Chuck Liddell Possible Fight?

[Final Form Snyper.]

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell still undecided on future; return still possible

by John Morgan on Aug 30, 2010 at 8:35 am ET

More than two months after his disappointing UFC 115 loss to Rich Franklin, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC) is still waiting to decide what comes next.

During a special Q&A session at this past weekend's UFC Fan Expo Boston 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Liddell said he hopes to make a decision in the next month or two, but he isn't ruling out a return to the cage.

And if he does come back, it won't be for a one-off affair.

"I don't know yet," Liddell said of his future. "I haven't taken too much time to think about it. I've been traveling. I've only been home two days in a row twice since my last fight, so I really haven't settled down.

"I get to be home for a month here coming up, so I'm going to go home and kind of figure out what I'm doing now."

Liddell remains one of the UFC's most beloved fighters, and in 2009 he was enshrined in the organization's Hall of Fame. But despite coming to UFC 115 in the best condition he's been in years, Liddell still suffered a first-round knockout to former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

The loss was Liddell's third-consecutive knockout defeat, and he fell to just 1-5 in his past six outings.

The difficult stretch led UFC president Dana White in June to declare Liddell retired. When pressed by MMAjunkie.com to determine what he would do if Liddell insisted on further competition, White sheepishly stated he would consider releasing the "Iceman."

That statement fueled speculation that Liddell could take his services elsewhere if White held firm to his demands. But at the Q&A session, Liddell said fighting outside of the world's premier mixed martial arts organization didn't really appeal to him.

"[White] really kind of left it up to me," Liddell said. "I really haven't thought about it. Until I figure out what I'm doing and decide what I want to do, there's no reason to think about that.

"I mean really, if I come back to fight, I want to fight to be the best and prove I'm the best. The only place I can do that is the UFC."

During the hour-long fan-driven Q&A, the subject of a potential Liddell return to the octagon to "punch Tito Ortiz in the head" was brought up several times.

While Liddell said he'd be more than happy to face his arch-rival and complete the coaches fight from "The Ultimate Fighter 11" that never took place, the 40-year-old said if he returns, he's not limiting the list of potential opponents. He'll be looking to make a run at the belt, and that means he'll take on all comers.

"I'll fight whoever," Liddell said. "Whatever it takes to get back to a world title, if I decide to continue."

How many times does Chuck need to try and prove he has it in him, as much as it hurts me to say this but Chuck Liddell the fighter is in the past. How many concussive and consecutive knockouts does he need before he ends up like Mohammad Ali. Liddell doesn't need to prove himself as a fighter anymore, he has fought the best of wrestlers in Kevin Randleman, one of the best of submission wizards in Jeremy Horn and great strikers in Vitor Belfort and Overeem.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Chuck Liddell has nothing left to prove in the world of MMA. He is constantly pushig and putting pressure on himself which he doesnt really need to, not everybody can stay at their prime for a decade. His time came and it passed, i think everybody has accepted that except Chuck Liddell himself. He still feels he has to perform when he's already proven and shown what he is worth. This guy was a machine to say the least back in his prime, he is a UFC Hall of Famer, and i think that is cold hard evidence that this guy is the best of the best and now he is only tarnishing his legacy if he keeps going on.

 

[INDYjon22]

It is really just a matter of a fighter who doesn't know how to give it up for good. This kind of things seems to happen with a lot of fighters who continue long after their time has come and gone in the sport, which is a real shame. That is why so many guys wind up being in terrible shape when they get older. I wouldn't mind seeing Chuck fight again, but there is really only one fight I would even be interested in and that would be against Tito Ortiz. Other then that I really wish Chuck would give up the sport for good before he hurts himself severly.

 

[M. Winters]

I respect Liddell a lot but he has to know when to let go. He's done everything he can do in the UFC and at this point he's only hurting his legacy when people look back and see all the losses near the end of his career. Dana already said that he won't fight in the UFC again so just give it up Chuck, we love ya but it's time to call it quits.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Dana already said that he won't fight in the UFC again

Dana said the same thing last time when he was KO'd by Rua.


