Silva-Liddell Match Has Lot at Stake

The fight mixed martial arts fans have been waiting years for will finally happen tonight, but the stakes, and possibly the fighters themselves, have changed significantly.

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva in UFC 79 from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is no longer a matchup between the Ultimate Fighting Championship's poster boy and the PRIDE Fighting Championship's living legend. Instead, it's between two fighters badly in need of a win to restore tarnished images.

"This is the fight that's going to put someone's career back on track and someone is going to get derailed, big time," UFC President Dana White said. "There's so much to lose for both guys."

In their primes it would have been a mega-bout featuring Silva, who won 18 straight fights from 2000 to '04, and Liddell, who won seven straight from 2004 to '06, four times defending his UFC light heavyweight title.

But the past 15 months have not been kind to either fighter.

Liddell (20-5) is at a career low, having lost two straight fights for the first time, the first to Quinton"Rampage" Jackson and the second in a split decision against Keith Jardine, in which Liddell was battered throughout.

With many openly pondering whether the 38-year-old should retire, White gave Liddell some time to himself after his last loss in UFC 76. But when the chance to fight Silva was presented, Liddell was back on board.

"It's huge for me just to get in the mix for a shot at the title and prove I'm the still the best at what I do," Liddell said. "I still love fighting. I'm still motivated to fight."

Silva (31-7-1) is also coming off back-to-back losses. He's just 31, but some question whether Silva's ambitious fight schedule has left him worn beyond his years. He was knocked out by a left hook from Dan Henderson in his last bout and Mirko"Cro Cop" Filipovic KO'd him before that. Silva hasn't fought since February.

"I'm hungry for a win and I need to win this fight," Silva said.

"It's a very important fight for me. And for this, I wake up in the morning every day and see this fight in my mind and that is great motivation for me."

The Liddell-Silva fight isn't even the main event. That distinction goes to the welterweight bout between Georges St. Pierre (14-2) and Matt Hughes (41-5), who split their previous two meetings.

Hughes was originally scheduled to fight title holder Matt Serra, but Serra suffered a back injury and St. Pierre, who lost the title to Serra in UFC 69, took the fight on short notice. The winner will take on Serra, after he has recovered, for the title.

"My motivation is to be the best fighter in the world right now," St. Pierre said.

"And Matt Hughes beat me once, I beat him once as well, so it's been a rubber match. I've never been so pumped up in my life."

-- Ryan Mink