Video | Chuck Liddell would consider return to fighting if offered a title shot
By Lewis Mckeever:
With Jon Jones continuing to grow and evolve at such a frenetic pace, I’m reluctant to think that many of the prospects included in the UFC light heavyweight roster are chomping at the bit to get their hands on the current champ. Legendary hall of famer Chuck Liddell however, recently flirted with the idea on last night’s Fuel TV show, UFC Tonight.
“The only thing that would even make me think about it is if they gave me a shot at the title. So, we’ll see. For now? Yeah. Jon Jones. I don’t wanna come back as a sideshow. It’s just one of those things. It’s not something I wanna do.”
“The Iceman” then proceeded to share his thoughts on the current 205 lb. overlord:
“I’ll never say never. Not in this sport. Anybody can lose at any time. If he keeps doing what he does, he’s gonna be hard to beat if he keeps doing what he’s doing. He follows his game plan. He trains hard. He keeps learning. He’s young and he’s athletic and a great athlete. He’s a great guy. He’s gonna be hard to beat, but I’m never gonna say no one’s gonna beat him.”
Chuck goes on to discuss how difficult a decision it was to retire, and how he had always planned on going out on his shield:
“You know, it was a hard decision to make, to retire, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t compete with guys. I can’t quite take a punch like I used to and I didn’t wanna change my style. I could start wrestling and try to control guys, but then I still got the chance of getting hit hard. It just wasn’t the way I wanted to fight. I fought so many years, and I wanted to go out fighting the way I like to fight: exciting and fun.”
So how about it? Has Penn Nation ever pondered the idea of a prime Chuck Liddell locking horns with Jon Jones? If only time travel was a reality…
Check out the full video interview with Chuck below:
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I have pondered it and Chuck would KO Jones in his prime.
Damn right!
Hell yea chuck in his prime would smash him
Maybe chuck can grow a MOP of a beard like Big country and Fitch to protect his glass chin. has anyone seen the beard Fitch grew for his next fight? its down right embarressing
Lesnar- Beard
Kimbo- Beard
Hendrix – Beard
Fitch – Beard
Jones- Beard
Nelson- Beard.. This guy’s beard definitely is a chin guard!
Lol you secretly have a crush on Fitch.
when was his prime? cuz i was never impressed with him!
I was impressed with how somebody with average technique and goofy looking punches kept winning fights but that’s all.
In his prime it woul dbe a great fight but I’d go Jones. Chuck’s chin has totally gone so I hope he doesn’t come back….unless it’s for another fight with Tito…..
Mr. Dollop you must be kidding!?! I’m not much of a Jones fan and I love Chuck, but there is no way. Even being a counterpuncher savant as Chuck is, I think Jones has to many weapons. He hasn’t been relevant in years and would get dominated by lesser oponents in that weight division.
He can’t fight him now, he has no chin. But his hyper aggressive fighting style and Wandy’s fighting style are very well suited for a fighter like Jones.
A pride era Wand hopped up on PEDs would probably get the job done…
Wanderlei was a monster in Pride. No doubt the way he fought back in the day that Jones couldn’t sit there and look pretty like he does. He would have to get in there and brawl, or get ko’d like everybody else that decided to sign that dotted line.
You can’t help but feel sorry for all those Japanese fighters who were fed to dudes like Silva, Rampage, and Cro Cop back then.
prime chuck would KO just about anyone. cept his kryptonite rampage
Chuck liddell in his prime was the most dominate lhw theres ever been jones may be on his way but in his prime chuck could time and counter jones at will
Note that he said ‘in his prime’, if Chuck and Jones were to go head to head tomorrow, it’s end in RD. 1 with Liddell on his ass. If they were to fight when Chuck or Silva (Wandy) were in their prime (back when Wandy was kneeing Rampage through the ropes and Liddell was knocking out people left and right), Bones would have his hands full.
Are you kidding? have you seen Chuck on his PRIME?… Mr. Dollop is right if chuck is on hi sp rime and jon jones is next in line, jones will sleep..
Lotta love for the ICEMAN on BJPENN.com I see, very nice. I too love Chuck! He is the foundation of the UFC. I just think today’s fighters are way to multi-dimensional and at another level then Chuck even in his prime. Look at what Matt did to Gracie! I just believe it’s the evolution of the sport and the sport reaching the masses. So…for all you thinking that Chuck would win, PASS THE PAKALOLO!!!
