There are few treasures on this Earth as elusive as glory. In most cases it takes a triumphant, against all odds situation for glory to surface and when it arrives it becomes a spectacle frozen in time, etched into the walls of history and burned into the fibers of our memories. Of all things fought and earned in this world glory comes with a price and it is a price that men have given their very lives for. The curious thing about glory is that when it is obtained it is a radiant, golden object placed on a pedestal for all to admire, but when glory begins to fade, it brings with it the doldrums of loss and the tarnish of what once was.
In the world of sports glory is the greatest prize of all. It is a victory awarded to the greatest of champions and can appear in all shapes, sizes and forms. For some, it’s the hoisting of a trophy…for others it’s a championship belt, but for that ever select few, those who have risen above even those who fly the highest…glory comes in the form of legacy. To some the word legacy is a source of pride, looking back on the triumphs and celebration of a career enthralled with success. On the other side of legacy, there is a haunting specter that follows a man down every path he travels…and Chuck Liddell now stands at this very crossroad.
The ascension of the UFC has played out within this current generation. While the foundation was built by ju-jitsu masters, brawlers, and singular faceted wrestlers, the current rise of MMA has been propelled by the evolution of the mixed martial artist. Long gone are the tournament days of style vs. style face-offs, barroom brawlers, and ankle lock artists. But while the saying still rings true that “styles make fights” there is no longer room in the world of MMA for single style combatants.
Many credit Frank Shamrock and Bas Ruten as the pioneers of the complete fighter genesis and while there may be great truth within this notion, no one fighter has launched the trajectory of an organization more than Chuck Liddell. The Mohawk…the cool demeanor before ignition, the rage in the eyes of a victorious warrior…the hawk-like precision of the champions eyes as he zeros in to drop the kill on his prey. These are all trademarks of “The Iceman”, a champion who is chasing the ghost of a not too distant past.
On Saturday June 12th, in Vancouver British Columbia Chuck Liddell will finally set about one of these paths and if Chuck himself has any say about the matter, the road he will have earned his way upon is the one that leads back to the golden glow of glory. There have been a select few warriors who have scuffled, skirmished and struggled to regain the shine of faded glory but it is an avenue many have traveled but only few have found successful. In boxing there was George Foreman and his 50 year old run at a heavyweight championship. Who can forget a much larger, no longer chiseled out of granite frame of the former champion as he accomplished what few believed he could? In the world of mixed martial arts Randy Couture is the most prominent example of what a champion can accomplish as he has shattered expectations and demonstrated how an “old man” can compete in a young man’s game. Couture has the rare position of both victory and defeat at the hands of Chuck Liddell and if there is anything that can be learned from the late career resurgence of Foreman and Couture it is this…both men have had to adapt to survive in a world they no longer dominated.
When Chuck Liddell faced Tweeto Ortiz in a long awaited showdown the eyes of the world were just opening to the UFC. One year later when he earned his rematch with then light heavyweight champion Randy Couture, at the culmination of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, the world was awake and on the ready. This fight would not find the same fate, nor would it find the same fighter in Chuck Liddell. In their first meeting Randy out-muscled Chuck in every facet of the game. Couture worked Liddell to exhaustion before pounding out a stoppage victory. In the rematch though, Liddell was elusive, crisp and devastating as he dropped Couture with a precision right hand to end the fight and claim the belt that he had so long been chasing.
The world belonged to Chuck Liddell in that moment…and it was a reign of dominance that seemed as if it would last forever…
The Liddell championship era saw many changes in the landscape of mixed martial arts. The now famous “Griffin vs. Bonnar” fight had attracted a new breed and generation of fan to the sport and the UFC had begun to air more programming on Spike TV. Just as important, if not more so was the collapse of the once powerful PRIDE organization in Japan, and with its downfall arrived a bevy of battle tested talent to the world of the UFC. Many of PRIDE’s best fighters had long been considered the upper echelon of the sport and it would not take long for the seemingly new kids on the block to shake the very foundation to their new home. All the while, Liddell the invincible champion had continued to pulverize his opponents with highlight reel knockout after knockout. Questions began to arise about Liddell’s motivation as his popularity soared. Pictures of the champion at after-hours hot spots caught by celebrity paparazzi added to the not so rage filled celebration he once made famous, led some to believe that Liddell’s championship throne was ripe for the taking. Enter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson…
It was a little known fact outside of the die-hard community of MMA that Liddell had previously met and lost to Jackson in Japan. The new fan base that took to the sport after the Griffin vs. Bonnar fight only knew of the dynamic champion and his unstoppable tear thru the UFC, while those who had followed the sport for some time were well aware of what happened when the two fighters first met in Japan. In the pre-fight hoopla Rampage seemed more confident than ever and this enraged Liddell’s rabid fan base. Chuck on the other hand seemed a step off in his declarations and when the two men finally clashed in May of 2007 at UFC 71, the ever changing tides of glory dramatically shifted for Chuck Liddell. One ill-timed body punch…one perfectly placed right hand and the rest is MMA history. Rampage was well into his celebration before Liddell regained his bearings and while Chuck clamored that this was simply a misstep, as is so often the case, the loss to Jackson seemed to take more than just his title away.
