The Fight Network

 

MONTREAL - The celebrated career of 39-year-old UFC legend Chuck Liddell is over.

 

UFC President Dana White announced that Liddell would be retiring at the UFC 97 post-fight press conference.

 

"He's a huge superstar, and we could still sell a lot of tickets," said White. "But I don't care about that. I care about him. I care about his health. It's over, man. It's all over."

 

One of MMA's most widely recognized faces, Liddell suffered his fourth setback in five outings against Brazilian Chute Box export Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. 

 

Rua earned a $70,000 bonus for "Knockout of the Night."

 

Liddell spoke briefly about the possibility of hanging it up for good.

 

"I'm not going to make any decisions until I go home to talk to everybody, my people and my friends," said Liddell. "But it's probably safe to say [I'm retired]."

 

Meanwhile, White applauded Liddell even in a losing effort.

 

"We don't let guys hang around longer than they should," said White after Liddell left the press conference for the post-fight after party. "He kept his word. He was in great shape. If that was a toe-to-toe war and he got flashed a couple of times and it went to decision, he'd still be retiring too. He'd still be retiring."

 

Liddell leaves the sport with a 21-7 record. His UFC career includes 16 wins and only six defeats. Liddell holds the record for most wins competing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

 

"The Iceman" made his professional debut in 1998 at UFC 17 where he recorded a decision over Noe Fernandez. Throughout his career, which has consisted of stints with PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan and IVC: Vale Tudo in Brazil, Liddell has vanquished the likes of Jeff Monson, Kevin Randleman, Guy Mezger, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Alistair Overeem, Renato Sobral (twice), Tito Ortiz (twice), Randy Couture (twice), Jeremy Horn and Wanderlei Silva.

 

His stint as one of the preeminent names competing in mixed martial arts could be over, but Liddell will likely remain with Zuffa in another capacity, possibly assuming a public relations role.

 

"He'll always have a home here," said White.

 

In the featured attraction, Anderson Silva retained his middleweight championship, but he may have lost some fans in the process.

 

Silva turned in the flattest performance of his UFC career, punctuated by some controversial post-fight comments in front of the Montreal crowd at the Bell Centre.

 

"The Spider" damaged his reputation as a beloved, humble champion and became the recipient of ear-splitting boos.

 

Contrary to his manager Ed Soares' translation after the fight, Silva did not apologize for his performance.

 

"I did well in the fight," said Silva in Portuguese. "I can't always make you happy." 

 

Silva continued his condemnation of Montreal's vocal MMA fans.

 

"Not everyone understands what they are watching," Silva said. "But hey, you guys can boo if you want. You are paying my salary."

 

To his credit, Silva did what he needed to do to emerge victorious against a BJJ black belt the caliber of Leites. For all fans know, he may have executed his gameplan perfectly. 

 

"I have a lot of respect for Leites' ground game," he said. "I trained with him and Andre Pederneiras before and their school is a good one. I did my job. It's not always what you want."

 

With constant chants of "G.S.P." breaking out during the main event and Silva weighing in three pounds under the 185-pound limit, an eventual clash of titans, possibly at a catch-weight, between Silva and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, is increasingly likely.

 

One thing is certain. Silva's public perception has gone down with mediocre showings in his last two fights. The killer instinct that earned Silva victories over Nate Marquardt and Rich Franklin seems to have dwindled away. 

 

Will "The Spider" embrace the negative criticism and turn from fan favorite to MMA bad boy?

 

Unless it's in Brazil, St-Pierre will undoubtedly have the backing of loyal UFC fans if and when he eventually crosses paths with "The Spider."

 

Additionally, UFC 97 set a new North American MMA attendance record with 21,451 attendees. The event drew a live gate of $4.9 million, which indicates that MMA fans in Montreal are still behind the sport. Though Saturday's show left much to be desired, the city will continue to serve as a refuge for Canadian MMA fans. 

 

"Submission of the Night" honors went to Krzysztof Soszynski for his trouncing of Brian Stann on the main card. Soszynski put the former WEC light heavyweight champion away with a kimura at 3:53 of the first round to take home an additional $70,000.

 

Matt Wiman earned his third consecutive bonus, collecting "Fight of the Night" honors for his scintillating lightweight battle with Canadian hero Sam Stout.  Both men raked in an extra $70,000 for their efforts. Initially slated to kick off the preliminary card, the matchup ended up being promoted to co-main event due to timing issues with 12 bouts on the card.

 

Canadians T.J. Grant (over Ryo Chonan), Mark Bocek (over David Bielkheden) and Denis Kang (over Xavier Foupa-Pokam) were impressive in triumphs on the undercard, while David Loiseau (against Ed Herman) and Jason MacDonald (against Nate Quarry) turned in uninspiring performances in their respective losses.

 

With a devastating TKO loss to Rua, Liddell's stock has dropped to an all-time low. The UFC ambassador's stint in mixed martial arts may have consequently come to an end, marking the culmination of the infamous Liddell era. 

 

The seemingly inexhaustible former UFC light heavyweight champion will likely hang it up after a celebrated career.

 

Meanwhile, Silva's stock continues to plummet and he is losing more fans with each and every performance. With top contenders Demian Maia, Yushin Okami and Marquardt gunning for his title, Silva may need to turn it up a notch the next time he steps into the octagon.

 

Even more surprisingly, Silva is performing like a shell of his former self. The dynamic style that had at one time wowed UFC crowds from coast to coast is no longer consistent.

 

Coming off UFC 97, one assumption is safe.

The next time "The Spider" fights in Montreal, he is unlikely to be a fan favorite...

 

Below are the full results from UFC 97:

 

Main Card Bouts:
-Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision (49-46, 48-47, 50-46), R5
-Sam Stout def. Matt Wiman by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), R3
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Chuck Liddell by TKO (Strikes) at 4:28, R1
-Krzysztof Soszynski def. Brian Stann by Submission (Kimura) at 3:53, R1
-Cheick Kongo def. Antoni Hardonk by TKO (Strikes) at 2:29, R2
-Luiz Cane def. Steve Cantwell by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27), R3

 

Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Denis Kang def. Xavier Fouka-Pokum by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Nate Quarry def. Jason MacDonald by TKO (Strikes) at 2:27, R1
-Ed Herman def. David Loiseau by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Mark Bocek def. David Bielkheden by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:57, R1
-T.J. Grant def. Ryo Chonan by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28), R3
-Eliot Marshall def. Vinny Magalhaes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27), R3