Nickname: Iceman

Charles David 'Chuck' Liddell (born December 17, 1969), also known as "The Iceman" is an American mixed martial artist who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Liddell has an extensive background in kickboxing and collegiate wrestling. He is generally regarded as a stand-up fighter, relying primarily on his background in Kenpo karate and Koei-Kan karate, while using his wrestling skills to defend against takedowns. He is also regarded as an unorthodox striker due to his relaxed hands-down stance and the angles at which he throws punches.

Liddell holds notable wins over Renato Sobral(2), Jeff Monson, Guy Mezger, Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz(2), Murilo Bustamante, Alistair Overeem, Jeremy Horn, Wanderlei Silva and Randy Couture(2).

He is noted within the MMA community for his exceptional takedown defense and knockout ability.[2]

Biography

Chuck Liddell began studying Koei-Kan karate at the age of 12;[2] the tattoo seen on his scalp reads "Koei-Kan".[3] He was a four year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School, and became a Division I wrestler at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo[2] and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business/Accounting in 1995. When Liddell started his MMA career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Liddell made his UFC debut in 1998 with a decision victory over Noe Hernandez. Despite a submission loss to Jeremy Horn shortly after, Liddell began establishing his reputation as a devastating striker with victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, and Renato Sobral over the next few years.[4]

By 2002, Liddell was considered the number one contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, with growing popularity and support from his fans. The UFC tried to arrange a title bout with then-champion Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz cited scheduling conflicts.[citation needed] To force Ortiz's hand, they created an interim light heavyweight championship and matched Liddell with experienced wrestler and former heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 43. Couture neutralized Liddell's hooks with straight punches and eventually began taking him down at will. Couture eventually gained full mount and forced a referee stoppage due to strikes.

After this defeat, Liddell entered the PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as the official UFC representative. After defeating Alistair Overeem in the first round of the tournament, Liddell was eliminated in the next round by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, losing by technical knockout.

Returning to the UFC, Chuck was, once again, put in contention for the light heavyweight title, preparing for a match with former champion Tito Ortiz. The men had once trained together at the Pitfight Club and experienced a falling out that escalated as Ortiz taunted Liddell.[citation needed] The falling out stemmed from Ortiz's unwillingness to give Liddell a title fight, despite Liddell's status as a top contender in the UFC. Eventually, after Ortiz lost the title to Randy Couture, the two would meet in a highly anticipated fight at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After most of the first round was spent feeling each other out, Liddell threw a few punches and a kick which was blocked by Ortiz, with Ortiz slapping himself on the head, taunting Liddell. When the round ended Ortiz pushed referee "Big" John McCarthy out of his way into Liddell and yelled while Liddell exchanged some words. Shortly after the second round started, Liddell threw a flurry of punches which knocked Ortiz down and led to a TKO victory. Tito has stated that Chuck's thumb made contact with one of Tito's eyes, causing him to momentarily see "nothing but black".[citation needed] Since UFC 47, the bad blood between both fighters remained, with Ortiz repeatedly stating that he wanted "his" belt back. Despite the tension, Ortiz and Liddell would not fight again for two and a half years.

The Ultimate Fighter

In early 2005, Liddell was seen on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV's reality show featuring fighters competing for a UFC contract. Liddell served as coach of Team Liddell, while fellow fighter and then UFC light heavyweight champion Randy Couture coached Team Couture. The series was a success for both Spike TV and the UFC. Both of the winners of The Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin, were members of Team Liddell, and have gone on to successful careers in MMA.

UFC Championship

On April 16, 2005 at UFC 52, Chuck Liddell would rematch Randy Couture, again for the light heavyweight title. This time the fight ended in a first round knockout victory for Liddell, making him the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Liddell was scheduled to defend his new title against UFC veteran Jeremy Horn, at UFC 54, a matchup the UFC claimed was demanded by long-time fans of the sport since Horn had given Liddell his first loss.[citation needed] Throughout the bout, Liddell dominated with aggressive punches, causing knockdowns in several rounds. Liddell's defensive wrestling ability, especially his sprawl, stifled the bulk of Horn's offense, which was centered on grappling and submission wrestling. Liddell eventually won the fight via TKO in 2:46 minutes of the fourth round after Horn informed the referee that he could not see. Liddell had successfully defended his title and, in the process, avenged two of his three career losses.

