© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com

Just 27 seconds into round two of Chuck Liddell's battle with Tito Ortiz at UFC 47: It's On! Chuck moved in and fired a barrage of jabs, rights, hooks and uppercuts like a nitro-powered gattling gun. Referee Big John McCarthy had no option but to step in and save Tito from the onslaught. Result: Liddell by KO – 0.38, Round Two.

"I was really excited. It was good. I was able to go out there and do what I said I could do. Actually, I thought if I'd had about five more seconds in that first round, I could have finished him then. Looking back, I probably should have pressured him earlier, but the knockout came soon enough I guess," says Liddell.

Ring announcer Bruce Buffer described the roar from the crowd for Liddell v Ortiz as one of the two loudest audience responses he'd ever heard, the other being for the Ortiz v Shamrock fight.

The thunder from the audience was so loud when referee Big John McCarthy stepped in to separate the fighters, that ring commentators Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan did not hear the bell signal the round's end, and they thought Big John was stopping the fight prematurely.

"Yeah, that was probably the loudest crowd I've fought in front of. Or not probably, that was the loudest crowd I've ever fought in front of. They were very excited. However, I did realized the round was over. I had Tito hurt, but I knew they weren't stopping the fight yet. I did know it was just the end of the round."

Leading up to previous fights, Liddell's Thai-boxing coach, John Hackleman, had been concerned that Chuck was devoting too much of his time performing PR duties for his sport, and not enough time preparing for fights. Hackleman said Chuck was better prepared for the Ortiz fight.

"John always complains about PR stuff, but I mean, he's gotta realize that that's part of the game. We did quite a bit of PR work for the Ortiz fight. I probably did more PR stuff for that match than I have for any other fight. It's hard for John, because he has to make sure I get all my training in. He doesn't mind my doing the PR: He just doesn't like my travelling to do it when I should be training."

Hackleman also said he doesn't believe anybody could have beaten Liddell the night he defeated Tito. Chuck also shares that feeling.

"Oh yeah, I was in great shape…Everything was on…My timing and accuracy were on. Everything was ready and I felt great that night. And I was ready to go. That's the best I've felt up until now. When I was sparring those couple of days before it, I couldn't miss. I was actually planning on using a spinning back-kick, because I was landing them on everybody. I mean, guys that I train with that I normally can't land it on, I was landing it on. So I was ready."

Despite more grappling techniques being incorporated in earlier UFC tournaments, the majority of UFC 47's matches were fought toe-to-toe. Chuck agrees part of this was due to strikers becoming more skilled at defending against takedowns.

"I think as guys get better at defending against takedowns, and as wrestling guys get better at striking, you'll see a lot more stand-up and a lot more toe-to-toe. Everyone's getting so good on the ground, so it's getting harder and harder to get a submission."

Liddell was in the audience for UFC 48: Pay Back, and says of the eight matches, the one that stuck in his mind was Frank Mir v Tim Sylvia.

"It's hard not to have that arm break stand out in your mind. When they first stopped it I thought, 'What are they doing?' I was in the same bag as the crowd. Then they showed the replay on the TV and I thought, 'Oooh…That didn't look too good.' But yeah, oh yeah, Herb Dean did the right thing. I mean the arm was broken. What are you going to do? You could see it break, and you've gotta stop it. I'm the last guy to say to stop a fight for any reason, but if the arm's broken, you've got to stop the fight. I mean, he's (Tim Sylvia) a tough guy and he would have kept fighting with a broken arm. And that's a tough guy. But at some point you've got to stop the thing."

At UFC 49: Unfinished Business, Randy Couture will be taking on Vitor Belfort for the World Light Heavweight Title. And Chuck has been guaranteed a rematch against the winner.

"I fight Vernon White first. I fight him August 21. But I don't know…As I said before, I give the edge to Randy against Vitor, but Vitor is a tough guy too, so it will be an interesting fight. And I'll be ready for either one of them when it's over.

"I don't know if Vernon will want to take it to the ground with me, but I think once he gets hit a few times he might. Before that, I'm sure he'll try striking with me a little bit. I mean, he's a decent striker and he likes to stand up, but from the fights I've seen him in, he doesn't have a great shot anyway. And he doesn't have great takedowns. He's going to know it'll take some work. He'll have to at least get me in a striking game so I'm not defending against takedowns as much, to set me up."

Should the fight go to the ground, Chuck believes his grappling skills are easily a match for Vernon's. "I'm not worried about his grappling. I've been doing that for a long time. And my partner, Scott Adams, has a very similar style. Actually, I think Scott's better. You know, a real similar style to Vernon's. He goes for the leg locks and things. He does a lot of the same stuff. He tries to get your back and he's always looking for submissions. >From what I've seen, that's kinda how Vernon does stuff. He's looking for submissions at all costs. He's not a real position-oriented guy. He's just looking for a submission…trying to catch something."

Liddell is doing three months' preparation at The Pit with Hackleman (see knucklepit article on John Hackleman) for the Vernon White showdown. Chuck works his strength and fitness with Tom Tom. And for grappling, Liddell trains with gym partner Scott Adams and BJJ instructor John Lewis.

"I've stayed with John Lewis (J-sect Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Las Vegas). He's been really busy, but I'm still getting with him, here and there, working on my grappling. Scott Adams and I have a gym, the SLO Kickboxing School, and we've trained together probably ever since I started UFC."

For the bout with White, Chuck hasn't altered his preparation much, doing the same amount of groundwork, but focusing more on submissions and less on takedowns. Chuck feels there could be less need for stand-up wrestling and more need for ground wrestling/submission work.

"If everything goes my way against Vernon, I'm going to knock him out. That's what I'm planning on doing. He's an awkward fighter and hits at odd angles some times, but I think I'm going to be able to get my hands on him sooner or later within those three rounds, somewhere."

Chuck, do you have a message for your fans?

"Hey, keep watching me. I'm going to keep knocking people out. And I plan on getting that title."

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