For a big house

The wraps on the hands of Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson, a little after eight o’clock on the 28th of May, in their respective dressing rooms at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, were slim protection against the load the outcome of the main event of UFC 71 would represent in both their lives, and which they would find out an hour from then.

For Liddell, on the table was more than simply revenge for the fight that few of his recently-acquired fans had seen, in November of 2003, when Jackson annihilated him, frustrating his plans of getting to the top of the Pride middleweight category through the back door.

Certainly a loss as painful as the one imposed on him by “Rampage” would be hard to stomach for any competitor. But, in the current scheme of things, that flame means very little.

The central question is that the prediction that MMA would become mainstream is something of a bygone era. If, before entering the event, you were to pass by the hotel bookstore, you could buy the greatest sports magazine in the world – Sports Illustrated – with the UFC on its cover. If you would rather grab ESPN magazine, you would find the image of Chuck Liddell holding his eight-year-old son Cade.

On TV, while waiting for the paid image of the UFC to arrive through your cable, you could watch, on network television, the battle between the Red Bears and the Silverbacks in the International Fight League. And, during the break, but only during the break, you would have the luxury of checking the performance of Tim Duncan in the third game between the Spurs and the Jazz.

And, in the middle of all this frisson of MMA, Liddell would defend his place as the greatest star of the event. He would fight to keep, for even longer, the regalia of seeing Andre Agassi (with his shoes free of clay thanks to his retirement, as the French open would start the same day) at the edge of the ring, betting on his favoritism.

After all, having knocked out seven tough brawlers of the likes of Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Renato Babalu since his last loss meant he was in the limelight when the money came. And to find himself frustrated by an old (and, to the public at large, unknown) rival, nine years his younger, was a very big risk at that moment.

Rampage, on his part, had a chance to prove he was more than just the guy that “almost reached the top.” Shortly after beating Liddell, in 2003, and going on to the final of the Pride middleweight Grand Prix, he took a beating from the Brazilian Wanderlei Silva. He climbed the rungs losing in the final had caused him to fall from, one year later, to be punished yet again by Silva, and this time was left dangling in the ropes, half his body in the ring, half out, in a demoralizing scene.

He started to rehearse for a comeback in Pride itself, but was contained by an onslaught of knees from the young Mauricio Shogun at the start of 2005. He then signed a contract with the American organization the WFA, which was subsequently purchased by the UFC and, to make a long story short, earned another shot at fighting for MMA’s top post. Just that now this top post comes along with celebrity status in the USA, which changes the scenario dramatically.

Affliction is probably what Chuck Liddell wants to inspire in his adversaries. And he almost always manages to. It is the big word stamped on his shirt as he enters the octagon. Jackson is already there waiting, with a glassy stare.

At 9:20 at night, and after giving quick instructions into the microphone, positioning himself between the foreheads of the two fighters, referee Big John McCarthy signaled a start to the battle. Liddell, sticking to his counter-attacking style, circled the octagon that is so familiar to him. Jackson stalked him, but without entering firing range, and, mainly, without allowing the Iceman’s long right to come into play.

After around a minute where the two did not touch, Jackson provoked his opponent, gesturing for Liddell to do something. Not that Liddell fell for it. But, with his right not seeing action and the (sparse, so far) standup exchange not going his way, he closed the distance, and threw a bomb to the ribs. Rampage protected his face, hunched over, and, with the weight of that chain he wears around his neck coming into the ring, he threw a right hook.

It landed smack dab on the cheek of the champion, who fell flat on his back, legs outstretched. The challenger, wasting no time, hovered over the champion and unleashed elbows and punches that finished off the old owner of the belt. And, at this point, as Big John had already rushed over to separate them, a dazed Liddell was trying to turn over to all fours while Jackson, already with his back turned, howled.

After being taken to his corner, and held by his coach John “Pit” Hackleman, one did not need to be a master lip-reader to decode the confused “What happened?” mumbled by Liddell.

The thought that the stoppage was premature is inexistent, but, even so, Joe Rogan still asked Rampage about that. “It doesn’t matter, start it over and I’ll do it again,” fired off the new champion. “I will be here for a while, baby,” Rampage joked.

The champion of two categories in Pride (among them the under-93 kg), Dan Henderson was announced as the next UFC light heavyweight challenger, and he stepped in the cage, shortly after a disoriented Liddell calmed the crowd, saying he was well, and shortened the interview with a dry “I got caught! That was my mistake.”

With the arena full and the hope that the fight had surpassed UFC 66’s record of one million pay-per-views sold, in December, when Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz, it was more than a mistake. But, in a year in which heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia and welterweight champion George St. Pierre, it is a glimmer of renewal, which could be exemplified with Rampage’s final phrase of the event: “You all have a big house already. Now it’s my turn.”

Results UFC 71:

Wilson Gouveia submitted Carmelo Marrero with a guillotine at 3 min  6 sec of R1
Din Thomas submitted Jeremy Stephens with an armbar at 2 min44 seconds of R2
Alan Belcher submitted Sean Salmon at 53 seconds of R1
Thiago Silva defeated James Irvin by TKO (knee injury) at 1 minute 6 secods of R1
Kalib Starnes defeated Chris Leben by unanimous decision
Houston Alexander defeated Keith Jardine by TKO (punches) at 48 sec of R1
Terry Martin defeated Ivan Salaverry by TKO (punches) at 2 min 4s of R1
Karo Parysian defeated Josh Burkman unanimous decision
Quinton Jackson knocked out Chuck Liddell at 1 minute 53 seconds of R1