The Trilogy is Drawing Closer And The Trash Talk is Heating Up… Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz Will Fight in November And The Iceman is Turning Up The Heat…
To say that Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz’s upcoming fight is long-awaited might be stretching the truth just a little bit. ‘The Iceman’ is set to make his comeback after having been officially retired for 8 years.
However, he has been seduced by the octagon once again and is set to fight Ortiz on November 24 in The Forum in Los Angeles. There’s no doubt that this will probably be one of the biggest MMA Pay-Per-Views of the year because it’s got that kind of freak-spectacle, that PRIDE was so famous for.
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya will be rubbing his hands together gleefully because the war of words is heating up. Liddell has countered Ortiz’s claims of an easy win with a crushing put-down.
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Ready
According to Liddell, who has walked away from a cushy executive position with the UFC, he just wasn’t able to resist stepping back into the cage. There’s something intoxicating about the experience; the lights, the crowd, the carnage, and being loved by everyone.
He also has no time for Ortiz’s claims that he will finally beat Liddell. Ortiz lost on both previous occasions with the Iceman knocking him out. Those fights were in 2004 and 2006 respectively. This rivalry is back on the boil though and Liddell has a simple message for Ortiz:
“He keeps saying I’m a shell of the man I was and now he can beat me. Why would you even want to promote that? ‘The only reason I can beat you now is because you’re a shell of the man you used to be’?”
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Good Point
It’s a very good point and ironically it’s a really dangerous narrative for Ortiz to be pushing. Compared to the 48-year-old Liddell, Ortiz is practically a spring chicken at six years his junior. He’s also been much more active with wins under the Bellator in 2017, with his final appearance a rear-naked choke win over Chael Sonnen.
Obviously, this fight is as much about the money as it is the glory. The only one of the two who will really enhance his legacy by winning is Liddell because Ortiz has already tarnished any potential victory by calling his opponent too old. Maybe he should have thought about that just a little bit more…
Upcoming
This is likely to be Liddell’s final final appearance in a cage under MMA rules. He has said that he does have a number of plans for the future, including opening his own MMA gym. Speaking to ESPN, he said:
“It’s kind of cool doing this and getting back into it and how many people have come up to me and said I’ve inspired them to get back into doing something they love, or to go and start working hard at something, or to try something they didn’t think they could do,” said Liddell.
“I am going to open a gym after this. I am going to stay in the sport, competing at least as a coach, if nothing else. This whole journey gets me back to my love of the sport, to being in and around the sport. I missed it.”
