the Ice man VS Jackson

[intellex]

tonight is the night i will be laughing so hard to see the cracker go down again , every cracker i know thinks the Iceman will win

what do you guys think??
to see the pic how it went down 2003 click the link
After boxing produced nothing but sizzle this month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming along to provide the steak.

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Casual combat sports fans shelled out big bucks to watch Floyd Mayweather dance with Oscar De La Hoya for 12 rounds on May 5. Two weeks later, hardcore fans watched Jermain Taylor and Cory Spinks get booed out of the building for a putrid performance.

Such less-than-stellar showings have left fight afficionados hungry for real action.

Saturday night's UFC 71 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas features one of the biggest rematches in the history of mixed martial arts, as light heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell defends his title against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

The storyline here is simple: The Iceman has been defeated three times in his career. He's avenged two of those losses. Jackson remains the only non-returned receipt.

Since losing to Rampage in 2003, Liddell has gone on to become the closest thing UFC has produced to a crossover star. The Iceman has cemented his status in the casual fans' minds as the mythical Baddest Man on the Planet by buzzsawing through seven straight opponents, all KO or TKO wins. When he's not fighting, he usually can be found on magazine covers and making cameos on shows like HBO's Entourage.

Memphis native Jackson is a charismatic personality with a sharp wit who wears an oversized chain around his neck in honor of late pro wrestler The Junkyard Dog. A relative newcomer to the UFC, Jackson earned his "Rampage" moniker through the fury of his fists and the brute force of his big slams.

What should you look out for at UFC 71? Here are eight items, one for each side of UFC's trademarked octagon:


1. Rampage didn't just beat Liddell the first time ... He gave Liddell a beating
Liddell-Jackson I went down on Nov. 9, 2003. Rampage won by TKO at 3:10 of the second round in the PRIDE Final Conflict tournament at the Tokyo Dome.

With the exception of a sharp punch that sent Rampage running backwards early in round 1, Liddell could do nothing over the course of the fight.

Late in the first round, Rampage caught Chuck with a big right coming out of the corner and followed up with a takedown, but The Iceman scrambled to his feet.

Liddell worked his way out of that jam, but he couldn't escape when Jackson floored him again in the next round. Working from a half-guard, Rampage finished off Liddell with an awesome flurry of rights to the head and body.

After the fight, word got out that Liddell fought with a partially torn quadriceps, but for the past three-and-a-half years, the Iceman has been steadfast in refusing to use injury as an excuse.

"He beat me," said Liddell. "No doubt about it. I don't make excuses, everyone fights hurt. I didn't train right and I didn't have the right game plan. He beat me that night and was the better man and that's all there is to it."


2. Liddell is putting the longest current title reign in the UFC on the line
On April 16, Liddell hit the two-year anniversary of his championship win over "The Natural" Randy Couture. After Liddell, the next-longest reign belongs to lightweight champ Sean Sherk, who won his title about 20 minutes before Anderson Silva took the middleweight title at UFC 64 last Oct. 14.

Liddell became just the fifth fighter to hold a UFC title more than two years at a time, joining Pat Miletich (170-lb. champ from 1998-2000); Matt Hughes (welterweight champ from 2001-2004 and again from 2004-06, for the longest combined time at four years, 116 days); Frank Shamrock (205-lb. champ 1997-99) and Tito Ortiz (who held a version of the light heavyweight title from April 14, 2000-Sept. 26, 2003, for the longest single title reign).

"I really look up to Chuck a lot," said Jackson. "I see him as an inspiration. He hasn't lost since (Jackson beat him). He's put a whupping on folks. He's become champ, and that's well deserved. For a long time, he's been running things in the UFC as champ. I think the world of him, he's a cool guy."


Tale of the tape
Chuck Liddell Quinton Jackson
Age 37 28
Height 6-2 6-1
Hometown San Luis Obispo, CA Memphis, TN
Weight 205 205
Record 20-3 26-6
KO/TKO wins 13 12
Current streak 7 wins 4 wins
Strengths Striking, takedown defense Striking, raw power
Weaknesses Submissions Ground defense
Noteworthy Has never lost a rematch Last man to beat Liddell


3. The Iceman has never lost a rematch
Five times Liddell has faced an opponent more than once. Five times he has emerged victorious. The Iceman lost to Couture via strikes at UFC 43 in 2003, but scored KO wins over The Natural at UFC 52, in which he won the light heavyweight title, and again at UFC 57. Way back at UFC 19 in 1999, Liddell was choked out by Jeremy Horn, but Liddell successfully defended his title against Horn at UFC 54 in the summer of 2005 with a fourth-round TKO.

