10 Things UFC Want You To Forget About Chuck Liddell
4. Glover Teixeira And Jones Superfight
In the build up to UFC 172 where Glover Teixeira would be challenging Jon Jones for his light heavyweight title, the Brazilian was very much being presented as the spiritual successor to Chuck Liddell. Not only had he trained at The Pit for many years alongside Chuck but Teixeira is a fighter cut from the same cloth as The Iceman, both renowned head-hunters with big punching power. Possibly in an attempt to get inside the head of his teammates opponent, Chuck had an interview with FOX Sports in which he imparted his belief that he would have been a horrible matchup for Jon Jones and that he would have walked through his punches and he wouldnt have caught me with anything. The characteristically meddlesome Chael Sonnen was able to exacerbate the situation when he interviewed the current light heavyweight champion about the comments made by the former 205-lb champ on UFC Tonight. When asked about Liddells comments, Jon Jones gave the following response:
Im not going to sit here and insult Chuck. Hes a very, very loved person by the masses, so Im just going to keep my mouth shut. But I mean, its like, come on, Chuck, just knock it off. Keep your mouth shut. At the end of the day, if Chuck wants to come out retirement, I welcome him to a superfight.
He may have been respectful at first, but the open challenge from Bones was major news in the MMA community and represented the wrong kind of publicity for the UFC. On the one hand, Chuck Liddell a fighter branded as the man to never turn down a fight could obviously not step-up and fight the greatest mixed martial artist on the planet in Jon Jones, so it reflected badly on him. On the other hand, current-champion Jon Jones was made to seem like a coward and a bully for calling out a 44-year-old man who hadnt fought since 2010. Damaging on all fronts for the UFC.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
