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Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell may have lost three of his last four fights but his mind is still on the UFC light heavyweight championship belt.

"I'll fight anybody they put in front of me as long as it gets me back closer to the title." Liddell said in a report on the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I have to try to be the best at what am I doing. I want Rashad Evans, he's got the title and I'll take it."

The two logical opponents for Evans would be an immediate rematch with Forrest Griffin or a fight against former champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Liddell could have arguably been the number one contender for the belt had Jackson not defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92. Silva was Liddell's biggest win since Tito Ortiz at UFC 66 on December 30, 2006.

Liddell (21-6) could return at the earliest March 7 at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio. UFC President Dana White said at the UFC 92 post-fight press conference that Liddell was a possibility for the event but could not name a match-up for Liddell.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Liddell has trained occasionally with the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida after losing to Evans at UFC 88 last September.

Carlos "Natural Born Killer" Condit sees only one man on the horizon. And the man is Justify FullBrock Larson.

Condit defeated the Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts Academy standout in convincing fashion at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 29, another blip on his submission radar. Larson didn't see an armbar coming off a scramble, and it was game over.

But as the top dog of a thin division, the WEC Welterweight Champion has to shrug his shoulders. He doesn't have many choices, and the ones he has are not camera ready to face him.

"It's not ideal, because I have everything to lose, and he has everything to gain," Condit told. "The pool of contenders is a bit shallow. There's not a whole lot of guys for me to fight."

Condit has been inactive since August 2008, when he triumphed over the tough Hiromitsu Miura in his first title defense to go past the third round. Rumored returns in December and January have not materialized, so he's used the time off for a change of scenery.

In November, Condit traded one desert for another, moving from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Tempe, Arizona. He had spent his entire fighting life in New Mexico, and had reached a plateau in his development. He was burnt out.

"To the point where I wasn't motivated to train," Condit explained. "I felt like I'd pretty much done everything there was to do. The only thing that really got me motivated out there was running in the mountains and spending time outside. Other than that, well, I've already done all the clubs. I've already sparred with everybody there is to spar with. I needed something new to do."

Training at the city's other big gym, Jackson's MMA, was not really on the table. Condit's trainer, Tom Vaughn, had made a name for himself after earning a black belt with Greg Jackson, opening Fit NHB, the place Condit would call home. Though Condit would stop in to Jackson's from time to time, he couldn't see himself there, or in Albuquerque, for the rest of his career.

Through the WEC, Condit befriended Jamie Varner, the WEC Lightweight Champion, and the two talked about training together. Condit had friends in Tempe, where Varner's gym, Arizona Combat Sports, was located, and he knew of the gym's pedigree. They had a room of Division I wrestlers who liked all out wars in the gym. Like a lot of jiu-jitsu experts, Condit felt wrestling was his weak point. It didn't take long for him to see the benefit of moving.

"Over there, they've got a bunch of really talented wrestlers; wrestlers who like to fight, who are becoming or are very good mixed martial artists," he said.

In that way, the layoff has treated Condit well. He's had the chance to plug holes in his game. The wrestling's a work in progress.

"It's not come as far as it needs to, but it's been improving for sure," he said.

For the most part, wrestling was the unanswered question of Condit's fight with Larson. Most saw Larson's mat expertise as the key to beating Condit's jiu-jitsu. But he made a mistake early, and in the absence of sweat, Condit capitalized.

Should they fight again, Condit sees as much danger as he saw before.

"He's a very tough guy, and just because I beat him before doesn't mean anything," he said. "I'm going to have to be on my toes. I'm very motivated to fight him, and I'm looking forward to a very tough training camp."

Condit would also jump at a rematch with his old foe Jake Shields, who defeated him in a Rumble on the Rock tournament in 2006.

"I'd definitely like to rematch Jake," he said. "I would welcome that fight for sure."

