UFC 132 was a great event, one filled to bursting with memorable highlights. There were devastating KO’s, great fights, even more devastating KO’s, and a main event people are already talking about as a possible “Fight of the Year” candidate.
Yet through it all, one image stands tall above the rest, memorable, indelible, and shocking all at the same time. That’s the image of TIto Ortiz 'digging the grave' in the (distractingly lime-colored) center of the Octagon after his stunning 1st round finish of TUF winner Ryan Bader.
No was more surprised than Ortiz after he dropped Bader with an uppercut, which itself necessitated the sprinkling by arena staff of rock salt on the places where Hell just froze over. In the ensuing scramble, Ortiz sank in a guillotine. You could almost hear the flux capacitors on Doc Brown’s DeLorean revving up as Ortiz cranked on Bader’s neck with everything he had. A few seconds later, the tap came – and Tito, his entourage, and the crowd partied like it was 1999.
The moment was magical. Everyone was fired up and cheering. Tito was so amped up I feared his head was just going to explode, Scanners-style. Even the Tito haters were forced to give it up for the conquering legend.
Well, all except one Tito hater, that is. As the cameras panned through the ecstatic crowd at the MGM Grand, they eventually came to focus on Chuck Liddell. He didn’t seem very happy. In fact, he looked downright surly.
I’m guessing the image of his most hated rival victorious in the cage while he is forced to watch from the sidelines made him want to punch something or someone in the face.
Hey, here’s a thought: why pull a Brett Favre (or a Randy Couture), come out of retirement, and punch Tito himself in the face? Talk about hitting two birds with one stone (or overhand right, as the case may be).
I can already hear the angry cries of fans coming to burn my in effigy. “Chuck’s done!” the cynical fan snidely remarks, “He can’t take a punch anymore! His chin is shot! Even Dana thinks Chuck is done, and Dana is pretty much First Minister in the Church of Chuck!”
To those cynical fans, I say two things:
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