Liddell also won return showdowns with Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Tito Ortiz, racking up 2-0 records against both.

All five rematch wins were by KO/TKO, with only Horn lasting longer than three rounds in a fourth-round TKO at UFC 54.

Jackson is 1-1 in rematches, beating Marvin Eastman after losing the first fight and losing twice to Wanderlei Silva.


4. Chuck and Rampage both figure to stick with their bread and butter
Chuck is famed for his standup game. He hasn't gone to a decision since beating Vitor Belfort in 2002, with 10 KO/TKO wins since, interrupted only by his loss to Jackson. Liddell favors big, looping overhand rights and utilizes a tremendous sprawl to avoid takedowns.

Jackson, of course, has already proven he can bang with Chuck, and has a slam perhaps rivaled only by Hughes on a pound-for-pound level. Just ask Ricardo Arona, who was knocked unconscious by a Rampage slam in a PRIDE fight in 2004.

Neither fighter expects this to go the distance.

"I think this is going one round, maybe two at the most," said Liddell. "We're going to be coming out firing at each other."

"I want to avoid every punch you throw at me," said Jackson, who has trained with heavy hitters such as Cheick Kongo and Hector "Sick Dog" Ramirez. "But I'm not scared to get hit. But I'm not just going to let everybody hit me. ... The people are going to get what they paid to see."


5. Are injuries and outside distractions catching up to Liddell?
Liddell didn't slow down after stopping Ortiz at UFC 66 with a third-round TKO in December. The Iceman caused a stir this spring with an incoherent interview on a Texas television station which made the rounds on the Internet. Liddell attributed the incident to using NyQuil after staying out all night. Either way, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and pulled off the road to rest up.


Quinton "Rampage" Jackson got the best of Chuck Liddell during their first matchup, in Japan nearly four years ago. (Courtesy PRIDEFC.com / Special to FOXSports.com)


"Having to stop and do that actually got me off the road a couple of weeks early," Liddell said. "I was down for about eight days, nine days in bed. I think that was a blessing in disguise. First, it got me off the road and let me get healed. I don't think I'd be doing this fight if that hadn't happened, and I didn't get healed up."

The 37-year old Liddell has also come out of two of his past three fights banged up. A toe injury kept him out of action for six months following his UFC 57 win over Couture; and both a busted finger and a knee ligament injury sidelined him after the Ortiz fight.


6. Rampage doesn't think the fight should happen yet
Jackson isn't one to mouth the company party line. He thinks his rematch with Liddell should have been scheduled for later this year.

Rampage started his career in the U.S. and primarily fought in cage settings before going over to PRIDE. Jackson developed a devoted hardcore following, but remained a relative unknown to the masses back home.


Poll

Jackson was under contract to the ill-fated World Fighting Alliance when UFC parent company Zuffa LLC acquired the WFA's assets, including Rampage's contract, last year. Jackson 's UFC debut came in February, when he KO'd Eastman in the second round at UFC 67.

Rampage felt that another fight or two and more face time on television would have built a Liddell rematch up even bigger than this weekend's already huge show will be.

"A lot of people didn't see (the match against Eastman)," Jackson said. "Or don't know our history. They're thinking, 'Who's this chump coming to fight the champion?' ... If I would have had a couple of fights in the UFC to build up to the belt, the belt would mean a whole lot. It really don't mean a damn thing."


7. Rampage has something to prove, too
Few people will come right out and say it, but a question is being whispered in MMA circles: Has Jackson lost a step? Rampage has gone 5-2 in his past seven fights, but the losses were bad knockouts at the hands of Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He won a split decision which could have gone either way over Matt Lindland, who usually fights at 185 pounds, last summer at the World Fighting Alliance's lone pay-per-view show. And he looked tentative against Marvin Eastman in the first round at UFC 67 before taking it to him in the second.

"Whenever you beat the hell out of somebody, you're always inside their head," Jackson said about the first matchup with Liddell. "But I don't even think about that. When you beat somebody, most of the time, you have to train harder to beat them again, so that's what I'm doing."


8. The rest of the show
The UFC 71 undercard features several standout matches, including a welterweight battle in which Josh Burkman tests himself against the well-respected Karo "The Heat" Parisyan. Up-and-coming light heavyweight "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine is also featured. For a look at the undercard, check out the FOXSports.com MMA blog.

