UFC 47: It’s On! Preview

Mar 30, 2004
Look for temperatures to plummet in Hell and flying swine because after three years of games Liddell and Ortiz finally meet in the octagon.

No, it’s not a misprint. It is actually going to happen. So order the pizza, stock the fridge with beer, put the kids to bed and tell grandma to wake up and put her teeth in because this is the one we’ve been talking about since SEG was running the show.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will finally step in the cage with the man he should’ve fought nearly three years ago; Chuck Liddell. The most unfortunate detail of the whole sordid affair is the fact there is no longer a title on the line. As you likely know, both men were vanquished by former champion Randy Couture in 2003. The winner of this bout will regain the number one contender’s spot in the division and face either Couture or present…uh…champion Vitor Belfort.

UFC 47: it’s On! also features an actual title bout; the vacant heavyweight championship bout that was deemed so important that the participants pictures didn’t even make the event poster. Jeez, you’d think it was for the lightweight division title. Oops, how silly of me, that division doesn’t even have a title right now. Hopefully Hermes Franca or Yves Edwards can line themselves up to fill that void. Also in action Friday night will be heavy hitters Wesley “Cabbage” Correira and “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler. International showman Genki Sudo returns to entertain and bring the pain to the lightweight class. Octagon veterans Chris Lytle and “Tiki” Ghosn try to earn their first UFC win. And newcomers Mike Kyle, Jonathan Wiezorek and Wade Shipp try to shake up the heavyweight division.

The full card is as follows:

• Valdosta Martial Arts fighter Jonathan Wiezorek tangles with Wade Shipp from the San Diego Fight Club
• Integrated Fighting team member Chris Lytle returns to the octagon to face Team Oyama fighter Khalil Ghosn
• Japanese superstar and Wajyu-kenshukai Dojo fighter Genki Sudo comes back to the octagon to face Team Elite fighter Mike Brown
Miletich fighter Robbie Lawler battles Cesar Gracie protégé Nick Diaz
Grappling Unlimited brawler Wesley Correira goes toe-to-toe with American Kickboxing Academy striker Mike Kyle
• The American Top Team’s Hermes Franca and Yves Edwards from the Third Column Fight Team meet for a shot at the long-vacant UFC Lightweight Championship
• In the co-headliner, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia from the Miletich camp faces top heavyweight contender and Athletic USA fighter Andre Arlovski
• And in the other co-headliner, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Team Oyama fighter Tito Ortiz finally steps in the cage with longtime #1 contender Chuck Liddell from The Pitfight Team