The remnants from UFC 97 seem to be falling into place. UFC president Dana White claims there will be “war” if Chuck Liddell won’t retire gracefully, all but ensuring we’ve seen the last of Liddell in the Octagon. Is everyone cool with this? Anyone still want to see Liddell fight?

I may be in the minority, but I feel like the guy has earned the right to go out any way he wants. He’s already a legend in the sport and sticking around too long left fans with unpleasant memories of Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali, but hasn’t he earned that? If White is going to let Mark Coleman come back in his mid-40s, he should at least let Liddell have another fight or two so he doesn’t go out on a loss.

I think the guy can still fight and while he will never be a contender anymore, I’d still be interested to see him have a few more fights (maybe a rematch with Randy Couture and a shot at former TUF student Forrest Griffin?).

As for Anderson Silva, he’s been paired with Griffin for UFC 101. Finally, the UFC is giving Silva a legitimate challenge. This is a huge fight for both guys and it was just a matter of time before we saw Silva at 205. Although he won’t fight Lyoto Machida, if Machida doesn’t beat Rashad Evans, Silva’s last four fights could be memorable in the UFC.

That’s the best fight for Silva since he took on Dan Henderson at UFC 82. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen him against a worthy opponent.