy already keen to be involved.

However, Michael Bisping will NOT be part of the line up as he will be filming season nine of The Ultimate Fighter.

It would also be interesting to see how well the tickets sell since their usual draw, Michael Bisping, wouldn't be included in the event.

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/article1937197.ece

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Would love to see this fight. Sure, Liddell could catch Spider, but then look what he did..

to Irvin who is another one dimentional fighter like Chuck.

Don’t think the fight would help the UFC other than short term $$$. Longterm effects could be bad if Silva gets upset or Liddell gets pummeled.

by lbk on Nov 17, 2008 10:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Chuck is much much much better than the sandman but i still think that the result would be similar.

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by Anton Tabuena on Nov 17, 2008 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can’t imagine this happening, and I agree it shouldn’t happen at all. While fanbois may want to see it, it serves no purpose and there can be no winner. If Silva wins – Chucks career is dead and Silva beat a guy who was on the downslide anyway. If Chuck wins – he beat a guy from a lower weightclass and Silva couldn’t beat a guy on the downslide.

And if, for some reason, they do book this match I can’t see why it would be put on the London card. It would be either an afternoon for North America, or a very late night for Europe. Either way they would lose money on a gimmick fight that people would pay to watch.

by mythbuster on Nov 17, 2008 10:24 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think they need chuck to beef up the ticket sales in the UK since there’s no bisping. but i think he should fight someone else. Maybe the winner of shogun/coleman if they can fight that soon. Or wandy, franklin, hendo, hell even vera or soko.

and whatever happens in the fight, one of the two stars is going down and the winner doesnt get much.. Well maybe if somehow chuck wins, they could spin it as beating the best pfp fighter and give him his last title shot / farewell fight. haha.

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by Anton Tabuena on Nov 17, 2008 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chuck Liddell vs Anderson Silva is perfect right now. If Chuck is indeed on his way out, he has to go out by giving the rub to someone who needs and deserves it. No matter who you are, a victory over Chuck Liddell increases your stock dramatically. This applies whether you are an up and comer or an established, dominant champion – a la Silva. On top of that, if Chuck were to beat Silva, he will once again be regarded as the top of the food chain. He is the original UFC superstar and arguably still the biggest draw so a Chuck victory would do a lot for the company.

Basically, Liddell v. Silva fight would be a fight not only for division supremacy but for the face of the UFC. The winner gets a lot in this fight. I don’t see any merit in any argument the other way.

by dropkick101 on Nov 17, 2008 11:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

but in the long term the UFC loses.. Chuck’s career would die, but Silvas stock rises. But for what? 4 more fights? then what? why not make silva gun for the LHW title. Then his stock also rises. He can retire holding 2 belts at the same time, that would be better for his career than beating an aging fighter.

Then Chuck could go on and fight big money fights that arent that big of a mismatch. and if silva wins the belt, ONLY then do i think the fight should happen.. Chuck getting his last title shot against silva, if he loses then at least it was a good farewell fight against a 2 div champ, if he wins, then as you said it would do a lot for the company too.

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by Anton Tabuena on Nov 17, 2008 11:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I see your point but the question that determines it in my mind is what super fight exists for Liddell that doesn’t have some serious risk involved? Any big fight in the Light Heavyweight division is going to pose serious problems; the division is the most stacked in the sport. A move up to heavyweight would mean he would be giving up a serious size advantage. The way to utilize Liddell right now is to put him in fights that would give the greatest benefit to his opponents should they be victorious. On top of that, these fights should also be against quality opposition to once again establish Liddell as a top star should he win. A Liddell v. Silva fight accomplishes both of these goals.

by dropkick101 on Nov 17, 2008 11:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe the winner of coleman/shogun and/or a rematch with wandy. maybe even the winner of hendo/franklin. Those could be high profile fights that could revive his career if he wins them. I think he has a chance of getting to the top again. Its not a sure thing cause those guys are good, but that way has a better chance to get there than fighting and probably getting KOed by silva.

oh and Forrest vs Chuck would be a good superfight between top draws but he has to get quality wins first to get the title shot, unless forrest loses then they can fight.

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by Anton Tabuena on Nov 17, 2008 11:43 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think the focus should be less on Liddell, who’s on his way to retirement, and more on Silva. After some quality wins in the LHW division, perhaps he could be enticed to retire his MW belt and get a title shot with an extended contract. Probably a large part of his retirement is due to the lack of competition in defending his title. Given a challenge and new focus he could find the desire again.

My picks for Silva LHW match-ups are as follows:
-Lyoto Machida
-Wanderlei Silva
-Jardine
-anyone in the top 10

by Reciprocity on Nov 17, 2008 4:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

lyoto is in the same camp so i doubt that would happen. We have the same point actually. If silva goes for the top ranked guys instead of an aging fighter it would move him closer to the belt. He should fight jardine then the winner of rampage/wandy, then give him a title shot. He could retire as a 2 division champ.