UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2

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1 Background
2 Fight Card
3 Pre-Event Notes
4 Results
5 UFC Event Chronology
6 External Links

Background

UFC 52: Couture vs. Liddell 2 was an 8-bout fight card that was held on April 16, 2005 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The card aired live on pay-per-view and was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between champion, Randy Couture and "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell.

A welterweight championship bout between champion, Matt Hughes and former title contender, Frank Trigg served as a co-main event.

Fight Card

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight Bout: Mike van Arsdale vs. John Marsh
Middleweight Bout: Patrick Cote vs. Joe Doerksen
Middleweight Bout: Ivan Salaverry vs. Joe Riggs

Main Card

Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Middleweight Bout: Matt Lindland vs. Travis Lutter
Welterweight Championship Bout: Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg
Light Heavyweight Bout: Renato Sobral vs. Travis Wiuff
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell

Pre-Event Notes

This was the first UFC event to be held after the mammoth success that was the conclusion of The Ultimate Fighter 1 and brought with it a huge amount of interest from new fans of the sport.

UFC 5 heavyweight tournament winner, and former UFC Superfight title holder, Dan "The Beast" Severn will be the third inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame at the event.

Couture vs. Liddell were the opposing coaches of TUF 1 and had fought previously at UFC 43 with Couture defeating Liddell via third round TKO to capture the Interim UFC Light heavyweight Championship.

Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg is also a rematch from a title bout at UFC 45 that Hughes won via first round rear naked choke.

GSP vs. Jason Miller was to be contested at UFC 48 but Mayhem's legal issues forced the bout to be postponed.

Joe Doerksen was a late replacement for British banger, Lee Murray who could not compete at the event due to travel issues.

Results

Preliminary Card

Heavyweight Bout: Mike van Arsdale defs. John Marsh via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Middleweight Bout: Joe Doerksen defs. Patrick Cote via submission (rear naked choke) at 2:35 of round 3.
Middleweight Bout: Ivan Salaverry defs. Joe Riggs via submission (triangle choke) at 2:42 of round 1.

Main Card

Welterweight Bout: Georges St. Pierre defs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller via unanimous decision (30-27 x3).
Middleweight Bout: Matt Lindland defs. Travis Lutter via submission (guillotine choke) at 3:32 of round 2.
Welterweight Championship Bout: Matt Hughes defs. Frank Trigg via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:05 of round 1.
Light Heavyweight Bout: Renato Sobral defs. Travis Wiuff via submission (armbar) at :24 of round 2.
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Chuck Liddell defs. Randy Couture via KO (punch) at 2:06 of round 1 to become the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

After getting caught with an accidental eye poke to begin the fight, Couture got sloppy and raced in to attack Liddell only to be caught with a vicious counter punch that put him down and out.