Chuck Liddell is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time. Now 50-years-old, he’s been there and seen it all. ‘The Iceman’ is a former UFC light-heavyweight champion. His style was super fan-friendly because it was so ferocious. However, that definitely cost him in the latter years of his career.
He even infamously came out of retirement after eight years on the sidelines to fight Tito Ortiz. That ended in a sad KO win for Tito. Alongside Randy Couture, he’s the main reason MMA grew into a legitimate sport. His face definitely belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of MMA.
However, not everybody agrees with his opinions. For example, Liddell openly believes that he would knock out Jon Jones in his prime. What do you think about ‘The Iceman’s’ claim? Does he have a claim or should he just keep dreaming?
jon jones because I think I would have matched up well with him style wise. I would have given him trouble because it would have been very hard to take me down and I would have been landing some insane power punches during my prime. I also have a longer reach than my stats detail https://t.co/QwP6mjUTHj
— Chuck Liddell (@ChuckLiddell) April 8, 2020
Stylistic Advantage
Liddell took the time to answer fan questions on Twitter. One of the most eye-catching was the question of which current light-heavyweight he wishes he could have fought. Unsurprisingly he went for Jon Jones. Well, he was hardly going to say Jan Blachowicz, was he? Liddell genuinely believes that the combination of his power and takedown defense would make it very difficult for Jones.
“Jon Jones because I think I would have matched up well with him style wise,” Liddell wrote. “I would have given him trouble because it would have been very hard to take me down and I would have been landing some insane power punches during my prime. I also have a longer reach than my stats detail.”
Of course, the response to that is that Jones has never been legitimately beaten – excluding his disqualification against Matt Hammil. Would Liddell really have been able to do what nobody else has managed?
Conor McGregor is one of the fighters that you inspired.
What does it mean to you to see a fighter you inspired have the kind of impact that McGregor has had on the sport?@ChuckLiddell #AskChuck pic.twitter.com/cvaHHgiyhg
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) April 8, 2020
Inspiration
The Iceman was also asked what he thinks of Conor McGregor. Liddell was a massive influence upon the Irishman as a young fighter. There’s a famous picture of a beardless, young, spotty McGregor with the 205lb legend. However, Liddell had nothing but good things to say about his fellow former champion.
“It’s an honor for me to inspire a star like Conor,” Liddell wrote of McGregor. ‘He is a bad ass. One thing I most like about Conor is he ‘walks the walk.’ The fact that he even gave me credit for inspiring him really makes things come full circle for me in this sport. living the dream!”
Favorites
He was also asked who he likes to watch these days. You can see below who he chose. However, we assume he didn’t watch Romero v Adesanya. But Liddell is a legend. He knows more about MMA than anyone reading this. So no hating. He responded:
“These days Conor is one of my favorites, Tony Ferguson, Yoel Romero, Israel Adesanya, The Diaz brothers, Jorge Masvidal and Jose Aldo.”
At the age of 50, it’s unlikely we’ll see him fight again. But never say never. This is Chuck Liddell we’re talking about. The man does what he wants, even if it upsets Dana White. I bet he would have loved to fight on UFC island though. The promotion should have done that earlier. It would have been perfect for the Iceman.
