|
 By: David Barnet
Atlanta, Georgia (September 6, 2008) - Live from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta Georgia, the UFC presents, UFC 88 "Breakthrough". The event, which will air on pay-per-view, will feature the main event between the former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell versus the undefeated Rashad "Sugar" Evans. The main card also features a star studded line up as the former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin will make his light-heavyweight debut against Matt "The Hammer" Hamill. Karo "The Heat" Parisyan will take on Yoshiyuki Yoshida. In middleweight action, Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares and Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann.
 Chuck "Iceman" Liddell Record: 21 - 5 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 6'2" (188cm) Weight: 204lbs (93kg) vs. Rashad "Sugar" Evans Record: 11 - 0 - 1 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 5'11" (181cm) Weight: 205lbs (93kg) The legend that is Chuck Liddell returns to the octagon once again to do battle with the undefeated Rashad Evans. Liddell is coming of his epic battle with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79, where he earned a unanimous decision victory. The former LHW champion has not seen action since that fight due to a hamstring tear that has put him on the shelf for 8 months. Standing in his way will be the winner of the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" Rashad Evans. Evans hasn't competed since his split decision victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 87. The "Iceman" boasts a record over some of the world's best fighters within the light-heavyweight division; Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva to name a few. Since his knockout defeat at the hands of Quinton Jackson, Liddell has a record of 1-1 within the UFC.
  Click Image To Enlarge.Chuck Liddell. Photo Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Chuck Liddell. He suffered back to back losses for the first time in his career with a loss to Keith Jardine 4 months after his loss to Jackson. Liddell was able to bounce back in dramatic fashion with a huge victory over arch nemesis Wanderlei Silva. The nearly 40 year old Liddell needs a victory Saturday night to inch closer to a title shot that he so desperately wants. We all know that Chuck Liddell is known for knocking people out cold. 14 of his 21 wins have either been a KO or TKO. He's impossible to take down due to his Division I wrestling background and also earned a purple belt in BJJ. One wouldn't know that he was a purple belt due to him having one submission victory that happened nearly ten years ago. Chuck Liddell isn't a submission specialist, he knocks people out! Rashad Evans is an up and coming fighter within the LHW division who is still looking for that signature victory. Evans has a strong wrestling background and ever improving stand-up. He will look to control the pace of this fight as he always does. Evans has a take down game second to none and is very tough to handle while he is on top.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Rashad Evans. Photo Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Rashad Evans. He is very elusive on his feet as he bobs and weaves as if he was Muhammad Ali. Most recently Evans was able to steal a victory from Michael Bisping at UFC 78 with a controversial split decision. At UFC 73 he looked solid against the former champion Tito Ortiz but could only muster up a 'draw'. A victory over the likes of Ortiz could have shot him to stardom, but it was not to be. Evans, who is a training partner of Keith Jardine, knows first hand how a victory over a name like Chuck Liddell can do for your career. Both Evans and Jardine train under Greg Jackson, who will no doubt have his fighter prepared with a solid game plan. For Evans to be considered in the upper echelon of the already stacked light-heavyweight division a victory is needed.
Listening to his most recent interviews, it seems to me that he is complacent with just scoring points with the judges. A few years ago his interviews would be all about knocking the guy out in the first round. His days of dominating foes might be over, but he still packs enough power in his punch to punish Rashad Evans for 3 rounds. It should be a tough test for Chuck, but I see a unanimous decision victory for the "Iceman" due to him landing the most vicious of punches. With the win, he looks for a title shot to regain his UFC LHW belt.
Rich "Ace" Franklin Record: 23 - 3 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) ( 1 NC ) Height: 6'1" (186cm) Weight: 185lbs (84kg) vs. Matt "The Hammer" Hamill Record: 4 - 1 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 6'2" (188cm) Weight: 205lbs (93kg) The most dominating middleweight in UFC history, those used to be the words to describe Rich Franklin then came along a man by the name of Anderson Silva. Silva was able to defeat Franklin not once but twice in brutal fashion. Due to those losses, Franklin finds his career at a crossroads and a rebirth within the light-heavyweight division is in order. Franklin made a name for himself in a huge way back in 2005 with a dominating win over UFC legend Ken Shamrock. Since that fight he had been on a tear with wins over Evan Tanner, Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. UFC 64 is where Franklin met his match, Anderson Silva decimated Franklin in under 3 minutes.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Rich Franklin. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Rich Franklin. Franklin was able to earn another title shot against Silva, but the result was the same. Franklin last fought Travis Lutter at UFC 83 where he escaped numerous submissions and pounded out Lutter for the TKO victory. While a third fight with Silva has lost it's luster, Franklin welcomes a new challenge! The welcoming 'Matt' to the light-heavyweights will be Matt Hamill. Another TUF alum, Hamill finds himself in the same boat as Rashad Evans, both are needing that big win over that big name fighter.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Matt Hamill. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Matt Hamill. Hamill is a huge success story as he is deaf, but is still a top notch athlete with unbelievable strength. He is under the tutelage of Tito Ortiz and has the similar fight style. He uses his all American wrestling skills to dominate his opponents and pounds them out from the top. He will prove a formidable test for Franklin and will like nothing more to spoil the LHW debut for him.
With only 5 career fights Matt Hamill is still a work in progress and his lack of experience will prove to be his kryptonite. I see Franklin dominating the stand up and either knocking Hamill out or submitting him somewhere in the second round.