Chuck Liddell in his prime, back when he was knocking everybody out would’ve been able to beat Jon Jones. The Chuck we saw against Shogun would have absolutely no chance in the world.
i dont give a shit what the outcome would be i just wanna see the iceman step into the octagon again
I would love to see Chuck Liddell in the Octagon again as well, just not fighting. Chuck was one of the most diminant LHW of all time, I do think he would give anyone a run for their money, whe he was in his prime. Shogun would never hace beaten Chuck when Chuck could take a. punch.
The title to this is very misleading. Its not like Chuck approached someone saying he would like to come out of retirement and fight for a title. Hes saying the only way he would consider coming out of retirement is for a title shot. He doesn’t want to be a sideshow, he went out on his shield in a competitive fight with Franklin, wish people would stop poking at him with these dumb ass questions. Its obvious the guy is having a hard time staying out of the cage, people need to let him get over it and get on with his life.
You’re right. I should have read through the quote properly. I’ve adjusted the headline accordingly
I have a question. When I first started coming to this site, it seemed like Pedro wrote all the articles. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen multiple new authors. Do you guys write specifically for this site or are you kind of like the associated press and put out articles that numerous publications pick up? No offense intended, I’m just curious.
It would be legendary if he came back!! Fingers crossed!
Ok guys… Relax…. No one is asking about ice mans prime time… He was and will b a legend ..WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NOW? ….I PERSONALLY THINK THAT ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN ( I’m talking about Liddell KO Jones) BUT IF JONES PERFORMES LIKE HE DID AGAINST EVANS… THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL LIDELL BEAT JONES (( DONT FORGET THAT JONES WILL FACE HENDO 1st…AND THAT’S ANOTHER TOPIC))
chuck liddell in his prime wouldnt be able to touch jones. 5 chuck liddels in their prime wouldnt be able to beat jones. hes just better all around. the game has evolved, the fighters have evolved.
Chuck has that look in his eyes. He will be champ again. Rumor is that he got a chin transplant.
hope it’s jay leno’s
Reply = perfection
Seconded, sheer brilliance
+ 200
Its insulting to Chuck when people say that Chuck in his prime would beat Jones. (meaning he sucks now?) He was one of the greatest. The Champs of now seem to be a little more rounded but bottom line, a Champ is a Champ.Every Champ/fighter has an expiration date. Most dont like to admit when its time to hang up the gloves.You can never count out Chuck but i dont want to see him lose to anyone.
I hear ya there. Watching a Liddell fight a few years back was like watching violent poetry in motion. It was painful to watch Franklin knock him out though.
Kind of ****ed up that they showed highlights of him getting KO’d.
Dreams are free chuck. tis a shame
Chuck was awesome in his prime, but it was getting hard to watch at the end with him getting ko’d all the time. I would love to see him tko Tito one more time though.
no disrespect liddell but anderson,jones, or jds would destroy you.
Agreed although I do wish Chuck had fought Anderson in his prime. That could have happened feasibly and would have been a stunning fight either way
I’m a huge Chuck fan and no doubt in his prime he was amazing but even then, I think Jones is too good and he’s not even hit his stride yet. He’s a sign of the sport evolving and the necessity of being excellent at all aspects of the game if you want to be a champion these days; you can’t really just focus on one area anymore. In the striking Jones reach and accuracy and unorthodox style would make counterpunching really difficult even for Chuck but if he wasn’t winning there his wrestling is amazing and his submissions are brilliant too even standing.
I love Chuck and I think in his prime he’d be the biggest threat Jones could face, but I don’t think JJ is close to being in his prime yet and I still think I’d give him the edge.
Damm I though chuck was fast but after watching Jone and Liddell highlight back to back, jones striking was faster and seemed more powerful then chucks. That kids legit. Gonna be hard to stop. Especially since he’s fighting only the best now.
Yeah… this sport has evolved like every other sport… and players get bigger faster and better.. Chuck in his prime would do no better then any of the guys facing Jon Jones now.. Infact i assume he would do worse… because he was from the old school… old MMA fighters would get handled by these new guys…. One day your gonna have guys that been doing MMA since they were 5.. instead of ex wrestlers and karated or judo guys that decided to start training and fight in MMA….. and the more money there is to be earned in MMA then you start attracting the worlds top level athletes.. They might decide to fight in the UFC instead of play in the NFL or NBA…
XBOX 720 (2012), PS4 (2012), Chuck Liddell fighting at least “1″ more fight in 2012