UFC 71: Fight Report

Nobody saw this one coming – except perhaps Chuck Liddell himself, as a blur of fist rose up from the right to send him reeling to the mat a newly fallen champ.

Returning to the MGM Grand for another night of glitzy Las Vegas action, ‘UFC 71: Lidell Vs Jackson’ saw the end of The Iceman’s two year reign as light-heavyweight champion. After just 1:53 of the first round, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson hit the former champ with a counter right hook and followed it up with a barrage of blows down at the mat, awarded technical knock-out by the referee after Liddell failed to defend himself.

Chuck was right, he said somebody was going to get knocked out in the first round," said the 28-year-old Jackson about the quick ending. "It was all part of my 'whip your ass' style."

“I made a mistake, and he capitalized on it” said Liddell, who offered no excuses as his seven fight win streak and two year run as light heavyweight champion came to an end. Jackson will go on to fight Pride middleweight / welterweight champion and former sparring partner Dan Henderson, while Lidell is tipped to go up against another Pride fighter: Wanderlei Silva.

The next fight saw Karo Parisyan’s win a unanimous decision victory over Josh Burkman in a three-round face-off. ‘The Heat’ was awarded a win by judges after landing more accurate strikes and a executing one of his patented Judo throws, with Burkman unable to swing things around despite a takedown in the third round.

But the night’s biggest upset came from UFC newcomer Huston Alexander, who made mincemeat of light-heavyweight contender Keith Jardine despite being 4-1 underdog. After being unsettled with an early unrelenting attack, Jardine was finally felled by a hard right uppercut from an overwhelming Alexander, who stood over his fallen foe and lapped up the roars of the crowd. “I felt like being a gladiator in an arena,” he said afterwards of his UFC debut. “It was great to hear the crowd, just beautiful.”

Head to the official UFC 71 site for more info, including biographies, interviews and the fight card.