Joe Ferraro

Showdown Joe says it is time for Chuck Liddell to call it quits.

The UFC's debut on Canada's West Coast was a success, so after experiencing UFC 115 at GM Place in Vancouver, what are some of the storylines to watch for the foreseeable future?

First off is, what's next for Chuck Liddell? While I can say I was lucky enough to be octagon-side for his last four fights, I sincerely hope that the word "last" holds up here.

"The Iceman" has given us all a lifetime of memories, but seeing him down on the mat after Rich Franklin knocked him out was simply too much -- enough is enough. The MMA pioneer must hang them up as it is more than obvious his post-concussion syndrome just makes it that much easier for his opponents to finish him off with punches. He is still a great fighter but Liddell's brain can no longer take that type of punishment.

No matter what, I will always remember him far more for his dominance in the light-heavyweight division, than for the fighter, who at the end of his career, was seen far too many times, laying on his back, staring at the lights. Iceman - thanks for the memories and hopefully then next time we cross paths, I hope I am not interviewing you for an upcoming fight, rather, for whatever you may choose as your new career path.

As for Franklin, the diagnosis on his left arm is a broken ulna. No word on whether he may need surgery, but I definitely look forward to his next bout in the octagon. Franklin is a class act, a company man who now deserves to be matched up against quality opponents.

Mirko Cro Cop and Pat Barry put on a great fight, but I can't help but think if Barry kicked it up just one more notch, he would have won that fight. It appeared as if he was still having too much fun in there, and left his killer instinct backstage. Barry is tough -- don't kid yourself -- this guy should have won that fight but simply didn't elevate to that point that we saw him against Antonio Hardonk.

Cro Cop looked good though. I was impressed with his tenacity but above all, his unexpected sense of humour, which was on display for all of the media since the workouts last Wednesday. He added to it at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday then again on Saturday night at the post-fight presser. With that being said, Cro Cop did hint that he might sign with the UFC, but he wasn't sure if that was going to be "fighting" or in some other capacity.

The Rory MacDonald-Carlos Condit fight had the GM Place crowd roaring. While "The Waterboy" was ahead on two of the three judges scorecards going into the third round, it was Condit who came out guns a blazing, and was on his way to earning a 10-8 round, and an overall draw, but the ref stepped in to stop the fight.

The controversial stoppage sent the crowd into a frenzy, as there were mere seconds left in the fight. Fans wanted the fight to go just a little longer, and it's hard to argue that point, but it is the referee's job to protect the fighters and not pay attention to the clock. Unfortunately for MacDonald's fans, he had taken too much abuse and the ref had seen enough. It's far better for the 20-year-old to have a loss on his record than to never be allowed to compete again. I hear the argument loud and clear that Condit wasn't connecting anymore, but with seven seconds left, he could have landed more strikes that could have caused more unnecessary damage to MacDonald.

I was in contact with MacDonald afterwards - he is fine and will head back home to recover. He has a ton of talent, and if MacDonald fights until he's 35-years old, we can just imagine the height of success he could reach over the next 15 years.

As for the controversy in the Mac Danzig-Matt Wiman bout, again, you can make arguments for both sides. Referee Yves Lavigne stopped the bout, but then Danzig immediately stood up, visibly upset with the stoppage.

But hang on a moment, folks are complaining about Lavigne's decision to pay attention to Wiman's words that Danzig was out. This is not the first time a fighter or referee has been in this scenario. We have seen it dozens of times in MMA fights all over the world, so people need to stop acting as if it's the first time this has happened.

Second, it's not easy to see when a fighter passes out, so an official may have to physically check to see if he has. Lavigne did, and he believed Danzig was, so he called the fight.

When I spoke to Lavigne afterwards, he explained all of this, with a conclusion that it is better to be safe than sorry. I also disagree with many of the assessments that Lavigne made a rookie mistake - last time I checked he has refereed all across North America for the better part of 10 years. He is far from being a bad referee, and while the stoppage appeared to look weak, Lavigne made the best call he could make, based on the info he had available to him. The one good thing about this story is that the UFC paid Danzig his win bonus as well, so both fighters got full paydays, and their rematch will likely be added to an upcoming card, very soon.

Strangely enough, there is one fighter who was victorious on Saturday night, who may be cut by the UFC. Ben Rothwell did defeat Gilbert Yvel, but the UFC brass was vocal with their disappointment with his performance. I believe Rothwell fought the right fight and used the correct strategy over the well-known knockout artist that Yvel is. At the post-fight presser, Rothwell was the first to admit he wasn't happy with his performance and that he needed to finish the fight. Post-fight rumblings indicate Rothwell's UFC career may be in jeopardy. I sincerely hope this isn't the case.

Toronto's Claude Patrick proved the UFC made the right call in signing him. I believed he was going to have a much tougher time with Ricardo Funch but Patrick proved me wrong. He fought a fabulous fight and made a statement in his UFC debut. Look for Patrick to quickly rise up the welterweight food chain. He's got the skills, so let's see how he does against better talent.

In closing, sources tell me David Loiseau is either going to retire from fighting, or seriously take some time away from the sport. He may not even train at TriStar in Montreal for a while. Whatever "The Crow" decides, MMA fans should support him 100 percent. What we saw in his fight against Mario Miranda (and for that matter, vs. Ed Herman) is NOT the Loiseau that I see when I visit TriStar on a regular basis. He does have a ground game. He does have wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills, and for whatever reason, it doesn't translate when he leaves the gym and steps into the octagon.

He has all the talent in the world so hopefully he can figure this out, but if he cannot, then all Canadian MMA fans should thank the Quebec native for opening the doors for fellow fighters, Jonathan Goulet, Patrick Cote and even his close friend, UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.