Unbelievable….Liddell KO’d by Franklin with a Broken Arm

Is this the end of Chuck Liddell's UFC career? Good Question!

"The Iceman" was knocked out by Rich Franklin with five seconds remaining in Round 1 of UFC 115's main event in Vancouver, despite Franklin suffering a broken arm earlier in the round.

First UFC 114 with Rampage Jackson losing to Rashad Evans and now UFC 115 disappoints again with Chuck “Iceman” Liddell losing by KO to Rich Franklin in the first round. Best way to summarize these two fights, killer instinct or kill or be killed mentality! Apparently Evans and Franklin had killer instincts before entering the octagon.

Both Rampage Jackson and Chuck Liddell entered their fights in excellent shape, some would argue Iceman was in the best shape if his life. Subsequently, being in shape and prepared are not enough in today’s UFC; the new UFC requires the fighters to be in shape, prepared and have the “killer instinct.” I argue that both Jackson and Liddell have under prepared and sabotaged their fight careers by allowing their killer instinct to be traded for the lavish lifestyle of celebritism.

Fighters who continue to keep their focus on the octagon remain on top of their game!!! You don’t see fighters like GSP, Clay Guida, Matt Hughes and many others giving up the killer instinct to STEP IN front of the camera or trade it for celebritism!

Below are the complete results of UFC 115.

Main Card

Rich Franklin def. Chuck Liddell via KO (punch) - Round 1, 4:55.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def. Patrick Barry via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 3, 4:30

Martin Kampmann def. Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Ben Rothwell def. Gilbert Yvel via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Carlos Condit def. Rory MacDonald via TKO - Round 3, 4:53.

Preliminary Card

Matt Wiman def. Mac Danzig via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:45.

Evan Dunham def. Tyson Griffin via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).

Mario Miranda def. David Loiseau via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 4:07.

James Wilks def. Peter Sobotta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-28, 30-27).

Claude Patrick def. Ricardo Funch via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 1:48.

Mike Pyle def. Jesse Lennox via technical submission (triangle choke) - Round 3, 4:44

and remember....You Can't Win, Until You STEP IN.

TUF 12 begins Production in Las Vegas

Twenty-eight of the best up-and-coming lightweight (155 lbs)mixed martial artists from around the world have convened in Las Vegas in pursuit of one goal, to claim the title of the “ULTIMATE FIGHTER” and the guaranteed six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship that comes with it. Production on “The Ultimate Fighter” begins this week.

The 12th season of Spike TV’s popular original series, “The Ultimate Fighter” features two of the mixed martial arts’ biggest stars – UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, and the number one contender to his belt, Josh Koscheck. The two will square off as coaches during the six week taping of the show, and will later meet inside the Octagon™ with the welterweight title on the line at a UFC pay-per-view event.

The new season premieres Wednesday, September 13, 2010 at 10:00 PM ET/PT featuring some of the world’s best unsigned fighters in the lightweight division. St-Pierre first appeared as a trainer on the show during its fourth season, “The Comeback,” while Koscheck was a member of the now historic first season, where he advanced to the semifinals. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host.

During the 6-week Ultimate Fighter competition, the competitors will endure a grueling regimen of jujitsu, judo, muay thai, karate, boxing and wrestling. The intense competition between the fighters continues after they leave the gym – at The Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors are forced to live with each other, knowing that any day they could be selected to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagon.

In each episode, opponents from each team will be selected to square off in battle, officially weighed in and then, in front of their teammates, coaches, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the two combatants face off in two five-minute rounds. At the end of two rounds, if the fight is declared a draw, the two partake in a sudden victory third round.

and remember..... You Can't Win, Until You STEP IN.

Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos targeted for UFC 117 in August

A lightweight bout featuring the relentless Clay Guida (26-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) and fast-rising jiu-jitsu ace Rafael dos Anjos (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is expected to be part of August's UFC 117 event.

A source close to one of the competitors told MMAjunkie.com that the fight, which was first reported by MMARecap.com, has been agreed upon by at least one competitor.

The fight is expected to be part of the televised main card of UFC 117, which takes place Aug. 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

The pay-per-view event features a headliner between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chael Sonnen.

Guida, a crowd-pleasing lightweight who's been involved in some of the UFC's most legendary scraps, recently snapped a two-fight skid with a second-round submission victory over Shannon Gugerty. The 28-year-old posted a three-fight win streak (the second-longest of his career) with wins over Sam Schiavo, Mac Danzig and Nate Diaz before a very close split-decision defeat to Diego Sanchez and a submission defeat to Kenny Florian.

His opponent, 25-year-old dos Anjos, opened his UFC career with a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens and a decision defeat to Tyson Griffin. Although the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt surprisingly got a third fight with the organization, he made the most of it and scored a unanimous-decision win over Rob Emerson. He then posted two more wins with a decision victory over Kyle Bradley and a second-round submission win over fellow contender Terry Etim at UFC 112 in April to extend his current win streak to three.

and remember....You Can't Win, Until You STEP IN.

