Randy was facing an uncertain future. He had lost his last two fights and both opponents had seemingly exposed a glaring weakness in his game. Randy did great against equally-sized opponents or larger ones without proficient ground games, but his style was not adequate against the big men who could go to the floor. Since there were not as many ground-ignorant heavyweights as there used to be, it was time for Randy to pick on people his own size.
A cut to 205 pounds was not as drastic as it seems. Randy generally weighed in around 225 pounds when fighting at heavyweight. But big light-heavyweights like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell walked around at about 220 and managed to make weight at 205 every time. And as a wrestler, Randy had plenty of experience with weight-cutting; he just hadn't had to in a while. Feeling that he still had plenty of good fights left in his 40-year-old body, Randy set out to become the first fighter to ever win a belt in two weight classes.
vs. Chuck Liddell
He would not have any time to ease into the new weight class. The UFC threw him into the deep end in his very first fight, pitting him against rising star Chuck Liddell. While dealing with a recalcitrant Tito Ortiz, who refused to defend his belt due to contract issues, the UFC set up a fight for the interim light-heavyweight championship. Liddell was the obvious top contender, riding an eight-fight UFC winning streak. In Liddell, the UFC had an exciting striker with devastating power and the grappling acumen to stay out of any danger posed by superior wrestlers. In Randy, they had a respected, recognizable name to be beaten by Liddell.
Liddell had one other characteristic that would pose problems for Randy. The big heavyweights had given Randy trouble because he couldn't hold them down. Even though Liddell was the same size, he possessed the preternatural ability to stand up after being taken down by superior wrestlers. If Randy couldn't hang on to that edge on the ground, how did he expect to beat Liddell?
His answer was to beat Liddell standing up. Liddell had developed a reputation as a counter-puncher, a style that waits patiently for the opponent to commit to a strike, avoid it, and quickly counter-attack. This method was especially effective for Liddell because he had enough power to knock out his opponents even while moving backward, away from strikes. But to pull it off, the counter-striker has to get comfortable with the rhythm and timing of his opponent, so he knows when to counter.
Randy never let him get into that comfort zone. From the opening bell, Randy stalked Liddell around the Octagon, throwing crisp jabs and straight punches that were better timed than Liddell's looping hooks. When Randy closed the distance, he was able to drop Liddell with thundering slams, though Liddell popped right back up to his feet in each of the first two rounds. But by the time Randy slammed him back down in round three, Liddell couldn't get back up. He was frustrated and out-strategized. With Liddell lying on his back for the first appreciable amount of time, Randy dropped punches until the referee stopped the contest.
You could certainly make the argument that the victory over Liddell was the most impressive of Randy's career to that point. He bounced back from two discouraging losses, cut weight for the first time, faced a younger, more dangerous striker, and beat him everywhere the fight went. On the feet, he outstruck Liddell 36-16. He landed four of five takedowns, two of which were punishing slams. And finally, he became the first man to keep Chuck Liddell down and stop him with strikes.
vs. Tito Ortiz
The win cemented Randy's legacy as the first man to win titles in two weight classes, but his title still had that pesky "interim" attached to it. To become the undisputed champion, he had to go through Tito Ortiz. Despite his frequent troubles with UFC management, Tito was still the organization's biggest draw and maintained his reputation as the most dominant champion of all time. He had won the belt in 2000, defended it five more times, and enjoyed a title reign that had lasted more than three-and-a-half years.
In Ortiz, some saw a younger version of Randy who had learned the value of weight-cutting a lot earlier. Superbly conditioned, a master of cutting weight and an excellent wrestler, Tito's style was one of brute force and a furious pace. Despite seeing what Randy did to Liddell, Ortiz confidently pronounced that no 40-year-old was going to beat him.
It's a well-worn axiom that when two great wrestlers face each other, their abilities cancel each other out and the one to win will be the fighter who succeeds doing something else. Randy would disagree. Just as he outstruck the striker against Liddell, Randy spent 25 minutes outwrestling the wrestler. He dominated Ortiz in a way that was unthinkable beforehand.
Choosing not to use the improved striking he displayed against Liddell, Randy chose to play this fight out on the ground, preferably with Ortiz on his back. He succeeded on eight of 12 takedown attempts and put Ortiz down in each of the five rounds. When Ortiz did manage to get Randy down, it wasn't for long. In a stunning development, Randy was able to ground and pound Ortiz without taking any damage when the tables were turned. The ground striking numbers tell a lot of the story: Randy outlanded Ortiz 174-16 on the ground. To add insult to injury, late in the fifth round, Randy actually spanked Ortiz on the bum while controlling him on the ground.
There was no doubt in the judges or anyone else's mind. Randy won by unanimous decision and was now the undisputed light-heavyweight champion. He had defied his critics and made those who had doubted his potential success at 205 look absolutely foolish.
vs. Vitor Belfort ... again
For his next challenge at 205, the UFC went way back in Randy's career -- all the way back to his third professional fight -- to grant a rematch to Vitor Belfort. Since losing to Randy six years prior, Belfort had bounced around between the UFC and Pride, amassing a 7-2 record in the process. A shallow talent pool at 205 and the always intriguing possibility that Belfort would return to his old ways was enough to book him for Randy's first title defense. It would be Randy's ninth title fight and Belfort's first.
Unfortunately, the fight would leave everyone involved unsatisfied. The fight would be stopped after just 49 seconds due to a cut. On a missed punch, the seam of Belfort's glove caught Randy's eyelid and opened a cut serious enough to warrant a stoppage. Officially, it was a TKO stoppage and Belfort was the new champ. Unofficially, everyone knew that the real fight would be decided in the rematch.
vs. Vitor Belfort ... one last time
Seven months later, after recovering from surgery to repair the cut, Randy was ready to take back his belt. It may have been nearly seven years, but the exact same formula that defeated Belfort the first time would work just as well this time. The first round had to start with the two fighters at a distance, but it didn't mean that it would stay that way for long. Randy closed the distance quickly and, without taking any shots, put Belfort in the clinch up against the fence. Thirty strikes and one takedown later, and Belfort was on his back. Randy ended the round raining down strikes and it was clear that Belfort was in over his head.
The second round followed the same pattern, except this time when Randy rushed Belfort to initiate a clinch against the fence, their heads collided and opened a cut next to Belfort's eye. The doctors checked it and made sure that it wasn't serious enough to stop the fight, so that task was still left to Randy. Eventually, his furious ground-and-pound was enough to exacerbate the cut, forcing the doctors to stop the fight between the third and fourth rounds.
Belfort had lasted a full 15 minutes -- nearly twice as long as the first time -- but he was no more successful. Randy outlanded him 43-3 in significant strikes and 134-10 overall.
If you're willing to forget about the fluky cut loss to Belfort, Randy was essentially perfect in the 205-pound division. He hadn't lost a round, let alone a fight and looked nearly unstoppable at light-heavyweight. That sentiment was about to be put to the test on a grander stage than the UFC and American MMA had never seen.
Coming Friday: 2005-present, Comings and Goings