One of MMA’s greatest fighters of all-time has announced he is coming out of retirement, and I’ll give my thoughts on it in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Chuck Liddell To Return To MMA
Legendary MMA fighter Chuck Liddell announced on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour that he is coming out of retirement. Now 48-years-old, Liddell said he plans to return to the cage in 2018 — though that likely won’t be with the UFC. According to Liddell, he is working with boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya to promote a trilogy fight against arch-rival Tito Ortiz, and the fight will likely take place in Golden Boy’s new MMA promotion. Liddell said the bout will likely take place in November in either his home state of California, or in Las Vegas, Nevada. If Ortiz is not ready to go, Liddell said he will fight someone else. Basically, he just wants to fight again, as he said he “misses” the sport that turned him into a household name and make him a millionaire. Liddell said his plan is to fight two “warm-up” fights and after that he is targeting a fight against former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Liddell (21-8) has not fought since June 2010, when he was brutally knocked out by Rich Franklin at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was knocked out by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 97 and by Rashad Evans at UFC 86 before that, and his last victory took place over 10 years ago when he defeated Wanderlei Silva via decision at UFC 79 in December 2007. Liddell previously fought Ortiz twice, first knocking him out at UFC 47 in April 2004 and then stopping him again in a rematch at UFC 66 in December 2006. Liddell-Ortiz was one of MMA’s greatest rivalries and the pair were supposed to meet at UFC 115 after coaching season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter but after Ortiz pulled out, Liddell instead fought Franklin and was knocked out and forced to retire by UFC president Dana White. Liddell then took a job in the UFC’s front office but when WME-IMG bought the UFC, Liddell was let go. Ever since then, the rumors of Liddell making a comeback have been out there, but it wasn’t until Monday that we got definitive proof that he is indeed returning.
Liddell is a legend of the sport and deserves the utmost respect from fight fans, but it’s safe to say many are not too fond of his chances to have success considering he is almost 50, hasn’t fought in nearly a decade and suffered a number of brutal knockouts before that. But it’s his life and it’s his health, and if he wants to return then that’s on him to decide and for the athletic commissions to approve. We’ll see what happens, but as of right now MMA fans should be expecting “The Iceman” to fight again later this year.