TUF 11, Episode 9: If only Tito could burn the tape!

Two quarterfinals and the explanation of what happened to Tito Ortiz to scrub his fight with fellow coach Chuck Liddell? Seems promising.

Must be busy, because we start with a weigh-in. Kyle Noke and Kris McCray are bummed because they’re buddies, and they have to fight. They’re also two of the best guys on the show, and one of them has to go out early.

Tito went to his neck doctor, and they want to do surgery. He says he has fought hurt for the last six years and doesn’t want to fight Chuck at less than 100 percent. Someone on the Web is surely cataloging all of Tito’s devastating setbacks and miraculous recoveries. I’ve written at least one of them.

Seems anticlimactic, doesn’t it?

On to the fight: Steve Mazzagatti is the ref, setting the stage for possible controversy.

But the only controversy is that McCray, an explosive fighter through his career so far, has reinvented himself as a lay-and-pray artist. It turns into a typical encounter of a strong wrestler against someone with just enough defense to keep the wrestler from submitting him or pounding him out.

Noke tries for a couple of submissions and takes McCray’s back for a while in the second round. That must account for the judges, who decide the fight should be prolonged to a third round. That surprises Dana White, who had already told Octagon girl Chandella she didn’t need to walk with the round card.

McCray holds Noke down through most of the third, occasionally landing an elbow and fending off one fleeting submission attempt. It’s an easy decision for McCray, who has come back from losing his first-round fight to advancing through the new wild-card bout to the quarters and on to the semis.

Fight 2: Tito says Seth Baczynski might be able to get the upset over Brad Tavares.

But first, Chuck visits the house, where he learns that Tito is talking about getting surgery. Chuck isn’t pleased. Says Tito better show up and fight him after all this. We don’t get Jamie “Crabman” Yager’s rebuttal for some reason.

After that brief aside, we’re back to the fighters. And again, they like each other. Tavares says he’s the youngest and least experienced guy in the house.

Herb Dean is our ref. Here we go.

Seth comes in and takes a couple of shots as he does. He clinches, tries to trip Tavares and then gets the takedown. Tavares has an active guard and goes for the armbar, but Seth stands and then lands on Tavares’ back. Seth works to lock his legs in a body triangle, then comes close to getting the rear naked choke.

Tavares finally reverses at the 1:40 mark, and he stands, throwing long punches toward Seth. Then we go back down to the mat, and Seth goes for a leg triangle. Tavares takes care of that by slamming him twice. Then he lands a lot of powerful shots in the last 15 seconds.

Right before the horn, we have a clumsy exchange. Seth kicks Tavares in the head while he has a knee or two on the mat. That’s illegal. Seth immediately yells out, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Tavares stands but then staggers back to his corner, asking, “What’d he hit me with?”

This must be that “controversial decision” they mentioned in the promos. Will Seth be DQ’d? Will they go to the scorecards after a round in which Seth won the first three minutes and Tavares won the last two convincingly.

We get back to see a doctor asking a few questions. Tavares answers with a lot of “huhs.” It’s a DQ.

Fairly obvious stuff, right? Herb Dean follows the rules as always. Tavares hangs his head, not happy to have won this way. What’s the controversy?

We hear that “the doctor” says the kick landed in the chest. Not sure which “doctor” they mean. The fight doctor who examined Tavares clearly knows otherwise. Maybe some other doctor? Dr. J? Dr. Spock? Tom Baker? Someone in a red Tito shirt picks up the argument. Tito foolishly believes him and starts throwing a fit. Team Liddell snaps back at Tito, and it’s not long before Chuck is being restrained.

Somewhere, Tito has just finished watching this episode, with the footage clearly showing a kick to the face, and is thinking to himself, “Why did I listen to that guy? Why didn’t I listen to — oh, I don’t know — my own fighter, who was yelling out an apology because he clearly knew he had kicked the guy in the head?!”

But first, Dana decides now would be a good time to tell Chuck that Tito has pulled out of the fight. Then he tells Chuck not to smash his phone. Chuck says he’s looking for Tito.

You have to pity the fighters in this one. Nothing went quite as planned — McCray did what he needed to win but surely would’ve preferred a livelier fight. All four fighters showed class in victory or defeat. But in the end, it’s Tito Ortiz setting fire to his own reputation. Good thing he has come back from that before.

The quarterfinal wrap:

* Court McGee (Liddell) def. James Hammortree (Ortiz), submission
* Kris McCray (Ortiz) def. Kyle Noke (Liddell), solid three-round decision
* Brad Tavares (Liddell) def. Seth Baczynski (Ortiz), DQ
* Josh Bryant (Liddell) vs. Jamie “Crabman” Yager (Ortiz)

and remember....You Can't Win, Until You STEP IN.