Chuck Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn

Preliminaries

Terry Martin – 206 pounds
James Irvin – 206 pounds

Trevor Prangley – 184.5 pounds
Travis Lutter – 186 pounds

Joe Doerksen – 185.5 pounds
Matt Lindland – 185.5 pounds

Pay-Per-View Card

Georges St Pierre – 170 pounds
Frank Trigg – 170 pounds

Brian Gassaway – 170 pounds
Diego Sanchez – 170.5 pounds

Mike Van Arsdale – 205 pounds
Randy Couture – 206 pounds

Swing Bout
Tra Telligman – 229 pounds
Tim Sylvia – 164 pounds

Light Heavyweight Championship Title Fight

Previously announced was a title match-up between UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner and challenger Rich Franklin, a fight some believed the 8-3 Lindland had been looked over for. If Lindland could wait, he’d get the winner.

Lindland couldn’t wait.

After Franklin dispatched Tanner soundly at June’s UFC 53, the new champion was off to TV Land to become a head coach for the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. It became fairly clear pretty quickly that Franklin would not defend his title any time before the series launched on August 22nd.

So, why is Lindland fighting Saturday night at UFC 54? "The problem is I’m fighting for a living, so I got to take fights when they come," the Oregon-based father of two replies. "I was promised a title shot before this last time as well, and I’m still waiting for that one. A promise of a title shot is nothing new."

If you had Lindland’s ear, would you counsel him any differently? Chances are the Olympic silver medalist wouldn’t listen. "I ask UFC to be on every fight card," Lindland says. "This is what I do. I love to fight I also like getting paid to fight, so if the UFC put me on every fight card that would be great."

The thrill of competition. The necessity of money. This is why Lindland will gamble his second career shot at a UFC title Saturday by jumping into the cage with Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Joe Doerksen, a recent replacement for an injured Joe Riggs.

"I would say Doerksen has to be a lot tougher than Riggs since he is planning on showing up to fight," Lindland jabs at his originally intended opponent Riggs, who had publicly attacked his" follicly-challenged" elder online shortly before their match-up had been announced.

With the loss of the brash 23-year-old slugger to UFC 54’s roster, some might postulate that any juice to Lindland has left the building.

Motivation? I am still getting paid the same, this is what I do for a living so I’m still motivated to beat up some guy that steps in the ring and get paid for doing it. What more motivation do I need, I have the greatest job on the planet I get paid to beat up guys.

Whether it be Riggs or Doerksen though, the consequences remain the same. Lose and be tossed back into the pile of middleweight "one fight contract" players. Win and move up the next ladder rung towards champion Franklin, a path that has virtually cleared since potential contender Ivan Salaverry phoned in an uninspired performance against UFC newcomer Nathan Marquardt.

"I am sure Salaverry was the next golden boy," Lindland chimes in. "I was actually asked if I wanted to fight Ivan [first]. My answer was yes if that my only option but no if there is anyone else out there for me to fight. I was not real excited about the prospect of fighting Ivan since I had already decisively beaten Ivan and his style is rather defensive which would lead to a rather uninteresting bout."

Excitement. It’s become a topic directly correlated with your opponent’s style or strengths. Get an opponent whose style doesn’t suit yours, and you could be branded a boring fighter in less than fifteen minutes.

The subject of numerous discussions on marketability, the wrestling-based Lindland is no stranger to this accusation. So, Lindland has tried to adapt and grow, both inside the cage and out. His Sport Fight promotion, co-owned by training partner and friend Randy Couture, grows leaps and bounds. On July 9th, 4,400 spectators turned out at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon for its fourteenth event, its highest attendance to date. Already broadcast by regional provider Comcast TV in the Northwest, Lindland says other cable networks are on the way.

Sharp wrestler Waterman played a systematic game by pushing a far less conditioned Rodriguez against the fence to secure an often violent takedown, and on the ground, the PRIDE veteran spent the majority of time in side control simply holding Rodriguez down. A glimmer of the slick Rodriguez of old would peak out with a submission attempt here and there, but for the most part, the Team Punishment fighter expended much of his energy either trying to deflect a Kimura attempt or struggling to get out from underneath Waterman’s smothering hold until the two were stood again.