The sole reason I would want to see Liddell again would be to see him fight Ortiz like Indy said. It would be the best way to send him off. Let them finish their feud in the octagon. If he can't beat Tito, the guy he beat convincingly twice before, then he should know its time to call it quits. I have to give Chuck a little credit though, he came in excellent shape in his last fight against Franklin. We even seen some old flashes of him, with some of his strikes. He is just fetching a little far thinking he can be at the top again, when the top tier guys have knocked him out cold. The younger generation would probably do the same thing as well, Jon Jones would elbow his head right off. Thats why I believe let him get his fight with Tito win/lose/draw let that be it for him.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

Dana already said that he won't fight in the UFC again so just give it up Chuck, we love ya but it's time to call it quits.

Dana also said:

Anderson will never headline again.

Tito is done in the UFC

Karo Paryisan will never fight in the UFC again

Rampage is out of the UFC.

Should I continue?

It won't shock me if Dana makes the Tito-Chuck fight.

 

[Khalifa]

I really would like to see Chuck fight again, only if he fights Tito. Thats the only fight I think would get the best out of him at this point in his life. He could always fight a guy like Jones to be a stepping stone or a guy like Griffin to throw Griffin back up to contention but we all know Chuck will probably lose. If Chuck fights Tito, they both don't lose anything but both men would do anything to win this fight.

 

[jmt225]

If Tito loses to Matt Hamill, then I can see a fight between Chuck and Tito going down; however, if Tito beats Hamill, then I don't think it's fair to put Tito in a lose-lose situation by matching him up against Liddell. I mean, if Tito beats Chuck, then he beat the washed up version, so it doesn't matter. And if Tito loses... then he looks like a bum and Chuck Liddell is still irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Anyways, to answer the question.... Chuck should stay retired, in my opinion. Quite honestly he looked pretty fantastic against Rich Franklin, and I would love to see that Chuck Liddell competing in the Octagon, but only if he had a chin, which Chuck clearly doesn't anymore. There's just no point in watching Chuck Liddell get repeatedly knocked-out. All it does is further continue ruining his legacy and it's not fun to watch, even if I'm not a fan of the guy.

 

[Fizzy]

Chuck should just hang it up. He just doesn't have a chin anymore. Really the guy cannot hang with anyone near the top 10 in the division. He has a style that worked well a few yeas back, but he never evolved the technical aspect of his striking, and never used his wrestling to his advantage except to avoid takedowns. He gave his all to the fight with Franklin, but he just doesn't have a chin anymore. He has taken to much damage, and the partying has caught up with him. He needs to retire, and stay retired for his health. I say this as a huge Chuck fan as well.

 

[Via Armbar]

As good as he looked against Franklin, there is some things you just can't improve or regain and your chin is one of them. He could train his ass off, and clearly did for 115, but you just can't erase the damage he has taken over the years. It has been proven that the more times a human is knocked unconscious the easier it becomes to happen again. It's just a mechanism the brain uses to protect itself. There is absolutely nothing Chuck can do to counter that.

If he does fight again, Tito is the only opponent that makes sense. Tito has slowed down a bit as well and neither are going to be looking at contention again in their careers. Tito has been spewing the same bullshit stories about his back and neck for years now so if Chuck can manage to beat him hopefully it means the last of Tito in the cage and a great send off for Liddell. Tito has never had huge power in his hands so if Chuck can withstand Tito's trading then I really believe things can end well for the Iceman.

In the end it's Chuck's decision (with the UFC's brass approval of course) and we are just going to have to wait and see.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

The problem with Chuck going on is that every time he gets knocked out it is actually doing damage to his brain, it can be harmful to his long term health and no one wants to see The Iceman go down that road. It is better for him and his family (whoever they are) that he stops. Want annoys me mostly is that in his head (most probably) he thinks that he still has something to prove that at 40 he needs to try and make a run to the top again.

Chuck we get it you can fight, we saw you as the most dominating fighter that the Light Heavyweight division has ever seen one of the the true stars of MMA.