At today’s press conference for the UFC’s latest blockbuster pay per view a man that did more than most to make such events possible finally made his peace with the fading of the light, with UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell announcing that he was retiring from fighting. Liddell was the UFC’s original crossover star, starring alongside Randy Couture in the debut season of its breakthrough series The Ultimate Fighter and winning over a new generation of fans to MMA as Light Heavyweight Champion. Even over three years after he lost his title to Rampage Jackson he was still one of the most popular and talked about fighters in the sport.
The announcement of his retirement brought to an end an often ugly saga that saw Liddell’s promoter UFC President Dana White repeatedly try to persuade his close friend to retire. White originally entered mixed martial arts as Liddell’s manager and the two remained close as Liddell moved up the ranks of the organization that White went on to run. However Liddell would fall on hard times, with the once granite chinned fighter being brutally knocked out by Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua in the space of just five fights. After the Rua loss, White took the extraordinary extent to ‘bench’ one of his most popular attractions, telling everyone that as Liddell was no longer competitive with the very best in the Light Heavyweight Division and had plenty of money, there was no point in him continuing to put his health at risk by competing with younger, faster, stronger opponents.
Instead of spouting the old clichés about having to give the fans what they want or the fighter being the best one to know when to call it quits, White spoke from the heart about how Liddell was his friend and that he didn’t want to see him getting hurt in fights that served no good purpose. Typically he took it a step further and started criticizing those close to Chuck Liddell (most notably his trainer John Hackleman) who seemingly weren’t fully behind his benching of the former Light Heavyweight Champion. White would eventually be talked out of his better judgment, begrudgingly allowing Liddell to return to supposedly face Tito Ortiz although the health problem of his nemesis would result in Liddell eventually facing Rich Franklin at UFC 115. Liddell turned up in tremendous shape, not only demonstrating a physique far more ripped than the one sported in his prime but also utilizing a surprisingly varied offense. The improved performance saw Liddell dominate, shattering Franklin’s arm with a powerful high kick. However when he charged at Franklin to finish the fight, he was caught and knocked out with a counter-punch from his one-armed opponent. The third knockout loss in as many fights as well as the relatively innocuous nature of the knockout blow just underlined the fact that the punch resistance that once brought Liddell so much success was long gone.
Dana White renewed his attempts to force Liddell into retirement, going further than before in hinting that he would be willing to see Liddell leave the organization rather than have him fight inside the Octagon ever again. Not even the news that UFC 115 had exceeded expectations on pay per view and been purchased by more than 500,000 people or TUF11’s strong ratings would sway White. His determination to save Liddell from further punishment was quite frankly exceptional showing both genuine concern for the well-being of his friend but also incredible foresight to see that whatever money could be made from Liddell in the short-term would not be worth the long-term damage to mixed martial arts if the first breakthrough superstar of the UFC was to suffer the same sad fate of boxing greats such as Muhammad Ali.
In today accepting his friend’s wise and at times unwelcome advice, Chuck Liddell is making the right decision for himself and his future. While nothing will compare to the thrill of competing, in his new role of Executive Vice President for Business Development Liddell will continue to help grow his sport and take the UFC to ever greater heights. For an organization that has for so long promised to learn the lessons of boxing’s many mistakes, the fact that it has successfully given its original crossover star a dignified exit and promising future is one more promise kept.
[Reprinted from FoxSports with permission]