That said; nothing is set in stone for his return. Right now he's helping Varner prepare for his upcoming fight with Donald Cerrone -- a former training partner -- at WEC 38.

"It is a bit awkward," he comments. "I wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag and give Jamie all the secrets or anything, but on the other hand, I want Jamie to be ready for this fight. So it's a bit of a fine line to walk."

He expects to return to the WEC in March, where a fight with Larson seems inevitable if the promotion is not able to import a recognizable candidate.

"I'd like to fight more often, but I'm still going to be really sharp when I come back," Condit said.

What an entertaining show on the New Year's Eve when FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008 comes to us live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Wednesday, December 31, 2008.

Here are the official results for the event:
  • Opening Fight: K-1 KOSHIEN Reserve Fight/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: Taishi Hiratsuka (Japan/Chubu Area 3rd Place) def. Daizo Sasaki (Japan/Kanto Area 2nd Place) by KO at 1:00 of Round 2
  • Fight #1: DREAM Rules: MINOWAMAN (Japan) def. Errol Zimmerman (Suriname/Golden Glory) by submission (ankle hold) at 1:01 of Round 1
  • Fight #2: K-1 KOSHIEN Semifinal/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: Koya Urabe (Japan/Kanto Area 1st Place) def. Ryuya Kusakabe (Japan/Chubu Area 1st Place) by TKO at 2:29 of Round 3
  • Fight #3: K-1 KOSHIEN Semifinal/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: HIROYA (Japan) def. Shota Shimada (Japan) by unanimous decision
  • Fight #4: K-1 Rules: Artur Kyshenko (Ukraine/Captain Odessa) def. Yoshihiro Sato (Japan/FULLCAST/Nagoya JK Factory) by split decision
  • Fight #5: DREAM Rules: Daisuke Nakamura (Japan/U-FILE CAMP.com) def. Hideo Tokoro (Japan/Team ZST) by submission (armbar) at 2:43 of Round 1
  • Fight #6: DREAM Rules: Andy Ologun (Nigeria/Team Ologun) def. Yukio Sakaguchi (Japan/Sakaguchi Dojo Yokohama) by KO at 3:52 of Round 1
  • Fight #7: K-1 KOSHIEN Final/K-1 KOSHIEN Rules: HIROYA (Japan) def. Koya Urabe (Japan/Kanto Area 1st Place) by unanimous decision
  • Fight #8: DREAM Rules: Bob Sapp (USA/Team Beast) def. Kinniku Mantaro by TKO at 5:22 of Round 1
  • Fight #9: DREAM Rules: Semmy Schilt (Holland/Seido Kaikan) def. Mighty Mo (USA) by submission (triangle choke) at 5:31 of Round 1
  • Fight #10: DREAM Rules: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Japan/Mach Dojo) def. Katsuyori Shibata (Japan/ARMS) by TKO at 7:01 of Round 1
  • Fight #11: K-1 Rules: Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan/T-BLOOD) def. Kozo Takeda (Japan/Jiseikan) by KO at 2:47 of Round 1
  • Fight #12: K-1 Rules: Alistair Overeem (Holland/Golden Glory) def. Badr Hari (Morocco/Show Time) by KO at 2:02 of Round 1
  • Fight #13: DREAM Rules: Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia/Cro Cop Squad) def. Choi Hong-man (Republic of Korea) by KO at 6:32 of Round 1
  • Fight #14: K-1 Rules: Gegard Mousasi (Holland/Red Devil International) def. Musashi (Japan/Seido Kaikan) by KO at 2:32 of Round 1
  • Fight #15: DREAM Rules: Melvin Manhoef (Holland/Show Time) def. Mark Hunt (New Zealand/Oceania Super Fighter Gym) by KO at 0:18 of Round 1
  • Fight #16: DREAM Rules: Shinya Aoki (Japan/Paraestra Tokyo) def. Eddie Alvarez (USA/Fight Factory) by submission (heel hold) at 1:32 of Round 1
  • Fight #17: DREAM Rules: Joachim Hansen (Norway/Frontline Academy) vs. Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante (Brazil/American Top Team) was canceled*
  • Fight #18: DREAM Rules: Kiyoshi Tamura (Japan/U-FILE CAMP.com) def. Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan/Laughter7) by unanimous decision

*Hansen didn't pass a pre-fight medical examination, reportedly due to a recent hospitalization for a head injury.

