This is One of the Worst Things We’ve Ever Had to Cover in MMA… Chuck Liddell is a Legend… But He Should Not Have Been in that Cage Against Tito Ortiz…
Chuck Liddell v Tito Ortiz III finally went down in the Forum in Los Angeles, California last night. The pair were headlining the debut fight card of Oscar De La Hoya’s Goldeboy MMA. When this fight was announced, there was a widespread shock that ‘The Iceman’ was coming back out of retirement after 8 years away from the cage.
Liddell is 49 next month and the big question was how would his age affect his ability to perform against a very dangerous opponent in Ortiz. The Iceman had beaten Ortiz twice by knockout – in 2004 and 2006 – but Ortiz is a relative spring chicken at the age of 42, and much more active. His last fight was a submission victory over Chael Sonnen under the Bellator label, in 2017.
Unfortunately, this went the way the bookies thought it would. Liddell was smashed out in the first round, looking every bit his age. If you want to watch it, you can check this sad footage out below.
Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz #LiddellOrtiz3 pic.twitter.com/A48ZznimlC
— ZombieProphet (@GIFsZP) November 25, 2018
Washout
This was an absolute wash out. Liddell brought a smile to his fans’ faces by wearing his classic blue icicle shorts. That was where the joy ended though. He moved around the octagon with all the grace of a geriatric hippopotamus, looking terrible for the four minutes and twenty-four seconds that the fight lasted.
Ortiz swiftly grew in confidence, pushing forward towards his opponent. At one point he openly mocked Liddell pointing at his own chin to invite the older fighter to come forward. Finally, he let loose with a flurry of punches, dropping ‘The Iceman’ and winning by first round KO.
It was difficult to watch.
https://twitter.com/RcTWood/status/1066561244289585152
No Winner
Even though Ortiz won this fight, he must realize that there’s no real winner in this fight. He beat a washed-up Liddell, who looked a shadow of his former self. When asked where he plans on going from here, Liddell responded that he didn’t know. There’s already talk of the veteran fighting CM Punk, but let’s not go there. Please.
Oscar De La Hoya will be laughing all the way to the bank after his first foray into MMA promotion went off as a reasonable success. The production was pretty good, with the blue ring a reminder of the days of WEC. It will be interesting to see where Goldenboy MMA goes from here.
Results
You can see the full results from Goldenboy MMA 1 below:
MAIN CARD
- Tito Ortiz def. Chuck Liddell via knockout (punch).
- Deron Winn def. Tom Lawlor via unanimous decision.
- Gleison Tibau def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision.
- Ricky Palacios def. Walel Watson via knockout (punches).
- James Barnes def. Alberto Morales via submission (armbar).
- Jay Silva def. Oscar Cota via technical submission (arm-triangle choke).
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Johnny Cisneros def. Dave Terrel via unanimous decision.
- Fernie Garcia def. Joe Roye via submission (rear-naked choke).
- Francisco Estrada def. Jose Huerta via submission (rear-naked choke).
- Keith Berry vs. Joseph Henle.
- Joshua Jones vs. Craig Wilkerson.
