Anticipated rematch highlights UFC card

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 10:24 a.m.

Ultimate Fighting Championships stalwarts Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture will take center stage at "UFC 52" Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, battling for dominance in the light heavyweight division.

In a featured undercard bout, welterweight contender Georges St. Pierre will just be battling back.

Six months after a tough defeat to Matt Hughes at UFC 50 in a clash for the welterweight championship, which was vacant at the time, St. Pierre is hoping a victory against Jason Miller will lead to another title shot.

St. Pierre (8-1 in mixed martial arts) said he has been training extensively for Saturday's bout and that his routine includes anticipating Miller's moves in the octagon.

"I think it's very important to study your opponent," St. Pierre said Thursday at the MGM Grand. "Especially in mixed martial arts, everyone has a different style."

Miller's style emphasizes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Thai kickboxing, and he says his favorite move is the anaconda choke hold.

"He's really good on the ground, and he's got some very quick submission skills," said St. Pierre, who lives and trains in Montreal. "He's also a wild puncher and he likes to go for the knockout. I think he's going to try right away to knock me out."

St. Pierre, whose loss to Hughes came by arm bar at 4:59 of the first round, trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling and boxing. He started in martial arts at age 7, and now works as a bouncer in Montreal nightclubs in addition to his pro fighting career.

"I'm a very well-rounded fighter, more well-rounded than (Miller)," he said.

Miller (24-4), an Atlanta native now fighting out of Las Vegas, got off the best line of the promotion so far.

"I know (St. Pierre) is very skilled, but I don't think his heart or chin have ever been tested," Miller said. "I'm definitely going to make him take advantage of Canada's free health care."

The main event pairs Couture (13-6 in mixed martial arts, 10-3 UFC) and Liddell (14-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a rematch of Couture's impressive victory by third-round TKO at UFC 43 in June 2003.

Couture, 41, known as "The Natural," is a former two-time UFC heavyweight champ and the only UFC fighter to have won titles twice in two separate weight divisions.

Liddell, 35, "The Iceman" of San Luis Obispo, Calif., is well-grounded in kickboxing but will have to contend with Couture's skills as a world-class wrestler.

Couture is a minus-185 favorite (bettors risk $1.85 for each dollar they're trying to win), with Liddell a plus-155 underdog, according to odds in the MGM sports book.

"It's going to be an honor to fight (Liddell) again, but technically I don't think there are a whole lot of things that are going to change," Couture said. "I think he is going to try to be more aggressive, come out and set the tempo. I hope that he does come out more aggressively because that plays into what I like to do. I like the faster pace."

In the other featured bouts on the eight-fight card, Frank Trigg (12-2) challenges Hughes (38-4) for the welterweight title, and Travis Lutter (7-1) and Matt Lindland (13-2-3) square off at middleweight.

The card will be available on pay-per-view (7 p.m., suggested retail price of $34.95).