Chuck would go on to lose four out of his next five fights with three of those losses coming by way of knockout. He lost a hard fought decision against gatekeeper Keith Jardine but bounced back in inspirational fashion in route to a “fight of the year” victory against fellow MMA legend Wanderlei Silva. With the victory over Silva seemingly came the rebirth of Chuck Liddell. The fire danced back into his eyes and the man who once dripped confidence seemed to have the world behind him once more. Chuck beamed with determination as he prepared for The Ultimate Fighter season two winner and Jardine teammate Rashad Evans. Many questions arose to how Chuck would handle the youth, speed and power of Evans but those questions did not require explanation from the longtime champion. All it took to silence the masses was Liddell’s assurance that he would knock Evans out and it was a statement that seemed as good as the gold he once proudly wore around his waist. Liddell vs. Evans took place at UFC 88 in Atlanta and when the two fighters stood face to face, listening to their instructions, Liddell looked determined to show Evans why many were saying Evans had no business being in the octagon with the likes of Chuck Liddell. One ill-timed uppercut…one perfectly devastating over hand right and the rest is MMA history. As Rashad basked in the glow of the underdog proved righteous, Liddell’s rolled back eyes were plastered on the Tele-tron. It was the hardest pill to swallow for his dearest fans and MMA fans alike, because what we were seeing on the Tele-tron was not only a once great fighter crumpled at the hands of youth, power and speed but the possibility of faded glory’s onset.
UFC President, former manager and longtime friend Dana White was suddenly being trounced with calls and questions about Liddell’s retirement. The sadness was evident in the historically poker faced White as he did his best to fend of the reputation and career of his friend and former champion. It took months for Liddell to resurface but when he did he came to the public with determination…but what he found was that once again the tides had shifted. In his past losses all it would take were a few confident statements about knocking out his opponents and everything would fall nicely into place. After the crushing knockout he suffered at the hands of Rashad Evans, fans were slow to believe in battle cry of the former champion. Liddell, who for the longest time had refused to alter his pre-fight preparation had now enlisted Olympic Gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. as his new boxing coach. Davis and longtime trainer John Hackleman alike took to Chuck’s defense proclaiming that Liddell had fixed the minor flaws that had cost him the previous fights and guaranteed the world would see “a new and improved” Chuck Liddell when he faced Pride superstar Maurico “Shogun” Rua. This time around it wasn’t all Liddell’s history that encouraged fans to believe…for Rua, who had once ruled the 205lb division of Pride, had looked less than spectacular in his submission loss to Forrest Griffin as well as painful to watch victory over MMA legend Mark Coleman. This seemed to be the perfect fight for the sleeker version of Chuck Liddell and the world tuned in to UFC 97 to watch the tarnished champion get back on track. One ill-timed misstep…one calculated and obvious leaping left hook and the rest is MMA history. While Shogun’s translator shared Rua’s elation with the fans of the UFC, Dana White was putting the nail into the coffin of his longtime friend and former champion’s career. “Chuck Liddell will never fight in the UFC again,” White declared at the post-fight press conference and while every MMA journalist and pundit seemingly aided in carrying Liddell’s casket to the ceremony, Chuck Liddell had other thoughts. While he slipped out of the public eye he took with him the pain of his fall from grace as well as the reality that he knew words were no longer going to be enough…that the mystique he once defeated fighters with before they entered the cage had gone…and that he would have to convince both his boss and the world that there was still a place in the organization he helped create, for a man that only knows how to fight and a legacy that could be reborn if only he could find the right formula.
A formula that will be tested in Vancouver at UFC 115. It's there he will face UFC former Middleweight Champion, Rich Franklin.
Stay posted to BJPenn.com for part 2 of “Chasing the Ghost of Chuck Liddell”.
(article written by Duane Finley, MMA News Contributor from BJPENN.COM)
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