Jardine and Diego
It's amazing how different fighting styles can change a fight. Liddell usually waits and is great at countering ,he usually catches guys coming in on him with his looping hooks. Jardine is unorthodox to say the least. When he throws a right hand it is an overhand looping right he puts his head down looks at the ground and goes over the top. What was happening is Liddell would try and time his right hand when Jardine would throw his. Liddells timing was on but just as the punch would look like it was going to slam into Jardine face, it would glance off the top of Jardine's bald head. Jardines head was going down not because he saw the punch and was slipping Liddell's punch, but because that's how he throws a righthand , eyes closed head down. So fortunately his unorthodox style head down throw and pray was connecting while Liddell was just barely missing. Liddell would have been better off throwing uppercuts to catch Jardine as he put his head down and came in. Jardine used his kicks to the left leg and left side of the body to slowly chop at Chuck's core, he hurt him and took away the foundation that you need to throw a knockout punch. Jardine threw some killer body shot kicks. The Iceman was boasting about how he was going to knock out the Dean of Mean.
Pride goes before a fall a haughty spirit before destruction, the same with Diego he never used to talk like that, he was humble and down played his fighting talent, but for some reason this particular fight his Pride took over and that's a recipe for disaster. He even changed trainers as he had been working with Greg Jackson and had done well, Greg wasn't in his corner. The old saying if it works don't fix it, why he would get upset with Jackson and change what had been workin for him, yeah trainers can get you mad but it's for your benefit to get you motivated to get you to pull a little deeper. So he thought he was above what Jackson had been doing in his conditioning and training program and went and trained with another trainer in California. Well he got beat, what I didn't understand is he went and trained with a guy who is from a boxing/standup disipline, so he trains and works on his stand up, that night he mustv'e strayed from the fight plan, because in this fight from the get go he trys to take it to the ground . His opponent had good ground skills. Granted he had the guy in a couple submission holds but it was a little bit too late. Diego always seemed to do better when he pounded them first/ worked them and then once banged up submitted them. The pre fight interview Diego was so full of himself , couldn't believe it , it was no wonder the crowd booed him. Then after the fight, he tells the crowd not to boo him, he brung it on himself, it's a shame because he used to be one of the favorites.