Dave Doyle is an editor for FOXSports.com. He will blog UFC 71 live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/6845432

[Gatspy]

This should be a savage fight. I think that Liddell will win, even tho Jackson beat him last time they met. Thing about Liddell is hes always pumped up for rematch revenges.

[intellex]

gatspy aka micheal why am i not surprised with your choice

[Gatspy]

So cause i picked Liddell i'm Mikey now. lol . Remember what Liddell did to Ortiz on that rematch.

[michael_ital]

What are you implying ? Gatspy, aka Me, is picking Ice because he's a "cracker" (LoL at the new addition to your vocab) ? well, he picked Ice because he's a superior fighter. What has Jackson done as of late? Lidell in KO.

[intellex]

you know that i know you crackers so do your thing

[paidmonk]

Commentator:

"Round 3, ten sounds lef---AND LYDELL GOES DOWN!"

Jackson is a better boxer, stronger, and quicker than Lydell. This ain't Ortiz, Lydell has to step his game up.

[intellex]

now we are talking , sure the ice man kicks better, jackson but he cant hit like jackson

[Gatspy]

^^ Lex must everyone agree with u?
Jackson is a hard hitter but hes got problems if he can't knock him out, cause Liddell will not give up. The fight against Ortiz, Liddell's face was messed up badly and the fukker just wouldn't give up.

[Ican]

Jackson will eat this cracker up, no doubt about. Jackson is better and stronger hitter, plus he can take anything cracker man can dish at him. But I wonder if UFC wants their white savior to be embarrased again.

[intellex]

i hate to say but i told you so

eat this crackers


Light heavyweight title: Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell
May 26, 2007 | 9:31PM | report this This is it, the big one, the fight which brought everyone here to the MGM Grand. Anyone who has even the slightest interest in mixed martial arts knows the story behind this: The UFC's biggest star, light heavyweight champion "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell, has lost three times in his stellar career. He has avenged his losses to Jeremy Horn and Randy Couture. Only Quinton "Rampage" Jackson remains.

Jackson (26-6) took it to Liddell (20-3) in a one-sided fight on a PRIDE show at the Tokyo Dome in 2003. But they were never able to rematch until Jackson became a part of the UFC when the company bought his contract as part of an assets sale for the struggling World Fighting Alliance late last year.

Liddell has won his past seven fights since losing to Jackson, all by the way of KO or TKO. He is the longest-reigning current champ in the UFC, holding the title since beating Couture in April, 2005. Rampage has won his past four, including his UFC debut, a second-round TKO of Marvin Eastman at UFC 67.

The fight closed on the MGM Grand books with Liddell as a -170/+150 favorite. More than 46,000 people voted in our FOXSports.com "Who will win?" poll, with 67 percent picking Chuck.

The lights go down. The noise is deafening and just about everyone in the building is standing. Memphis native Jackson's walk out to the octagon is slow and deliberate. Jackson gets a mixed reaction as he enters the octagon. He grabs the fence and his corner, looks down toward the mat, and stretches out his calves.

The lights go down again, and a huge roar comes from the crowd as Liddell makes his appearance. Liddell, who lives in Santa Barbara, CA, wastes no time on his way to the octagon, slapping hands with the fans as he comes down the aisle.

Jackson gets a mixed response on his introduction. He doesn't look happy about it, but Liddell represents the home team for UFC fans. Liddell gets another ear-splitting response in his intro.

Big John McCarthy is your referee.

Round 1: Rampage comes out and immediately establishes octagon control. Chuck throws a quick low kick. Jackson still at center octagon. Both fighters still circling, Rampage maintains octagon control. Rampage gestures with his hands, looking for action.

The two trade their first combo. And Rampage just floors Chuck with a devastating right to the jaw, Jackson jumps in with four big right hands with an elbow mixed in, and that's it. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Chuck looks like he can't believe the fight is stopped.

That absolutely was the correct call by Big John McCarthy in stopping the fight. Liddell was

[michael_ital]

f'uck

needled'ick, did you see it?

[intellex]

micheal i should start betting on fights, i always predict the winer

check this link about last nights fighthttp


://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/6854012?MSNHPHMA

[Gatspy]

Rampage basically did the only thing he needed to win it. Even he was surprise cause he thought it was going to be a war. Its about time for a black heavyweight champion anyway.

[intellex]

heey micheal i mean gatspy

next time use " " cuz its a crime to qoute with out giving a credit your source