Liddell Injured, Out Of UFC 85

by Robert Sargent

In the latest case of injury plaguing the upcoming UFC 85 event in England, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell has been forced to withdraw from the main event against "Sugar" Rashad Evans after severely tearing his right hamstring.

The irony is that Liddell's original opponent for UFC 85, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, was previously injured and had to withdraw, vaulting Evans into the main event slot.

While nothing is confirmed, the early candidate to take Liddell's place against Evans is James "The Sandman" Irvin, who is coming off of an eight-second knockout of Houston "The Assassin" Alexander at UFC Fight Night 13.

Regardless, with all due respect to Evans and Irvin, a main event between the two is a huge step down from the originally scheduled Liddell vs Rua bout, which would have had a huge impact on the UFC's light heavyweight division.

With Liddell and Rua both recovering from injury now, it is possible that the two may meet later in the year.