The K-1 Dynamite!! bout on New Year's Eve between Shinya Aoki (picture) and Eddie Alvarez will determine the first ever World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Lightweight Champion.

With just a few days to go before the show, it's been made official by press release that WAMMA will recognize the winner of the bout between Aoki and Alvarez as their lightweight champion. The press release also states that the winner will not receive the physical belt at the event, but it will be presented to them in a ceremony at a later date.

"New Year's Eve is rich in both history and tradition for combat sports in Japan," WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch said. "FEG officials have put together an amazing night of fights and WAMMA is looking forward to recognizing the winner of the Aoki versus Alvarez fight as our first ever lightweight champion."

Aoki and Alvarez would have met in the finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix 2008, but Alvarez sustained an eye injury in his win earlier that night against Tatsuya Kawajiri. This brought in Joachim Hansen, who won the reserve bout, to step in for Alvarez. Hansen then defeated Aoki by TKO to become the first DREAM Lightweight Champion.

In the WAMMA rankings, Aoki is ranked number two in the lightweight division while Alvarez is ranked number three. UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn is ranked number one.

"WAMMA's board of directors supports the WAMMA pollsters in their recognition of BJ Penn as the number one rated lightweight fighter in the world," Lynch said. "However, Penn has not fought since May 24 and isn't scheduled to compete again until January 31. His January 31 fight will be contested at welterweight against Georges St. Pierre for the UFC's 170-pound crown. If Penn wins, UFC President Dana White has already stated that Penn's next fight will be a welterweight title defense against Thiago Alves. Needless to say, Penn's future as a regular competitor in the lightweight division is uncertain."

Lynch continued by saying that if Penn's returns to lightweight, WAMMA would approach the UFC to facilitate a fight between Penn and the WAMMA Lightweight Champion. However, that's only wishful thinking as the UFC has strongly opposed cooperating with WAMMA.

WAMMA is an independent sanctioning organization for mixed martial arts, with their own fighter rankings and championships. Earlier this year, Fedor Emelianenko became the first and only current WAMMA titleholder when he submitted Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds at Affliction: Banned. Fedor holds the WAMMA heavyweight title.

UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 fight card is perhaps the most anticipated of the year, featuring two title bouts and a third grudge match between MMA superstars Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

In one of the title bouts, Michigan State University's own former wrestling star Rashad Evans will go for the light heavyweight title against defending champion Forrest Griffin.

The other title bout features Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Frank Mir for the interim heavyweight title and the right to fight Brock Lesnar for the true heavyweight title down the line.

Here are the results for the event which took place at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on last Saturday, December 27, 2008:
  • "Sugar" Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin by TKO at 2:46 of Round 3
  • Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira by TKO at 1:54 of Round 2
  • CB "The Doberman" Dollaway def. Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio by TKO at 3:01 of Round 1
  • Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva by KO at 3:21 of Round 1
  • Cheick Kongo def. Mostapha Al Turk by TKO at 4:37 of Round 1
  • Yushin "Thunder" Okami def. Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister by unanimous decision
  • Antoni Hardonk def. Mike "The Juggernaut" Wessel by TKO at 2:09 of Round 2
  • Matt "The Hammer" Hamill def. Reese Andy by TKO at 2:19 of Round 2
  • "Bad" Brad Blackburn def. Ryo "Piranha" Chonan by unanimous decision
  • Pat "HD" Barry def. Dan "The Viking" Evensen by TKO at 2:36 of Round 1

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