Sherdog.com Preview: UFC 54 – Liddell vs. Horn
Chuck Liddell vs Jeremy Horn
Aug 17, 2005
LIDDELL: Chuck
Liddell (Pictures) was a collegiate wrestler at Cal
Poly, a former IFC light heavyweight champion and a North American
national kickboxing champion with a 20-2 record in kickboxing. The
Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt carries a 17-3 record in MMA and
trains with John Hackelman, Scott Adams and the rest of The Pit
Fight Team.
Liddell made his Octagon debut at UFC 17 against Noe Hernandez and took a unanimous decision over the boxer. His first major test came in Brazil at IVC 6 where he battled Jose Landi-Jons. “Pele” was already a hero in Brazil and had won numerous tournaments. To go half an hour with a legend in his own back yard showed Liddell was for real.
He returned to UFC 19 and lost to Saturday’s opponent Jeremy Horn (Pictures) by an arm-triangle choke at the
end of the first round. Liddell fought on some smaller shows but
remained committed to the UFC and returned to beat Paul Jones and Jeff Monson (Pictures) before facing “The Monster”
Kevin Randleman
(Pictures) at UFC 31.
A highly anticipated bout was finished in just over a minute as Randleman hit the canvas early in the first round. Liddell traveled to Japan in 2001 to compete in PRIDE 14 and scored a knockout over Guy Mezger.
A title contender’s bout with Vitor Belfort (Pictures) and subsequent victory opened the door to fight Tito Ortiz (Pictures) but Liddell took a risky bout with Renato Sobral (Pictures) in the interim and won by knockout.
The Ortiz issue remained unresolved and Liddell faced Randy Couture (Pictures) for a newly created interim UFC light heavyweight belt. Incredibly Couture was able to out-strike the kickboxer and he pounded Liddell for two-plus rounds before the referee stopped it.
Another trip to PRIDE in 2003 saw Liddell knock out Alistair Overeem (Pictures) in opening round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix tournament. But American wrestler Quinton Jackson (Pictures) stopped Liddell with strikes several months later in the semifinals.
Liddell finally met Ortiz and put all the questions to rest. He knocked out “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” in the second round, setting up a rematch with Couture for the title. But not content to sit and wait for his shot, Liddell ended another rivalry and knocked out Lions Den fighter Vernon White (Pictures) at UFC 49
Then in the rematch for the 205-pound title at UFC 52, Liddell knocked out Couture in just over two minutes of action.
HORN: Submission fighter Jeremy Horn (Pictures) has a more extensive record than 95 percent of MMA fighters out there today. The Miletich Fighting Systems product has an amazing 75-13-5 record in MMA and has been fighting in rings and cages around the world for more than a decade. Horn spent much of his career in Iowa before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah two years ago. Recently, Horn opened his own gym, Elite Performance, where the now prepares for fights.
Horn had been fighting for two years before making it to the Octagon and he faced five-time UFC middleweight champion (the limit was 199 pounds) Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in his debut.
Their bout at UFC 17 went nearly 17 minutes before Horn was submitted via kneebar. Horn has done fairly well in UFC appearances (4-3), beating veterans such as Eugene Jackson and Jason Godsey (Pictures).
Horn choked out Liddell at UFC 19, handing him his first MMA loss. He’s fought all over Japan in Pancrase, Colosseum 2000 and RINGS events. He defeated both Akira Shoji (Pictures) and Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) in PRIDE appearances as well.
“Gumby,” as he’s often called, also holds victories over notable Japanese fighters Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures), Daiju Takase (Pictures) and Norihisa Yamamoto. Not surprising, given the length of time he’s been in the sport, Horn has faced many of the top fighters in the game, including former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture (Pictures), former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), RINGS King of Kings 2001 middleweight class champion Ricardo Arona (Pictures) and UFC triple crown winner Dan Severn (Pictures).
On the mat Jeremy has long been considered the very best MFS had to offer but over the years he’s been working to bring his stand-up game up to speed. In recent bouts Horn displayed impressive Muay Thai striking skills and now looks to be the complete package. He is 9-1 in his last 10 bouts dating back to February of last year.
MY PICK: Horn.
I think Liddell is an awesome champion and I wouldn’t mind being wrong about this one but I think Horn has such a complete game in the cage that he’ll find a way to win. Horn has been bouncing back and forth between 185- and 205-lbs. I thought he’d stay in the lower class but instead he takes on a totally legit and totally devastating 205-lb. Liddell.
