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LAS VEGAS -- UFC 711 of 49backnextNobody saw it coming.
But the only man who needed to see it, Chuck Liddell, certainly missed the freight train right hand that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson" was in the midst of throwing, the one that would bring to an end the two-year reign of "the Iceman" as the UFC's light-heavyweight champion.
Jackson not only becomes the new champ, he also becomes the only man to defeat Liddell twice. Just as impressively, he did it in decisive fashion, needing only 1:53 to catch Liddell with a counter right hook on the chin, a shot that knocked him down before Rampage thundered down heavy fists. Liddell's body momentarily went limp and he took one more shot before referee Big John McCarthy called an end to the fight.
Though Liddell got up and questioned the stoppage, he was not defending himself and it seemed to be an appropriate stoppage. With that, Liddell's seven-fight win streak comes to an end, and he becomes the victim of the fourth straight UFC pay-per-view upset after Tim Sylvia (to Randy Couture), Georges St. Pierre (to Matt Serra) and Mirko Cro Cop (to Gabriel Gonzaga).
Jackson's win came as a shocker to the fans at the MGM Grand, who gave Liddell a rock-star like welcome upon his entrance. At the Las Vegas casinos, Liddell was a decided favorite, and over 60 percent of NBCSports.com fans predicted an Iceman win. But Jackson showed that his first victory over Liddell, back in November 2003, was no fluke.
"I gotta keep it real, I was shocked it went so quick," Jackson said later. "I trained my butt off. I was up in the mountains training. I looked like a mountain man, hairy with bad breath. But I trained hard and stuck with it."
Liddell offered no excuses afterwards, simply saying "I made a mistake, and he capitalized on it."
Before the fight, Jackson said winning the belt wouldn't mean particularly much for him, but at the press conference, he proudly wore it on his shoulder, stopping to look at the details in some of the moments questions were not directed his way.
"As long as the belt gets me some bills, know what I'm saying?" he said later. "Maybe a Bentley. I saw all the stuff Chuck's riding around in. I look up to Chuck. I wanna be a baller like him. I see him riding around in those Ferraris. I'm from the streets. I want to ride like Chuck."
Before the main event, the UFC event announced on television that Pride middleweight and welterweight champion Dan Henderson would come over to fight the champ. He will now fight Jackson, who he was previously a sparring partner with.
But the only man who needed to see it, Chuck Liddell, certainly missed the freight train right hand that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson" was in the midst of throwing, the one that would bring to an end the two-year reign of "the Iceman" as the UFC's light-heavyweight champion.
Jackson not only becomes the new champ, he also becomes the only man to defeat Liddell twice. Just as impressively, he did it in decisive fashion, needing only 1:53 to catch Liddell with a counter right hook on the chin, a shot that knocked him down before Rampage thundered down heavy fists. Liddell's body momentarily went limp and he took one more shot before referee Big John McCarthy called an end to the fight.
Though Liddell got up and questioned the stoppage, he was not defending himself and it seemed to be an appropriate stoppage. With that, Liddell's seven-fight win streak comes to an end, and he becomes the victim of the fourth straight UFC pay-per-view upset after Tim Sylvia (to Randy Couture), Georges St. Pierre (to Matt Serra) and Mirko Cro Cop (to Gabriel Gonzaga).
Jackson's win came as a shocker to the fans at the MGM Grand, who gave Liddell a rock-star like welcome upon his entrance. At the Las Vegas casinos, Liddell was a decided favorite, and over 60 percent of NBCSports.com fans predicted an Iceman win. But Jackson showed that his first victory over Liddell, back in November 2003, was no fluke.
"I gotta keep it real, I was shocked it went so quick," Jackson said later. "I trained my butt off. I was up in the mountains training. I looked like a mountain man, hairy with bad breath. But I trained hard and stuck with it."
Liddell offered no excuses afterwards, simply saying "I made a mistake, and he capitalized on it."
Before the fight, Jackson said winning the belt wouldn't mean particularly much for him, but at the press conference, he proudly wore it on his shoulder, stopping to look at the details in some of the moments questions were not directed his way.
"As long as the belt gets me some bills, know what I'm saying?" he said later. "Maybe a Bentley. I saw all the stuff Chuck's riding around in. I look up to Chuck. I wanna be a baller like him. I see him riding around in those Ferraris. I'm from the streets. I want to ride like Chuck."
Before the main event, the UFC event announced on television that Pride middleweight and welterweight champion Dan Henderson would come over to fight the champ. He will now fight Jackson, who he was previously a sparring partner with.
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