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LAS VEGAS -- Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva waited six years to compete against each other. At UFC 79, they made their opportunity count, delivering a classic fight in front of an electric crowd that witnessed a Liddell victory.
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| Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell wins a light-heavyweight showdown with Wanderlei Silva. (AP) |
That potential for a sudden ending resulted in a thrilling bout. For 15 minutes, Liddell and Silva traded blows. The crowd alternated chants for each man, and roared when the fighters swung wild punches with bad intentions.
Liddell had the reach advantage, but when he moved in for the kill Silva would fire back with hard punches. Liddell opened up cuts on Silva's face, and Silva bled heavily. In the second round, Silva appeared to have Liddell timed and landed the better blows. He knocked down Liddell with a punch.
In the third round, Liddell took control, landing flurries of punches. Liddell's aggressive offense often results in the ending of the fight, but Silva would not go down. At the end of three hard-fought rounds, the crowd gave both men a thunderous reaction. Liddell was awarded the decision, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.
In the co-main event of the evening, Georges St. Pierre dominated Matt Hughes en route to a second-round submission victory. It was the third fight between Hughes and St. Pierre, with Hughes winning the first fight and St. Pierre the second. It was evident early in this fight that St. Pierre is now the superior fighter.
St. Pierre blocked Hughes' takedown attempts with ease, and connected with better blows standing. St. Pierre took Hughes down, secured a full mount and went for an arm bar as the first round ended.
In the second round, it was more of the same. St. Pierre took Hughes down and again gained mount. He went for a rear naked choke, but Hughes escaped. St. Pierre then took Hughes right back down with a judo throw. St. Pierre went for a kimura, and transitioned into an arm bar that caused Hughes to verbally tap.
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Hughes-St. Pierre was for the UFC Interim Welterweight Title, but St. Pierre threw aside the belt after the fight. St. Pierre declared that Matt Serra is the real champion, and he needs to defeat Serra to be labeled champion. That fight is planned for the first half of 2008, and could take place in St. Pierre's hometown of Montreal.
Undefeated Brazilian Lyoto Machida scored another victory over a name opponent, tapping out highly regarded Sokoudjou with a second-round arm triangle. Machida got the better of Sokoudjou standing and on the ground. He dropped Sokoudjou with a left punch in the second round, and finished him with the choke. The victory places Machida in contention for the light-heavyweight title.
In a bout filled with bad blood, Rich Clementi scored a first-round tapout victory over Melvin Guillard. The two men engaged in a war of words prior to the bout, and Guillard gave Clementi the finger before the bout began. Clementi and Guillard traded blows, and both scored takedowns. Clementi took Guillard's back and locked in a rear naked choke to win. The combatants continued to talk trash after the fight, and had to be separated by security.
Eddie Sanchez beat Soa Palelei via third-round referee stoppage. The fight was relatively even early, but Sanchez utilized his better conditioning late in the fight. Sanchez landed better blows on the tired Palelei, and the referee stopped the fight.
Preliminary bouts
Mark Bocek defeated Doug Evans via unanimous 29-28 decision in the opener. Evans got the better of early standing exchanges. Bocek took down Evans and utilized ground and pound for the remainder of the fight.
Roan Carneiro beat Tony DeSouza via TKO at 3:33 of the second round. The first round was even, with both men attempting submissions. In the second round, Carneiro took DeSouza's back and fired down punches until the referee stopped the fight.
Dean Lister won a loudly booed fight against Jordan Radev. The wrestler Radev and submission specialist Lister engaged in a mediocre kickboxing bout. Lister performed slightly better to earn a 30-27 unanimous decision.
Manny Gamburyan defeated Nate Mohr via tapout at 1:31 of the first round. Gamburyan scored a takedown and then pulled back into an ankle lock that forced Mohr to tap. Mohr needed assistance in leaving the octagon.
James Irvin won via disqualification over Luis Cane. Irvin and Cane traded hard blows early. Cane caught an Irvin kick for a takedown. As Irvin was attempting to stand up, Cane landed an illegal knee. Irvin was unable to continue, and won via DQ.
