At Long Last, Liddell Wins The War with Silva

LAS VEGAS, December 29 – Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. And though he came six        
years and four days late, he finally showed up with a fight between the two most dominant light heavyweights in history, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva, and the ensuing three round war at the Mandalay Bay Events Center tonight lived up to all expectations, with Liddell emerging victorious via a three round unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, who broke a two fight losing streak with his win over the former PRIDE Champion, who was trying to stop his own two-fight skid.

“It would have been a travesty if we wouldn’t have fought because it’s a great fight for the fans,” said Liddell in the understatement of the year. “I knew it was a big fight for everybody, especially for me to get back on track.”

“I gave my best,” said Silva. “Win or lose I like to give to my fans.”

Both fighters did that and more.

With flashbulbs lighting up the arena, both fighters circled each other warily early on, not wanting to be the first to make a fatal tactical error. Silva, after dropping his hands to taunt Liddell, engaged first, but none of his blows struck paydirt. Shortly thereafter, Liddell apparently hurt Silva, with Silva backing up to the fence either because his legs were rubbery or because he wanted to lure Liddell in. Whatever the reason, it worked, and the two threw bombs at each other, with Silva getting the worst of it as he emerged with a mouse under his left eye. Silva soon got his licks in and the crowd erupted, growing even louder as Liddell and Silva both scored with power shots that would have crumbled lesser men. After some more furious exchanges, the bell rang, ending one of the most exciting rounds of the year.

The action in round two heated up immediately, with Silva winging bombs at Liddell, whose straighter punches were leaving their mark on the Brazilian’s face. Not surprisingly though, Silva kept trudging forward, eager to engage and loving the battle. A minute and a half in, Silva started to land more on Liddell, but ‘The Iceman’ was accurate with his return fire. A slip to the canvas by Liddell put fans on their feet, but the Californian rose quickly, only to eat some power shots, one of which put him down for real seconds later. With under two minutes to go, Liddell and Silva clinched near the fence, and Silva, now bleeding        

from over his right eye, took the worst of it. Silva wouldn’t surrender though, and the ensuing exchanges to the bell were spectacular, and that’s an understatement.

“I hit him with a lot of big shots and he kept coming,” said Liddell.

Looking to close the show, Liddell – cut under his left eye - shot in and took Silva down to start the final round, but the two quickly rose back to their feet. The pace dipped for about 20 seconds after that before the haymakers started flying again. Liddell scored with a flush right that Silva shook off, and Silva responded with a shot off the top of the head that Liddell walked through. Surprisingly, a spinning backfist by Liddell jarred Silva, and a follow-up barrage got ‘The Axe Murderer’ in serious trouble against the fence. But just when referee Herb Dean moved in to watch the action closely for a possible stoppage, Silva started firing back with both hands. At this point, with under two minutes left, it appeared that Liddell was winning this war, yet nothing stopped Silva’s forward march, and he gamely followed the tired Liddell in search of the equalizer, and though it never came, there was no question that the years of waiting for the fight were worth it, regardless of who won and who lost.

With the victory, Liddell ups his record to 21-5; Silva falls to 31-8-1
By Thomas Gerbasi