Chuck Liddell's fight plan failed

In the run up to the Chuck Liddell Shogun Rua fight there was great deal of discussion of Liddell's attempt to revamp his fight game.

Part of that effort was training with Olympic gold medalist boxer, Howard Jones Jr. His advice, 'avoid right hands'.

Apparently the advice fell upon deaf ears.

From the onset of the fight Shogun threw overhand rights that landed cleanly. One cut Chuck Liddell's forehead. After so many right hands landed Liddell was focused on avoiding the right that had doomed him in previous fights. Unfortunately that meant he was forgetting the left hand. The punch that may send Liddell into retirement was straight left not the barrage of overhand rights that Shogun began with. The latest example of Liddell's striking failing him.

We tend to forget that when we discuss a fighter's striking skills that it refers to both their offensive and defensive capabilities. For Liddell his offensive skills were solid but only effective when he could use them with impunity but when faced with a technical striker Chuck has lost.

Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine and Mauricio Rua all took advantage of Liddell's weak defense. Perhaps the unorthodox style that was long credited for Liddell's dominance was in fact his Achilles heel.

Some may point to the Wanderlei Silva fight as evidence that Liddell's skills were not overrated. But the problem with that point is it goes against the trend. When creating an analysis of a fighter outliers must be counted as just that, outliers. 

[Note by Zak Woods, 04/20/09 1:52 PM EDT: Found this picture of Chuck closing his eyes while Shogun threw an overhand right. A big no no according to Howard Jones Jr.]