On their feet, Rodriguez scored briefly with two high kicks in the second round, the latter of which knocked Waterman’s mouthpiece out, but after a quick break to clean and replace the equipment, Waterman again shot in and took his opponent down before he could capitalize. Returning to his corner at the bell, teammate Quinton Jackson could be seen popping a heavily bandaged Rodriguez’s knee back into place, a lateral injury the fighter later told FCF he’d suffered a week before.

Waterman taking down Rodriguez

Taking the fight on a week’s notice, a surprisingly positive Rodriguez blamed no one but himself for the loss backstage. "If I was in better shape and if I was the man that used to fight in the UFC weighing in at 240 instead of 270, I think I would have done a lot better," he told FCF. "The major thing is I truly have to get in shape and start taking training practice a bit more seriously. I’ve had some really bad demons with drinking and gambling and partying really hard. I’d train hard for three months, then go partying for two or three months, and that lasted for ten years. Now, I’m definitely taking this sport seriously."

Waterman working for a submission on Rodriguez

In the co-main event of the evening, Middleweight North American Champion Alex Serdyukov and challenger Victor Parfenov duked it out for two minutes and twenty seconds, until a hard knee to Parfenov’s body crumbled him to the mat. The fellow Russians traded some rough shots back and forth, but Serdyukov’s superior hand speed allowed him to land more frequently. Nearly buckling along the fence, Parfenov hung on only to be dropped by the final blow less than thirty seconds later in another corner.

Olsen on top of Parli

Also on the card, TUF season one competitor Chris Sanford survived an early round knockdown at the hands of Josh "Machine" Green to catch his gung-ho opponent’s head with a standing guillotine a few moments later in the first round; while athletic light-heavyweight Kenny Ento, from Rock Solid in Visalia, demonstrated a strong stand-up repertoire before transitioning to a smooth ground game that snagged Chris Bothello in a late first round armbar.

Flanked by Josh Thomson and Josh Koscheck as he entered the cage, Pacific Martial Arts/Pit Fight Team’s Casey Olsen also made an indelible impression off the bat tonight in his WEC debut. Unfortunately, Olsen was not only matched by an extremely game opponent in Bullet NHB Academy’s Rolland "Irish Man" Parli, he had to vie for the crowd’s attention after an overzealous fan decided to make his way down to the first row and take an empty seat. When a security guard contested him, the situation quickly escalated into an all-out brawl cageside with numerous other spectators jumping in. Olsen and Parli continued to scale a feverishly-paced battle nonetheless, which showcased the Pit fighter’s clean takedowns and crisp, if not frenetic striking.

Ento armbarring Bothello

Olsen dropped Parli with an uppercut midway through the round, yet the fight continued on when Olsen hesitated and didn’t jump in to finish the job. The agile lightweight did eventually accomplish the tour de force when he again knocked down Parli with seconds left on the clock and the referee raced in to stop it. With a little more guidance to harness in his obvious skills, Olsen could make his way up the ladder.

WEC 16 Results

Dan Marks def. Walt Hughes – Armbar 2:22 R2
Allan Weickert def. Rocky Bastini – Armbar 2:50 R2
Ernie Tiesirino def. Van Palacio – TKO Referee Stoppage (strikes) 2:48 Rd 3
Kenny Ento def. Chris Bothello – Armbar 4:33 R1
Casey Olsen def. Rolland Parli – TKO Referee Stoppage (strikes) 4:58 R1
Steve Ramirez def. Jason Biswell – TKO Referee Stoppage (strikes) 2:01 R1
Jody Poff vs. Rafael Del Real – No Contest (Low Blow) R1
Chris Sanford def. Josh Green – Guillotine Choke 2:30 R1
Tosh Cook def. Troy Miller – Rear Naked Choke 1:45 R1

Middleweight North American Title Fight

Alex Serdyukov def. Victor Parfenov – TKO Referee Stoppage (knees) 2:20 R1

Super Heavyweight Championship Fight