Although most fans and members of the media seem to think we saw Chuck Liddell fight for the final time at UFC 97, some of Liddell's fellow fighters disagree with the conventional wisdom that he's finished.I spoke with Matt Hughes on Thursday, and he told me he doesn't believe Liddell is done.
"I don't think so," Hughes told me. "Chuck is still dangerous to anybody. Anybody that thinks that if Chuck Liddell hits them they won't go down is wrong. Chuck is a threat to anybody. As a friend I hope he doesn't leave the sport for two reasons: Number one, I like him and I like watching him. Number two, I still think he's good enough to do some serious damage to people."
And on the most recent episode of ESPN's MMA Live, UFC interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir and UFC lightweight No. 1 contender Kenny Florian both said they disagree with the rush to force Liddell to hang up the gloves.
"I don't believe so," Mir said when asked if we've seen the end of Liddell's career. "First of all, you can't make a decision for another guy, another man. You can't tell him to hang it up. He has to make that decision for himself. ... I think as long as he can pass a physical exam ... I don't see the problem with allowing Chuck to make that decision for himself and end his career when he thinks he should end his career."
Florian added, "I agree with Frank in that if there's nothing medically wrong with Chuck there's no one telling him he should stop fighting."
Florian said he believes that if Liddell is going to continue to fight, Liddell needs to improve his training to evolve as a well-rounded mixed martial artist. But Florian seems to think it's possible for Liddell, even at age 39, to improve as a fighter and return to the Octagon.
UFC President Dana White is adamant that Liddell needs to stop fighting. But the type of person who becomes an elite MMA fighter isn't the type of person who walks away from a challenge, and that's why it's going to be hard for White to convince Liddell to quit -- and hard for his colleagues to see why he should.
Note: My full interview with Hughes, which focused mostly on his upcoming fight with Matt Serra at UFC 98, will appear later at MMA FanHouse.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
If Chuck wants to fight again, there's really nothing the UFC can do to stop him. They can say they won't promote his fights anymore, but they can't stop him from fighting in other promotions, any more than the NFL can stop a player who's been cut by his team from playing in the CFL.
unfortunetly dana will screw his fighters over with a passion, do some looking into what he did to andrei arvlovski, or what hes doing to roger huerta, ufc is awesome but seriously these fighters need to be in a union cause they get screwed over worse than u would think
Mike's right: Liddell would be a tremendous pick up for any promotion. If he decides to fight again, it will be interesting to see how the UFC handles the situation.
Once the UFC releases Chuck from his contract (which they probably have by now). There will be nothing they could do.
All three of these gents are dead wrong.
I mean this is the same criticism leveled at Tito Ortiz, and its meaningful. Just because the guy hasnt been brain damaged yet in a series of atrocious performances, doesnt mean it wont happen. Chucks even worse off, because unlike Tito, hes been knocked out in spectacular fashion.
Honestly i dont want the guy to turn into a part of other fighters knock out highlight reels for the sake of entertainment.
Look, hes had a phenomenal career, a surefire UFC HOFer, why not just go out with a little dignity? No one will despise him for it, much better than having to continually see this guy waking up at the end of fights asking (and yes, this was visible during BOTH the Evans AND Shogun fight) what happened?
Yeah , lets watch Chuck get ko'ed again, Its so entertaining!! SAD
glass joe should leave. he fought a bunch of glass joes 2 get his rep randy etc he refused to fight my guy. punchers chance only he sucks. FIVE KNUCKLE BULLET-MMA
Who's "your guy" that he refused to fight?
Chuck should retire, IMHO. He has an outstanding record to look back on. Let him guide the next generation. The only other option would be for the UFC to start having age groups ("masters division"? LOL), so that he and other earlier generation fighters can fight each other, and not younger, more evolved fighters.
that is a really, really stupid idea. the next time you have a thought, just let it go.
Chuck's at his best counter punching, which is the game plan needed when you get older and can't rely on reactions as much and need to use more timing. I've always felt he gave a lot of opportunity with his hand position and looping punches. It would have never taken a boxing coach long to tell their fighter to bend at the knees and trow a hook, lights out chuck. I'm not a big fan and have always felt he was previously over rated; so i don't see where his game has dropped off that much. He's still as capable as he was 4-5 years ago, he's just been figured out. I suspect dana wants him to retire so he doesn't have to pay him his fighting salary, i don't think it has anything to do with health concern - otherwise he wouldn't have made his living off of Chuck fighting in the first place.
Chuck could still make the UFC a LOT of money by fighting, so it makes no sense that "dana wants him to retire so he doesn't have to pay him his fighting salary"
I think the 2 of them have a good friendship, and I don't believe Chuck would ever fight outside of the UFC.
That being said, I think we will see Chuck back in the cage before the end of the year. Hopefully the UFC will give him a preferable matchup ... maybe Forrest or Coleman. Both are big names that could draw a crowd, but they aren't big bangers.
richardbikle, I have to agree with your post. Dana White doesn't want Chuck to retire out of the goodness of his heart, he doesn't want to pay the guy the highest salary in the UFC anymore. Was that not the reason Couture left the UFC, he was in a huff over not being paid as much as Lidell.
I too think Lidell was always overrated skill wise, but there's no questioning the power he has in his hands.
Personally I think he should retire, but that's really a decision only a fighter can make for himself and not one Dana White should make for him.
On that note did anyone hear a quote by Dana White where he said "If Lidell doesn't retire it'll be war".? Curious statement from a guy that is supposed to be a great friend of Lidell's. I guess publicly bashing him and attempting to shame him into is the sign of friendship these days.
chuck is NOT stupid. he'll retire when he knows it's time to hang up his gloves.
Yeah Chuck keep fighting , so we can all bet on the exact second of the 1st round you'll get ko'ed next!! Give me a break , if youre gonna keep fighting Chuck dont even train , whats the sense. Just lay around the house and then go in and get your ass kicked in round 1 again.
Eric he's been knocked out 4 of his last 5 fights, so besides goldberg, who else is going to say he's the top LHW in the world? And for the record, Liddell has fought outside the UFC. If you think the UFC doesn't consult the accountants before making a fight you're kidding yourself. They wouldn't care if he was knocked out 20 times if his next fight was going to break PPV records, imo.
No, he's been knocked out 3 times in his past 5 fights.
Sure, Chuck fought outside of the UFC early in his career, and a few times in Pride which the UFC supported. Dana was even there in Japan doing commentary. Chuck is a UFC guy ... it's VERY unlikely that he would fight for another organization.
Who said he was the top LHW in the world? Chuck will never be elevated to that status again.
Very rarely do fighters retire when they should. Chuck will be no different.
Right you are Eric; Jardine didn't knock him out, although he should have.
My guess would be that if not bound by contract, Liddell would fight where he could find it. The glory and glammor of the spotlight is not so easy to give up. I actually think he's about as good as he was when champion, he's just been exposed.
I totally agree that Liddell is probably just as good now as when he was champion. Unfortunately Liddell knows that too, and he will likely continue fighting. Only time will tell ... maybe you're right and his relationship with the ufc will diminish.
In recent fights his problem has been his chin. He has been getting knocked out by shots he would normally absorb and counter. Thats something that happens with age and no amount of training or preparation can fix. With that said he is one of my favorite fighters but I still think he should give it up. What does he have to prove?