It’s a big risk and Horn has fought much bigger men but few who were as dangerous. Where Horn has an unquestionable edge is on the mat with his submission abilities, and this is where I feel the bout will be decided. I think it will be Horn by submission (some type of choke) in the second round.
Liddell made his Octagon debut at UFC 17 against Noe Hernandez and took a unanimous decision over the boxer. His first major test came in Brazil at IVC 6 where he battled Jose Landi-Jons. “Pele” was already a hero in Brazil and had won numerous tournaments. To go half an hour with a legend in his own back yard showed Liddell was for real.
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A highly anticipated bout was finished in just over a minute as Randleman hit the canvas early in the first round. Liddell traveled to Japan in 2001 to compete in PRIDE 14 and scored a knockout over Guy Mezger.
Back stateside, he took a questionable decision victory over former
UFC middleweight Champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) at UFC 33 and battled a tough but
undersized Amar Suloev
(Pictures) to a decision at UFC
35.
A title contender’s bout with Vitor Belfort (Pictures) and subsequent victory opened the door to fight Tito Ortiz (Pictures) but Liddell took a risky bout with Renato Sobral (Pictures) in the interim and won by knockout.
The Ortiz issue remained unresolved and Liddell faced Randy Couture (Pictures) for a newly created interim UFC light heavyweight belt. Incredibly Couture was able to out-strike the kickboxer and he pounded Liddell for two-plus rounds before the referee stopped it.
Another trip to PRIDE in 2003 saw Liddell knock out Alistair Overeem (Pictures) in opening round of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix tournament. But American wrestler Quinton Jackson (Pictures) stopped Liddell with strikes several months later in the semifinals.
Liddell finally met Ortiz and put all the questions to rest. He knocked out “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” in the second round, setting up a rematch with Couture for the title. But not content to sit and wait for his shot, Liddell ended another rivalry and knocked out Lions Den fighter Vernon White (Pictures) at UFC 49
Then in the rematch for the 205-pound title at UFC 52, Liddell knocked out Couture in just over two minutes of action.
HORN: Submission fighter Jeremy Horn (Pictures) has a more extensive record than 95 percent of MMA fighters out there today. The Miletich Fighting Systems product has an amazing 75-13-5 record in MMA and has been fighting in rings and cages around the world for more than a decade. Horn spent much of his career in Iowa before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah two years ago. Recently, Horn opened his own gym, Elite Performance, where the now prepares for fights.
Horn had been fighting for two years before making it to the Octagon and he faced five-time UFC middleweight champion (the limit was 199 pounds) Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in his debut.
Their bout at UFC 17 went nearly 17 minutes before Horn was submitted via kneebar. Horn has done fairly well in UFC appearances (4-3), beating veterans such as Eugene Jackson and Jason Godsey (Pictures).
Horn choked out Liddell at UFC 19, handing him his first MMA loss. He’s fought all over Japan in Pancrase, Colosseum 2000 and RINGS events. He defeated both Akira Shoji (Pictures) and Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) in PRIDE appearances as well.
“Gumby,” as he’s often called, also holds victories over notable Japanese fighters Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures), Daiju Takase (Pictures) and Norihisa Yamamoto. Not surprising, given the length of time he’s been in the sport, Horn has faced many of the top fighters in the game, including former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture (Pictures), former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), RINGS King of Kings 2001 middleweight class champion Ricardo Arona (Pictures) and UFC triple crown winner Dan Severn (Pictures).
On the mat Jeremy has long been considered the very best MFS had to offer but over the years he’s been working to bring his stand-up game up to speed. In recent bouts Horn displayed impressive Muay Thai striking skills and now looks to be the complete package. He is 9-1 in his last 10 bouts dating back to February of last year.
MY PICK: Horn.
I think Liddell is an awesome champion and I wouldn’t mind being wrong about this one but I think Horn has such a complete game in the cage that he’ll find a way to win. Horn has been bouncing back and forth between 185- and 205-lbs. I thought he’d stay in the lower class but instead he takes on a totally legit and totally devastating 205-lb. Liddell.
It’s a big risk and Horn has fought much bigger men but few who were as dangerous. Where Horn has an unquestionable edge is on the mat with his submission abilities, and this is where I feel the bout will be decided. I think it will be Horn by submission (some type of choke) in the second round.
