Shogun’s in trouble…
January 18, 2009
Props: MMAMania
Fresh off his less-than-thrilling victory over Mark “The Hammer” Coleman at UFC 93: ‘Franklin vs. Henderson,’ Mauricio Rua was rewarded (or punished, depending on how you look at it) by Dana White with a fight against former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montreal, Canada.
Most everyone expected this match up regardless if Shogun won or lost his fight with Coleman, so it’s not a big suprise that this was announced so quickly. I’m pretty confident saying that I think this fight will work in Chucks favor and get him a big win he so desperately needs. Shogun looked like shit last night, it could have been the 16-month layoff he’s had, mixed in with his knee surgeries, but the fact remains that if fights Chuck like he fought Coleman, he’s probably getting knocked out, and possibly removed from the UFC.
I’m expect this to be the co-main event of the event, Anderson Silva will defend his title against Thales Leites, and it just wouldn’t look right putting a 3 round non-title fight ahead of a championship bout, not to mention both Chuck and Shogun’s recent fights have been anything but impressive and I don’t think the fans want to see them headline a card. Here’s the current fight card for the event, Keith Jardine was expected to fight Luiz Cane, but will now fight Quinton Jackson at UFC 96. Cane’s opponent has yet to be named…
Location: Montreal, Canada
Venue: Bell Centre (Le Centre Bell)
Broadcast: Pay per view
- Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
- Middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites
- Luis Cane vs. TBA
- Ed Herman vs. David Loiseau
- Jonathan Goulet vs. TBA
