by Dave Doyle

All Tito Ortiz has to do to beat Chuck Liddell is get him to the ground. From there, he can deliver his bread-and-butter elbows and regain the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title.

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Easier said than done.

In their first meeting, on April 2, 2004, Ortiz tried to go toe-to-toe with the UFC's most hellacious striker. The Huntington Beach Bad Boy ended up on the wrong end of a fistic flurry, losing 38 seconds into the second round.

So when the 31-year old former champion squares off with Liddell in their rematch in the main event of UFC 66 Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a change of plans would seem in order.

"You can't judge me today based on what happened in the last fight," said Ortiz. "I am a completely different person today then I was back then. My heart wasn't into the first fight. Right now I feel the best I have ever felt. Don't judge based on the first fight, because this will be a whole different ballgame."

Liddell is one of the most difficult Mixed Martial Arts fighters to take down. His takedown defense is considered by many the best in the game. The 205-pound kingpin loves to sit back, feel out what angle his opponent is working, and react from there.

And when The Iceman reacts, there's usually hell to pay. Twelve of Liddell's 19 career wins have come by way of KO or TKO.

"Getting punched by Chuck (expletive) sucks," said one fighter who has been on the wrong end of a Liddell flurry.

It isn't like Liddell hasn't already been tested by fighters with solid ground games:

Liddell made his name in a three-fight series with Randy "The Natural" Couture, one of the greatest pure wrestlers in the history of the sport. Liddell dropped the first fight in 2003; beat Couture for the title in the rematch on April 16, 2005, and sent him into retirement on Feb. 4 with a second-round TKO. Couture wasn't able to take Liddell down after their first fight.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson did take Liddell down and have his way in handing Liddell his last defeat in 2003, but Liddell was fighting on a torn quad.

Jeremy Horn, one of the smartest grapplers in the game, tried to stay on the mat and goad Liddell to the mat every time Liddell floored him during their four-round battle in Aug. 2005; but Liddell wouldn't bite.

Four months ago, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, came in to a match with Chuck on a 10-fight win streak, but inexplicably tried to trade punches with the Iceman and found himself on the wrong end of a 95-second beatdown.

Perhaps Liddell is so successful because his approach outside the octagon matches the one inside. "I'll fight whoever they put me up against," said the champ. "I always get asked who I want to fight or what are my goals, but I'm just a fighter. I fight the same and I approach my fights the same no matter who they put me up against. I'm not doing anything special just because it is Tito."

Still, Ortiz has been behaving in a manner that suggests he knows something the rest of us don't. Ortiz is usually a ubiquitous presence at UFC events, looking to get his mug in the camera at every available opportunity and make some sort of outrageous quote that guarantees he ends the night as the center of attention.

Tale of the tape
	Chuck Liddell	Tito Ortiz
Age	37	31
Height	6-2	6-2
Hometown	San Luis Obispo, CA	Huntington Beach, CA
Weight	205	205
Record	19-3	15-4
KO/TKO wins	12	8
Current streak	6 wins	5 wins
Strengths	Striking, takedown defense	Ground 'n' pound, cardio
Weaknesses	Submissions	Can be a head case
Noteworthy	Has never lost a rematch	Former champ

Source: Sherdog.com

"Tito does a lot of talking," said Liddell. "He's never had a loss where he didn't make an excuse afterward ... and he'll find some excuse this time after I knock him out."

But Ortiz has been nowhere to be seen in recent weeks, sequestered since the beginning of November at his Team Punishment training camp in the mountains of Big Bear, Calif. Already known as a cardiological freak of nature in a sport noted for extraordinary conditioning, Ortiz has been putting in 12-hour days in training and has eschewed the traditional fighter practice of getting up early. Ortiz has been waking up at noon and doing his sparring around 9 p.m., trying to get his body in synch with the rough time he'll be fighting on Saturday night.

"I feel good, I have no injuries, I'm in the right mindset," said Ortiz. "There's no doubt we are the two best in the world and I feel like it's my time and I'm going to wear my belt again."

Dave Doyle is an editor for FOXSports.com. Check in Saturday for his live blog from UFC 66 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.