Karo "The Heat" Parisyan Record: 18 - 5 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 5'10" (178cm) Weight: 170lbs (78kg) vs. Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida Record: 10 - 2 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 5'11" (181cm) Weight: 167lbs (76kg) The UFC's welterweight division is without a doubt the deepest in the world. With fighters such as Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, a title shot is a hot commodity. Two more welterweights will look to make their own mark within the division as Karo Parisyan will square up against Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Karo Parisyan has always been a top fighter in the UFC with wins over Matt Serra, Nick Thompson and Ryo Chonan. He is always one of the most entertaining fighters to watch and is never at a loss for words. His world class Judo skills speak for themselves.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Karo Parisyan. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Karo Parisyan. Karo looked to be on his way to a title shot recently but was unable to defeat Thiago Alves at UFN 13. Reluctantly Karo has been tagged as the 'gate keeper' of the welterweight division and only a dominating win over Yoshida will erase that moniker. A knock on Karo has always been his cardio, he comes to fights looking a little soft and pudgy, but his heart has never been questioned. His fight with Diego Sanchez was a war and showed how big his heart really is. Karo has vowed that he is a rededicated fighter and that he has been training harder than ever to get back in the win column.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Yoshiyuki Yoshida. A win will be no easy task for Karo as he faces the ever dangerous Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The Japanese judo star debuted at UFC 84 with an impressive submission victory over Jon Koppenhaver. Yoshida was able to sink in a sick anaconda choke just 1 minute into the fight. He will look to stay on his winning ways as he is on a 9 fight win streak. Can he make it 10 in a row?
Both fighters will have a hard time throwing each other as they are both experts in Judo, so in a tough hard fought decision I will go with Karo due to his success over Ryo Chonan, who is a training partner of Yoshida.
Dan "Hollywood" Henderson Record: 22 - 7 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 6'1" (186cm) Weight: 183lbs (84kg) vs. Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares Record: 17 - 1 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 5'8" (173cm) Weight: 185lbs (84kg) Desperation is in the air as Dan Henderson steps back into the octagon seeking his first win since his arrival from Pride FC. The former Pride middleweight and light heavyweight champion failed in his attempts to become the undisputed champion in both divisions as he lost to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva. O and 2 and with his back against the wall he faces yet another tough challenge in Rousimar Palhares. Palhares currently rides a six fight win streak and will look to submit Henderson to make it seven. The Brazilian Palhares is a powerful submission machine and is very dangerous on the ground. He is coming off a spectacular victory over Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84.
A relative unknown to many UFC fans, "Toquinho" is the prodigy of former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante. Bustamante faced Henderson twice in Japan and came up short on both occasions, so revenge will be on the mind of Palhares. A win over the likes of Henderson will only strengthen his case for a title shot in the near future. Back to back losses is a familiar position for Dan Henderson. 2002 marked the first time that Henderson dropped two straight losses, both to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts, Ricardo Arona and Minotauro Noguiera.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Dan Henderson. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Dan Henderson. The man with the iron chin and deadly right hook bounced back in a big way with four straight wins. One of those wins was a knockout against Bustamante. Hendo holds huge wins over Wanderlei Silva, Minotauro and Vitor Belfort just to name a few. His right hand is feared by many and has one of the strongest Greco-Roman clinches in the world. If Hendo has a weak spot, it's his ground game. Almost half his losses have been by submission.
Henderson's strength is his standup with ten career knockouts. Obviously he wants to keep the fight standing and use "dirty boxing" within the clinch. Palhares wants the fight to be on the ground where he feels most comfortable. Taking Dan Henderson down will be no easy task, but it's possible. I'm predicting a huge upset, if Palhares can stay out of Henderson's clinch and get him down to the ground, it's a wrap! Second round submission victory via rear naked choke for Palhares.
Nate "The Great" Marquardt Record: 26 - 8 - 2 (Win - Loss - Draw) Height: 6'1" (186cm) Weight: 185lbs (84kg) vs. Martin "Hitman" Kampmann Record: 13 - 1 - 0 (Win - Loss - Draw) The seven time King of Pancrase, Nate Marquardt, is on a mission for the middleweight title. A Danish road block is in his way in the form of Martin Kampmann. Marquardt still has the sour taste of his controversial split decision loss to Thales Leites at UFC 85. A fight that he was clearly dominating ended with a loss due to a two point deduction for illegal blows. The record books show a loss for Marquardt, but he is given the only man to defeat Leites, Martin Kampmann, an obvious step up in competition.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Nate Marquardt. Photos Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Nate Marquardt. The Danish Kampann, who owns a near perfect record, is an Xtreme Couture fighter. He is coming off a first round submission victory of Jorge Riviera at UFC 85. His only loss came four years ago and that was due to a cut. The "Hitman" is a former Danish Thai kick-boxing champion turned Jiu-Jitsu specialist. Only one of his wins have gone the distance, he pushes the pace and brings the pain! At 26 years of age, he is in the prime of his career and primed for a title shot.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Martin Kampmann. Images Courtesy Of Sherdog.com. View Fighter Stats For Martin Kampmann. Nate "The Great" is just that, great. He is truly an all-around mixed martial artist, strong wrestling, superb standup and he's no slouch Jiu-Jitsu-wise. He also comes from the Greg Jackson camp, who continues to pump out great fighters. This is a very important fight for both these guys. A title shot may be in line or a match up with the winner of the Henderson Palhares fight to determine the number one contender.
[ UFC 88 Main Page ]
Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
Related Articles
|
|||||||||||||
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
