Chuck Liddell is open to a comeback for the right money and right opponent.
UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell retired from the sport in 2010 after suffering a three-fight KO losing streak, but the 47-year-old is considering a comeback.
There was rumors of a trilogy fight with ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’, Tito Ortiz, earlier this year when ‘The Iceman’ posted a picture of a face-off with Ortiz on social media.
The bout never materialized, but Liddell still has the ‘itch’ to compete. In fact, despite being retired for over seven years, that drive to compete has never left him.
“I don’t think the itch to fight has ever left me, ever,” Liddell said on the 400th episode of The MMA Hour, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. “I mean, I got paid to do what I love for a living, and I got paid very well to do it. So that’s going to always be there. That’s always going to be like, ‘Man, I wouldn’t mind getting out there again.’ That’ll always be there, and then it’s just that battle of should I? Or, is it the right thing to do? That’s what it all comes down to.”
Liddell, who was let go from his UFC executive role after the promotion was bought out by WME-IMG in 2016, is open to a ‘legends’ fight for the right amount of money.
“I have had people that I was doing some promotion stuff with go, ‘You know, we had an idea. We should have, like, a legends fight,’” the former UFC light heavyweight champion said. “It’s always that. That conversation always comes up when we’re talking about doing some promotion for a company, or helping them promote their league. The conversation always leads to, ‘Have you ever thought about doing a legends fight?’ Like, ‘We have this new idea, we’re thinking about a legends fight.’ New idea, yeah, that’s brand new. No, it always comes up.
“But it’s just, in the right situation, if they offered enough money, and my body would hold up to getting in shape, I’m not saying I’d say no.”
Although the UFC has shifted towards money fights as of late, it’s unlikely that MMA’s premiere promotion would entertain the possibility of a ‘legends’ fight featuring Liddell. Scott Coker’s Bellator, however, could be open to the idea.
Liddell, who has a good relationship with Coker, said there’s been no offers on the table but would welcome a return against former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, who has called everyone out from Liddell to Fedor Emelianenko.
“I’ve been friends with Scott, I’ve known Scott a long time. But there’s been no offers.
“Talk about if I had to pick an easy big-name fight to come back to,” Liddell said of Sonnen. “If I ease into fighting again, I mean, a warm-up fight, that’s the one you’re talking about.”
Liddell is one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time and went on to defend his UFC title four times before losing to ‘Rampage’ Jackson in 2007.