UFC 76: Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell's Loss to Keith Jardine Leads Him to Ponder Retirement

It's been a year of surprises in the mixed martial arts world in 2007, and Saturday's UFC 76:Knockout continued that trend as heavily-favored Chuck Liddell lost to Keith Jardine.

It was a tough night all the way around for the 37-year old Liddell, who suddenly was made to look old and sluggish against a fighter many considered to be inferior to him.

The fight was billed as an almost-guaranteed knockout in the making but ended up going to decision. Liddell stuck to his usual strategy of circling while going for the knockout blow with a counter-punch, but Jardine wisely played it smart and covered up while throwing quick leg kicks to the body. The kicks seemed to wear Liddell out and the fight ended with a whimper and an easy Jardine decision.

Now, the question is where Liddell goes from here.

This fight was viewed by most in the UFC community as a tune-up for what could have been one of the biggest, most profitable fights in MMA history, with the legendary Liddell and PRIDE superstar Wanderlei Silva on a collision course. But the loss to Jardine had Silva, who was in attendance, wondering aloud who he would fight in his first match since returning to the UFC.

UFC President Dana White has been a close associate of Liddell's for years and said he didn't see the same hunger or desire to fight from Liddell that he's seen in the past. His old age could be part of the problem, but that's a hard excuse to swallow considering that Randy Couture is even older and tearing it up in the heavyweight division right now. There have also been rumblings about Chuck's addiction to the night life and the Hollywood lifestyle being a problem, but Liddell denied that had any effect on the fight.

Then there's the possibility that Chuck simply isn't well-rounded enough to be a champion with the infusion of new, young talent in the UFC. Liddell seems to have a harder time getting a knockout in the three-round non-championship fight format that he will be forced to fight in now that's he not champion anymore, and when he doesn't get a knockout, he doesn't seem to have enough versatility in his style to land enough shots to win a decision or to get a submission as well.