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Liddell ready for the next fight
by Elias Cepeda, InsideFighting.com
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As Liddell nears 40 years old, it may seem reasonable for fans to wonder how much fight he has left in him, mentally and physically. And though only the fights themselves can ultimately answer that question, "Iceman" fans can rest assured that their guy isn't just showing up to cash checks these days.
The dangerous striker is still passionate about his craft and as motivated as ever. And oh yeah, he's not planning on hanging up the gloves any time soon.
"I take it one fight at a time, but I plan to fight for two to four more years," Liddell said. "I still love fighting, I still love training. I love what I do so I'll be here as long as my body lets me. But I'd like to end on a 6-8 fight win streak."
And the former champion also says there's no chance he won't be as amped up to fight an up and comer like Evans as he would be to compete in a title fight. After all, long before he was famous and made good money for doing it, Chuck Liddell was just a guy who loved mixing it up. He still does.
"It doesn't take much to motivate me for a fight. But the big thing is I'm on a mission to get the title back," he says.
Liddell and Evans were scheduled to fight one another months ago until Liddell severely tore his hamstring and had to pull out of the fight. And although it's widely known that Liddell is perfectly willing to enter fights with serious injuries (as he did in his second fight with Tito Ortiz), he says that his leg is now completely healed.
"The injury's great. I'm healed 100%. I had plenty of time to get it healed and it was an all muscle tear so it was able to heal 100%," Liddell explained.
It's likely that Liddell knows he'll need to be in top form to take out Evans. Liddell, as always, is confident he will come out on top but also respects the former Michigan State wrestler a great deal.
Case in point: The issue of stand-up striking. Does Liddell think he'll have an advantage there?
"Of course I do, but we'll see. It should be exciting. He's hard to hit. We'll see if I can catch him," he says with both assurance and humility.
Liddell also does not put too much stock in the notion that he should be able to beat Evans easily considering their respective performances against Ortiz. Liddell has twice stopped Ortiz, at UFC 47 in 2004 and at UFC 66 in 2006, and Evans went to a draw with him in July 2007.
"I think that's apples and oranges...two different matchups," Liddell said. "Styles make fights and that was two wrestlers fighting...I think Rashad got caught up in that whole first 'big show' thing. I think it took him awhile to figure out that he should be there. I think it took him a round and a half to realize that he belonged there."
Liddell has seen Evans' fights and believes that he does many things well.
"He finds a way to win wherever he's at. He does a good job of controlling the fight and winning fights. He's a good wrestler, he's good on top and he moves well with his feet so it makes for an interesting fight," Liddell said.
But none of this is surprising coming from Liddell, who typically acknowledges the abilities of his opponents while maintaining a cool confidence without talking trash. Liddell does not usually let out the war cries until after a win, complete with his trademark arms wide in-ring celebration.
Before that time, it's all about staying loose. From Noe Hernandez in Liddell's first UFC fight to the current day, the sport's biggest name has seen many gifted and skilled opponents come and go. He's beaten most and lost to some and neither experience seems to throw him for much of a loop.
If Liddell is to fulfill his lofty goals of six to seven more fights and a repeat title reign, his contest against Evans is absolutely paramount. But you'll forgive Chuck if it doesn't disrupt his normal fight day routine.
"[I] relax, have a good time, goof around. That's pretty much what I do to get ready on a fight day...right before I get real focused again," he says. "But other than that, the day of the fight is mostly killing time."
Chuck Liddell may not have much time left to kill in his career, but that fact isn't going to make him change the way he does things. It's a formula that has worked incredibly well for a decade and Liddell is out to prove it can produce a second act.
Member Comments
Iceman got knocked the F$#% out!! That KO is one for the highlights. I always said that Iceman was over rated and so is Frankin, Hughes and Tim Silva.
KOkid9/6/2008 22:06:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
"Have you ever had your ass whooped on by a black man before? It hurts!" -Quinton Jackson<br />Now Chucky knows......again.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/6/2008 21:53:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Chucky has been overrated for years. Rashad went insane just like all the other guys and stood with Snowcone. Throwing wide looping punches gets you knockouts but it also leaves you open for the same. That's what happened to Gutman.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/6/2008 21:37:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Where are all the Snowcone Chucky fans now?<br />OUT COLD<br />Got iced by Rashad just like predicted.<br />str8torn:<br />You've been hitting the crack pipe too much. I've said the same thing from day one...look at my other posts in the Couture forum.<br />You apparently have memory problems.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/6/2008 21:34:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Chuck is just as good if not better than ever. The question I am waiting to get the answer to is if his injury is going to be a factor. With that said...I'll take Evans by decision.
