Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Houston “The Assassin” Alexander claim victories as “The Year of the Upset” continues. UFC 71 ended with a bang and Komikazee brings you a quick overview with a full review to come.
The first upset came in the Keith Jardine / Houston Alexander matchup. Jardine came in confident and left shaking his head as a very strong unknown Houston Alexander laid the smackdown. Houston managed to turn Jardine from contender to pretender in 48 seconds in the first round.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson sealed the deal on the night. Quinton looked very intense as he entered the ring and Liddell looked very loose. Too loose it seems as Quinton countered a body shot from Liddell with an overhand right hook that landed flush on Iceman’s chin. Liddell went down like a sack of potatoes and Jackson immediately pounced on the fallen champion, who gained a little of his senses back, and laid the lumber gaining yet another KO and forcing Big John McCarthy to step in and wave off the match. Yes, Quinton had shaved his armpits and his hand was raised with the belt around his waist.
The even bigger surprise of the night came afterwards. Dan Henderson, the dual PRIDE champion (light heavyweight and middleweight), came into the ring and challenged Rampage to a match to unify the light heavyweight belts from both PRIDE and UFC. So much for Dana stating that UFC and PRIDE fighters would only meet at the end of the year.