Chuck Liddell retired from the game nearly seven years in the past — and he nonetheless misses the sport.
The previous UFC gentle heavyweight was one of many sport’s largest stars within the early 2000’s, reigning as one of the best 205-pounder in america within the pinnacle of the UFC vs. PRIDE period. “The Iceman” informed MMA Combating he “at all times will” miss being lively within the sport and joked that “if father time hasn’t caught as much as me, I’d nonetheless be doing it.”
“I really like combating,” Liddell stated when discussing the 20-year anniversary of his first UFC title win, a first-round knockout over Randy Couture at UFC 52 in April 2005. “I’m at all times going to overlook [fighting]. That was a good time.”
Liddell was 15-3 within the sport going into that occasion at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment, together with a third-round stoppage to Couture the primary time they met two years prior. Again from a 1-1 journey to PRIDE in 2003, Liddell stopped Tito Ortiz and Vernon White in back-to-back fights to earn a shot on the undisputed UFC gold.
“Everybody asks me on a regular basis,” Liddell stated when questioned if that was his favourite victory all-time. “Should you put a gun in my head to select, so many nice issues that occurred — but when I needed to decide one, that’s it. Avenging a loss, lastly getting the title I used to be going after, profitable the present. That was a fairly excessive second.”
Liddell retired from the UFC after dropping to Wealthy Franklin in 2010 however remained within the firm as a vice chairman of enterprise growth. He was let go after the sale of the UFC to WME-IMG. “The Iceman” returned to competitors years later, dropping to Tito Ortiz at a MMA occasion produced by Golden Boy Promotions in 2018.
“I’ve by no means not been concerned [in MMA]. I nonetheless go to do stuff,” Liddell stated. “I’m going to a number of the UFCs, a number of the larger ones I wish to go to. I nonetheless observe fights. I’ve to be watching on my cellphone at dinner. I nonetheless watch numerous the fights.”
Loads has modified within the fight sports activities panorama since 2005. The UFC is now the No. 1 MMA promotion and no different is even near difficult its dominance, however athletes now have completely different avenues to pursue cash and fame, together with bare-knuckle occasions and boxing.
“I’m all for guys which have locations to go combat and earn cash,” Liddell stated. “In the event that they prefer it, that’s nice. I’ve at all times stated, if I fought a boxer again within the day, I wish to combat a naked knuckle, simply because I’m used to hitting with my naked knuckles, they’re not. … I’d have positively been so much busier in my profession if they’d extra fights. I imply, I believe I averaged about three fights each two years. I’d have fought much more if there was extra obtainable. It simply wasn’t. The UFC had like 4 or 5, 5 or 6 [events] a 12 months at the moment.”
“Every thing’s altering,” he continued. “There’s much more individuals on the market combating. And there’s what, 45 UFC occasions a 12 months? And every a kind of playing cards has 10 to 12 fights on it, so that you’re speaking about 60 to 100 fights relatively than 450 fights. And that’s if you happen to’re at UFC stage. Clearly there’s extra individuals, however there’s extra individuals doing it now.
“After I began, it was often got here with a base of putting or jiu-jitsu or wrestling and also you needed to study the opposite two. One of many benefits I had to start with was I used to be a striker and a wrestler, so I had two and needed to study one. And we had been making an attempt to determine easy methods to prepare it and put it collectively, to do all of the stuff. Now that the blokes are coming and rising up since they’re children. Everybody’s type of discovered someplace alongside. You gotta be full fighters, need to be first rate at every thing after which actually good at one thing.”
The game has advanced and blended martial artists are extra well-rounded than earlier than, however Liddell sees fighters normally being completely different from these from previous eras.
“After I began combating, the house run was 150 grand a 12 months,” Liddell stated. “That’s if you happen to fought in all probability three fights to get that. So there wasn’t any massive factor. You bought guys that enjoyed combating, and it’s a job the place I can maintain combating. You had much more pure fighters. guys which might be fighters.
“As we speak you continue to have each, belief me, however guys which might be athletes that may combat. They’re good athletes, they usually can combat. They know easy methods to combat. And generally that’s a unique mindset. I imply, there’s guys that do nicely, and which might be actually type of not what I contemplate like actual fighters. They’re not nice tactically, however they are often intimidated, they’ll pushed to a degree the place it’s not a combat.”
Requested to call one he considers extra of a pure fighter than general athlete from as we speak’s UFC roster, “The Iceman” picked Brazil’s Alex Pereira. A protege below his longtime pal Glover Teixeira in Danbury, “Poatan” gained titles in two weight lessons within the UFC after doing the identical in kickboxing.
“Oh, there’s fairly just a few about that,” Liddell stated. “Pereira is one in every of my favorites, however clearly he’s from Glover [Teixeira]. However I like his angle about combating. He’s a beast, man. So if I needed to decide one, I suppose [it’s Pereira].”
