Among all the big car races, baseball games, NBA playoffs and cheese rolling (missed that one, huh) over the Memorial Day weekend, lost in the shuffle may have been that Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title-holder Chuck Liddell lost his crown.

The popular Liddell was beaten by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, yielding the championship that Liddell had held for 3 1/2 years in a first-round TKO (pictured below, AP Photo). But the bigger story was Liddell's reported penchant for partying before his loss to Jackson.

According to Las Vegas Review-Journal man-about-town columnist Norm Clarke, who is wired into the Vegas nightlife scene, Liddell was busy frequenting (second item)  some of Vegas' famous clubs during the week leading up to the fight. The association between the mixed martial arts community and Las Vegas' trendy dance clubs has actually been going on for some time. The operator of one of Vegas' most exclusive clubs told me several months ago that UFC fight nights were among the biggest at his own nightspot and that the fighters are among the most popular draws among a celebrity crowd that pulls from the entertainment and sports industries.

However, Liddell's training regimen may indicate that while the association between the burgeoning sport and the pop culture scene of the young, hip demographic it appeals to may be an overall marketing plus, it could also work against an athlete where it counts.