On February 4, 2006 at UFC 57, Liddell faced Randy Couture in a rubber match, defeating Couture via knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada to retain the light heavyweight championship belt. After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. In Liddell's next defense, at UFC 62 on August 26, 2006, Liddell would best Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who he had defeated nearly three years prior. Liddell scored a quick TKO victory at 1:35 of the first round.

It was announced during UFC 61 that, if he were to defeat Sobral, Liddell would face off against PRIDE Middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight failed to materialize due to the competing promotions' inability to reach an agreement. UFC president Dana White attributed this to Silva's subsequent knockout loss to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović.[citation needed]

In what would be the most anticipated UFC fight to date,[citation needed] Chuck Liddell would rematch Tito Ortiz at UFC 66, which took place on December 30, 2006. Liddell's takedown defense neutralized Ortiz's wrestling ability, forcing Ortiz to stand up with the more skilled striker. Although Ortiz did take Liddell down at one point in the fight, Liddell went on to defeat Ortiz via TKO in the third round to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. It was later revealed that Liddell tore his MCL prior to the fight. In addition, during the fight he popped the tendon out on the middle finger on his left hand.[5]

Rematch with Jackson

In his fifth defense, Liddell would lose the title at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 in a rematch with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Liddell was knocked down and was subsequently unable to defend himself against Jackson's strikes on the ground, resulting in a referee stoppage. After the loss Liddell was widely criticized after reports indicating he had been seen in night clubs the week before the event. He responded that it was nothing he had not done prior to his other fights in Las Vegas.[6]

At the post-UFC 71 press conference, Liddell indicated he would continue to fight. Dana White also stated that his next opponent would likely be "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva.[7]

On July 11, 2007 Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumoured bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to be the main event for UFC 76 in Anaheim, California.[8]. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine.[9]

In the main event of UFC 76, Liddell lost a split decision to Jardine, the first consecutive losses of his career. Following the fight, UFC president Dana White, who is close friends with Liddell, stated, "The Chuck Liddell that I saw fight didn't look like the Chuck Liddell that loves to fight".[10]

On October 23, 2007 UFC president Dana White announced that a matchup between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision.

On February 1, 2008, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell,[11] however on March 4th it was announced on UFC.com that "Shogun" was receiving surgery on his knee and was forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler Rashad Evans would replace Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight, as well.[12].

Liddell will fight Rashad Evans on September 6th at UFC 88.

Entrance music

Personal Life

Chuck Liddell is associated with The Pit team and recently earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Liddell has a brother, Sean Liddell, who also competes in MMA, fighting last in the WEC.[13] Liddell continues to train in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he attended college. Liddell was once romantically linked to one-time UFC host, pop artist, and Playboy model Willa Ford. He has two children, Trista, 10, and Cade, 9.[14][15] He and Cade appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.

He is a part owner of two bars in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dillinger's and NZone[16]and the Mixed Martial Arts Social Networking Website, MMA Jacked [17]

Print media

On May 9, 2007, Liddell became the first UFC fighter to be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.[18] Liddell also released his autobiography, Iceman: My Fighting Life, on January 29, 2008.[19]

Acting career

Liddell has also made several film and television appearances. He appeared as "Graft" in the pilot episode of the TV series Blade: The Series, had a guest cameo in the first season of Inked on A&E, and made a brief appearance in the 1981 film The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jack Nicholson in which he plays a boy-scout that plays with a register, and is then scolded by Nicholson [1]. Liddell also had a very small part in the Jet Li movie Cradle 2 the Grave as one of the cage fighters, along side Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. He also had a small appearance in the Nickelback music video for their song Rockstar. Liddell is seen in his MMA shorts and holding his fighting gloves.

Liddell appeared as himself in an episode of Entourage entitled "Gotcha," which aired on April 29, 2007. In the episode, he participates in a scheme to a pull a prank on Johnny "Drama" Chase on a Punk'd-like show called Gotcha! hosted by Pauly Shore. "What's a Chuck Liddell?" Chuck Liddell also had a cameo in Bobby Z.

Liddell also appeared as an extra in the movie 300[citation needed] and as a potential bodyguard in Drillbit Taylor.[citation needed]

Good Morning Texas interview

In March, 2007, shortly before UFC 68, he appeared on Good Morning Texas for an interview, and to promote the film 300, but appeared to be very drowsy and fell asleep in mid-interview.[20] UFC President Dana White, along with Liddell's head coach Scott VanGilder, explained that Liddell had pneumonia and had taken a large dose of sedatives the night before the interview.