Silva wins; Liddell KO'd

Apr 19, 2009 04:30 AM

MONTREAL–Middleweight champion Anderson Silva won a drab decision over Thales Leites while Mauricio (Shogun) Rua knocked out former light-heavyweight titleholder Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell in the first round at UFC 97 last night.
Rua might have knocked Liddell right out of the UFC. The former Pride star crumpled Liddell with a lunging left and then finished him off on the ground with a string of hammer-fists at 4:28 before a sellout crowd at the Bell Centre.
Silva, 34, won a record ninth straight fight in the UFC, erasing the mark shared by Royce Gracie and Jon Fitch, and tied a record with his fifth title defence. But Leites, billed as a dangerous ground fighter, did little to make it a night to remember other than he became the first UFC fighter to go the distance with the champion.
Silva fought as if he only had a certain amount of punches and kicks and didn't want to waste them. Leites had no questions for the champion, who nevertheless was unable to put him away.
"Basically sorry, next time I'll put on a better performance," Silva said through an interpreter.

The Canadian Press

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