The scheduled Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans fight for UFC 85 has been called-off due to an injury sustained by Liddell in training. The original main event was supposed to be Liddell vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, but he also injured himself in training, so the UFC scrapped a bout between Evans and Thiago Silva, and threw Evans into the main event with 'The Iceman.' The event is to take place in England and has reportedly already sold over 10k tickets. Expect a few dozen (or thousand...) of them to be pissed off now. The Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum fight scheduled for the event could become the main attraction. Also, the Evans vs. Silva fight could be re-booked as well.
update on the status of Chuck and the fight card <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>UFC.com, the UFC’s official website has posted an article confirming that Chuck Liddell has indeed pulled out of his UFC 85 clash with Rashad Evans due to injury. According to the article, Liddell tore his hamstring last week in preparation for his bout with the TUF 2 winner(photographic proof of the very nasty looking injury is included). UFC President, Dana White has been quoted as saying the following about Liddell’s injury, and UFC 85 in general: “Unfortunately, Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him,” “But I wouldn’t let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent.” “We’re adding fights to the card and rearranging it so the UK fans won’t have to worry, we’ll still be bringing an amazing card to London and the O2 Arena. The UFC always delivers.” The article also goes on to state that a full lineup of 13 fights are being planned for the card and a new main event will be announced soon.</div> that sucks that the entire fight was scrapped.. will be interesting to see who they promote as the main event now.
here's the latest rumor for a replacement.. James Irwin.. he should be in good shape given he trained for a fight at the beggining of April and only fought for 8 seconds at Fight Night 13. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Chuck Liddell (Pictures) has fallen off UFC's June 7 card in London, England, due to a badly torn hamstring, Sherdog.com confirmed Monday. The 38-year-old Liddell (21-5) was set to fight Rashad Evans (Pictures), himself a replacement for Mauricio Rua (Pictures), at O2 Arena in the main event of UFC 85. Multiple sources tell Sherdog.com that Sacramento, Calif.-based light heavyweight James Irvin (Pictures) could be the man to fill Liddell's large shoes, though the bout with Evans (11-0-1) has not been filled at this point. Irvin (14-4-1) would make a quick turnaround following an eight-second knockout of Houston Alexander (Pictures) on April 2.</div>
it is, so the UFC is cramming it with 13 fights.. slight rumor that Bisping may fight on this card too, which will of course turn the card around for the UK fans.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Apr 23 2008, 09:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>it is, so the UFC is cramming it with 13 fights.. slight rumor that Bisping may fight on this card too, which will of course turn the card around for the UK fans.</div> Yeah, Bisping vs. Leben could be added to this one.
Seems like they are grooming Bisping for Silva by testing them against the same opponents. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bisping and Franklin go at it eventually. The middleweight division has changed so much. With guys like Henderson, Almedia and Maia jumping into the mix, along with the emergence of Cote and Bisping, I think it has become one of the deepest talent pools in the UFC. Heavyweight is still in bad shape, though. Hopefully negotiations with Andrei Arlovski are going well. Arlovski vs. Vera or vs. Nogueira are both dream match-ups for me.
The way Leben has been fighting lately it could be a real challenge for Bisping. If he tries to trade with him he might get the worst of it. I don't think they will match up Bisping and Franklin personally. I think they want to make a Bisping/Silva match up marquee, and Bisping will STRUGGLE with franklin. I think if he can get through Leben (I know it is still a rumor) they will give him someone recognizable and beatable before silva. If they are making this card bigger I hope they plan on including these fights on the Pay-per-view.
There are some rumors on Sherdog, that this might not be a PPV anymore. As for Chuck, I read UFC 87 was his target return date--possibly against Shogun.
yeah Chuck is saying August. The thing about Bisping is what looks to be a lack of power in his shots. He throws in bunches though so it makes up for it. Leben can take a shot (Anderson Silva aside) and throws some very strong punches. Will be an interesting match for sure. what will really make 185 strong is if Wand is serious about dropping to 185 after Jardine. It would definitely happen IMO if he loses to Jardine, he may change his mind if he wins though and stay at 205.
