10 Things UFC Want You To Forget About Chuck Liddell

2. Alleged Alcoholism

In the build-up to The Ultimate Fighter: Liddell Vs. Ortiz, the friends-turned-enemies Tito and Chuck had rekindled their sniping at one another in the media. A comment made by Ortiz to MMA Junkie particularly resonated with Chuck, as The Huntington Beach Bad Boy implied that The Iceman had had an issue with alcohol:

I think had a problem. A lot of people go through addiction. I think his deal was he was an alcoholic. He loved to party. Thank God that Dana gave an intervention, and he€™s sober now ... I€™m proud he€™s found sobriety €“ very proud of him.

Ortiz was criticised by Dana White for making this heavily sarcastic statement to the press, which Chuck denied whole heartedly. Stunned that Tito would try and tarnish his character like this, Chuck said that €“ where he had been viewing this rubber match with Ortiz as a tune-up fight before €“ he was now out to hurt the hall of famer. Thankfully for Tito Ortiz, an injury forced him to withdraw from the fight to be replaced by ex-middleweight champ Rich Franklin. Though Chuck denied the allegations, the aforementioned sightings of Liddell partying the night before his clash with Rampage €“ an event which preceded Ortiz€™ comments €“ does seem to point to the contrary. Obviously it isn€™t a requisite to be drunken while clubbing, but the two often go hand-in-hand. A subsequent issue, discussed next, also corroborates Tito€™s statement.