GetSerious1019/6/2008 15:48:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Ya kmow sopo I thought you rambled on about how wrestlig doesn't teach anything useful in mma. You said BJJ was god and it isn't till recently after having numerous people call you bias and dumb that you sing a new tune. If I recall correctly when we spoke endlessly, I told you repeatedly that the blend of styles makes the fighters. And again like a broken record of the 6 up coming fighters Franklin is the only non accomplished wrestler and Lidell is the only one that doesn't rely on it heavilly.
str8torn49/6/2008 14:26:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
str8torn:<br />You sound like a broken record. Once again I'll remind you what happened in the early UFCs. That was the only time one discipline was pitted against another...period. Do you remember what happened?<br />After the early UFCs everyone figured out you had to train everything. Since then, there is no such thing as a pure wrestler or pure anything else. If you love wrestlers so much, stick with watching wrestling.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/6/2008 13:35:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
franklin vs Hammil thats a tough one to call 2 of my favorite fighters, I gotta take Franklin though just cuz .
str8torn49/6/2008 13:29:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Sopo, we Ive argued with you repeatedly and heard you say basically wrestling doesn't teach ****. I am simply pointing out the large amout of todays top fighters whose primary discipline is wrestling. You can't ague with the facts. thats my point
str8torn49/6/2008 13:26:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
anderson silva would kill liddell at this point in his career, a few others may slid by with a win; however, the only one that can take him still (although giving up 20 pounds, is the pound for pound champ). Chuck is still that good.
boyd7779/5/2008 23:46:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
str8torn4:<br />What's your point? Just because they have wrestling experience that makes them just "wrestlers"?<br />I'll say it again, don't give credit to wrestling for someone's success just because they have experience. All these guys are trained in BJJ and Muay Thai, and boxing now. There are no more pure wrestlers. Why?..because they would all get KOed and tapped out in today's MMA!
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/5/2008 22:05:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
this guy just proves how u dont need any talent to be good in UFC.. just have a good chin and be able to punch hard. well its better then two men in spedo wrestling each other on a mat like they do 95% time
Jfootball409/5/2008 21:34:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Hey Sopo 3 of the 4 guys in the main event were big time wrestlers did you c that
str8torn49/5/2008 17:26:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
The iceman rocks, Rashad is made to order for him. Chuck does the best against primary wrestlers, Evans #1 attribute is ground n pound. He's going to look like Tito all night long. Lidell is just explosive, his sprawl transition to a flurry is where the magic is at. I think why he's such a good striker is he fights good outside. He's going to be bigger than Evans and kill him from the outside. Lidell in 3
str8torn49/5/2008 17:24:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
rashad has to get chuck to the ground and he'll win.<br /><br />rashad isnt bad with his hands but liddell is still liddell, he can throw with the best of them. but evans has to take him down and keep him there
mr_slappy9/5/2008 14:38:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Oh, and if you don't think a 6'5" 250 Brad Imes (from Miletich camp) hits harder than Chucky the snowcone, YOU'RE the ones on crack. Rashad took a beating from that guy and couldn't be put down. If old snowcone KOs him, it's from speed and angles, not power.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/5/2008 13:04:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
The only reason Chucky has done so well is because the people fighting him lose their minds. Randy Couture in an interview said he believes you have to stand and trade first to get the takedown! Randy went temporarily insane in those fights. People give up on the takedown way too soon with Liddell. Show me one person who hasn't given up on the takedown in the first couple rounds and I'll show you a winner. There is nothing magical about his sprawl. He is getting slower with age. <br />The people he gets back up against are not that great on the ground to begin with. You can easily stop a guy from getting back up. I can't wait for Chucky to get KOed by someone smart enough to stick to their gameplan and not play into his strengths.<br />Chucky's KOs don't come from strength. They come from speed and the right angles. A KO is caused by the sudden twist of the brain inside the skull which is why a glancing blow can cause a KO.<br />You watch, a good takedown artist will have no problem taking him down and keeping him down.<br />BTW, do any of you remember how easily strikers were beaten before they changed the rules? Hmm..gee I wonder who standing people up again benefitted?<br />Chucky is a nice guy but very overrated. He fought the best fight of his career against Wanderlei. He used his reach advantage to stay out of the danger zone with him. That is the smartest Liddell we have seen yet.<br />He hasn't evolved much with MMA's evolution because stupid guys fall right into his strengths and don't stick to a gameplan.
SoPoliticallyIncorrect9/5/2008 13:01:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Anyone who has been paying attention for longer than this fight has been billed knows wrestling is irrelevant in this fight. While Im not a fan of either fighter, Chuck has proven he can negate the best of wrestlers technique. Rashad better come to bang and if and when that happens hes stepping into a very dangerous place with Chuck. Rashad had best be aggressive and stay close. Dont fight from a range as that is playing into Chucks strength. Good luck Rashad but I imagine your 0 will go tomorrow night. Never the less...losing to a legend is an honor and to beat him would be the same and a tremendous boost to his career. Win win for Rashad, more pressure on Chuck. I call Karo-Yoshida for fight of the night.
akshnjaxn9/5/2008 12:42:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
aliaszero, Chuck Liddell wrestled at Cal Poly. He never qualified for the National tournament let alone win. Rashad wasn't a national champ either but he wrestled at Michigan State. The Big Ten has at least 9 teams ranked in the top 25 every year. The wrestling egde goes to Evans, by a lot. <br /><br />That being said, Chuck will knock him out in the 1st.
lb_ice_dogs9/5/2008 10:29:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Rashad has better striking? Are you seriously that ignorant about MMA? Better get back to the shallow end of the pool.
9/5/2008 8:33:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
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