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Chuck Liddell Icy Cool on the Eve of the Fight |
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Written by Matt Hill of MMA Weekly.com
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Friday, 29 December 2006 |
 “I know his plan is to try to tire me out and take me
long rounds and win the later rounds, but I’ll be ready to go – I don’t
think it’s going to make it to the fifth round – but I’ll be ready with
a lot of pop and ready to pound him in the fifth round if need be.”
These were the thoughts of UFC Light Heavyweight
Champion Chuck Liddell, who is the #1 Light Heavyweight in the
MMAWeekly Rankings, when he joined MMAWeekly’s SoundOff Radio show to
give his thoughts on his upcoming fight with former UFC Light
Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz, who is currently the #7 Light
Heavyweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings.
Liddell sounded relaxed
even when reminded of the magnitude of the fight he is about to
participate in, thus living up to his moniker ‘The Iceman.’
Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz first fought back in 2004 with Liddell winning the contest with – surprise – his heavy hands.
Tito’s
game plan was suspect in that fight, but since his growth as a fighter
and the maturity that has come with him having been involved in a
growing number of tough, close fights [Vitor Belfort and Forrest
Griffin both come to mind], it is very likely that Tito will come in
with a much better and much more calculated game plan this time around.
When
asked whether or not he felt that the Tito he will face Saturday is the
same Tito that he faced in 2004, Liddell said, “I think that he’s the
same style…I think he’s gotten a little better at certain things, but I
think for the most part he’s still got the same style of fighting.”
Every
time Liddell fights, he entertains…but what did ‘The Iceman’ have to
say about his how he feels when the fans are roaring, the cameras are
rolling and fight time has come?
“I get excited walking out no
matter what it is…I get to go out and fight right now. I’ve been
working three months to get there and I’m just excited to be out there
fighting. When it comes down to it, when they close the cage it’s just
me and him. I love having the crowd out there and I love having them
behind us and I love that roar when you walk out, but it comes down to
two guys fighting in the middle of the ring,” Liddell said.
Most everyone knows that Liddell and Ortiz’s first fight was personal. The only question is…has anything changed?
“It’s
always going to be personal as far as training for it goes, but it’s
never going to be personal as far as fights go,” Liddell said.
Chuck
continued, “I’m not an emotional fighter. I’m a calculated fighter and
I’m going to go out there and do what I do…I’m going to try to impose
my will on him make it my fight.”
Most everyone knows that Tito
is a very passionate fighter who desperately wants to beat Chuck to
retain what he still calls ‘his’ light-heavyweight championship belt.
With the belt clearly being Chuck’s at this point and not Tito’s, is
there any added animosity on Chuck’s part when he hears Tito make these
various statements?
“That’s what he should say…I wouldn’t expect
anything else. What would he be doing in this sport if he wasn’t trying
to get his title back,” Liddell said.
If Chuck does happen to
get by Tito on Saturday night, the next fight on his horizon may very
well be Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson – the last man to hold a win over
Liddell. Since the news broke recently that the UFC had purchased the
WFA – the company in which ‘Rampage’ has a contract – the prospect of
Chuck getting the opportunity to avenge his last loss to Jackson just
became much more probable.
When the news finally broke about the WFA, Liddell said, “I was very excited.”
Chuck
continued, “That’s going to be great for me…that’s the last loss on my
record, but right now I’m not worried about that. I’m going to go out
there and worry about taking care of Tito and moving on after that.
We’ll worry about Quinton and some of the other guys when I’m done.”
Fans
have speculated before how much longer Chuck will fight before he
decides to finally hang up his gloves, but according to Liddell he
still has plenty of fight left in him.
Many people still wonder, though, if Chuck beats Tito and then Rampage could Liddell’s retirement be the next big announcement?
“I’m looking at retiring on top as the champion, but not after those two fights,” Chuck said.
Liddell
continued, “I’ve still got a lot more in me. I’m hoping for another 2-3
years of fighting…6, 9, 10, 12 fights I hope I still got in me, so
we’ll see what my body will let me do, but right now I’m feeling great.
I’m as sharp as I ever have been and I’m in great shape, so I think I
could go for a long time.”
Tune in Saturday night to see the
long-awaited rematch between ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ Tito Ortiz
and ‘The Iceman’ Chuck Liddell. This fight will likely be the most
watched fight in UFC history so be sure to grab a ticket or watch the
fight live on PPV to catch all of the electrifying UFC action.
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