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UFC.com: Roar of the Iceman |
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Written by Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com
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Friday, 25 August 2006 |
 It’s one of the most recognizable images in mixed martial arts – Chuck
Liddell scoring yet another knockout victory and erupting into a
show-stopping yell as he celebrates his win. Yet what makes it stand
out so much is that such an outward sign of emotion is at complete odds
with the personality of the low-key ‘Iceman’.
That’s probably the most excited you’ll see me at any time of the
year,” admits the UFC light heavyweight champion with a chuckle. “I was
training real hard for a long time, went out there and did what I said
I could do. That’s a big thing for me – going out there and performing.”
On
Saturday, Liddell will get a chance to perform again for his legion of
fans when he defends his crown for the third time against a man he beat
by knockout four years ago, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral. But four years is a
long time in the fight game, and Liddell is aware that he’s not
fighting the same man he defeated at UFC 40.
“I think he’s
gotten better in everything,” said Liddell of his challenger. “He’s
taken steps in everything he does, and like all of us, he keeps
improving, and he keeps on working on everything. I thought he was a
tough fight back then, and I think he’s a tough fight now. But I caught
him the first time, and I figure I’m gonna catch him again.”
Liddell,
a true fighter’s fighter, is typically confident for his bouts, but he
also knows that one step in the wrong direction can turn that
confidence into arrogance. He refuses to tread on that road.
“I’m
always confident when I go into fights, but I have a lot of respect for
Babalu, so there’s no worry about being overconfident,” said Liddell,
responding to the number one question on everyone’s mind – how does he
avoid being overconfident when facing a fighter he’s already knocked
out. “I know I’ve got to be in shape for him and I know I’ve got to be
on my game.”
You could chalk that up to just saying the right
thing before a fight, but in Liddell’s case, it’s an honest assessment
because he’s been in Sobral’s shoes, having lost to Jeremy Horn and
Randy Couture by submission and TKO, respectively, and later getting
the chance to avenge those losses, which he did. He knows how dangerous
a man looking for redemption can be.
“It (losing) always
motivated me because I always thought right after the fight that I
should have beaten them,” said Liddell, 36. “A lot of people talk about
knocking a guy out and him remembering that he got knocked out, but I
think this was long enough ago that I don’t think it will be a question
in his head. He’s got 10 straight victories, and I don’t think it’s
anything that’s keeping him up at night. It’s a title, it’s a big shot
for him, and he has the chance to avenge a loss.”
And with Sobral in a completely different place, mentally, from 2002, that makes him even more formidable as a challenger.
“The
mental game is as important, if not more important, than the physical
game,” said Liddell. “If you lose, you pick yourself up and get ready
for the next fight. You don’t let it get to you. I think that’s the
biggest thing. When the obstacles get in your way, it’s how you react
to them and how you get by them.”
As for Liddell, his obstacles
have been getting used to being the face of the UFC in recent years,
and in being a target for every fighter in the 205-pound weight class.
He’s dealt with both like a champ.
Outside the ring Liddell
remains unchanged by the glare of the spotlight, and he owes it to a
tight circle of friends and life in San Luis Obispo, California.
“I’ve
got a lot of friends that I’ve hung out with for 10-15 years that still
hang out with me, and I don’t think they’d let me start acting like a
jerk,” he admits. “They knew me when I was the guy going to college and
working behind the bar. Plus I still live in the same small town, and
things like that (celebrity) aren’t really that big a deal around here.
I think I’m a normal guy, and I try to be as normal as I can.”
When
it comes to life in the Octagon, Liddell is fine with that fact that
every light heavyweight views him as the Holy Grail, the man they have
to beat to fulfill their dream of wearing a UFC championship belt.
“That
doesn’t bother me at all,” he admits. “I’ve never tried to pick fights.
They (the UFC) always ask me ‘do you want to fight on this date?’ And
I’ll say, ‘yep. By the way, who am I fighting?’ (Laughs) So it doesn’t
change anything for me if guys are asking to fight me or training to
fight me. I think a lot of times, if guys are trying to figure out how
to beat me, they’re getting too caught up in that and not concentrating
on fighting their own fight. I think you fight worse if you’re fighting
a certain way to beat someone. You have to fight your own game.”
And
that’s what Chuck Liddell does. There’s no mystery to what he’ll do
once the bell rings, no chance of him sprinting across the Octagon
Saturday night and landing a flying armbar. He’s coming straight at you
and looking to knock you out. For fight fans, that’s comforting,
knowing what you’ll get even before the bell rings. With Liddell,
you’re getting a fight, and more often than not, a knockout.
Yet
despite his accomplishments in the sport thus far, and a list of
victims that reads like a Who’s Who of the sport, if you ask him how he
wants to be remembered when it’s all said and done, the answer is a
simple one:
“As a fighter. I love to fight, I love the fight game, and I went out there and performed.” |
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