Charles David 'Chuck' Liddell (born December 17, 1969), also known as "The Iceman" is a former American mixed martial artist (MMA) who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Liddell has an extensive background in kickboxing and collegiate wrestling. He is noted within the MMA community for his exceptional takedown defense and knockout ability. He is generally regarded as a stand-up fighter, relying primarily on his background in Kempo karate and Koei-Kan karate, while using his wrestling skills to defend against takedowns. He is also regarded as an unorthodox striker due to his relaxed hands-down stance and the angles at which he throws punches.

Along with fellow UFC fighter, Randy Couture, Liddell is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment.

Biography

Chuck Liddell began studying Koei-Kan karate at the age of 12; the tattoo seen on his scalp reads "Koei-Kan". He was a four year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School. While growing up in Santa Barbara, he often frequented the infamous Del Playa Drive, the middle of the party scene of the college town of Isla Vista, where he often found himself in fights with drunk college students. He became a Division I wrestler at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business/Accounting in 1995. When Liddell started his MMA career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Liddell made his UFC debut in 1998 with a decision victory over Noe Hernandez. Despite a submission loss to top contender Jeremy Horn shortly after, Liddell began establishing his reputation as a devastating striker with victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral and Tito Ortiz over the next few years.

By 2002, Liddell was considered the number one contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, with growing popularity and support from his fans. The UFC tried to arrange a title bout with then-champion Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz cited scheduling conflicts. To force Ortiz's hand, they created an interim light heavyweight championship and matched Liddell with experienced wrestler and former heavyweight champion "The Natural" Randy Couture at UFC 43. Couture neutralized Liddell's hooks with straight punches and eventually began taking him down at will. Couture eventually gained full mount and forced a referee stoppage due to punches.

After this defeat, Liddell entered the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as the official UFC representative. After defeating Alistair Overeem in the first round of the tournament, Liddell was eliminated in the next round by PRIDE veteran Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, losing by corner stoppage, when his corner threw in the towel.

Returning to the UFC, Chuck was, once again, put in contention for the light heavyweight title, preparing for a match with former champion Tito Ortiz. The men had once trained together at the Pitfight Club and experienced a falling out that escalated as Ortiz taunted Liddell.[citation needed] The falling out stemmed from Ortiz's unwillingness to give Liddell a title fight, despite Liddell's status as the top contender in the UFC. Eventually, after Ortiz lost the title to Randy Couture, the two would meet in a highly anticipated fight at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After most of the first round was spent feeling each other out, Liddell threw a few punches and a kick which was blocked by Ortiz, with Ortiz slapping himself on the head, taunting Liddell. When the round ended Ortiz pushed referee "Big" John McCarthy out of his way into Liddell and yelled while Liddell exchanged some words. Shortly after the second round started, Liddell threw a flurry of punches which knocked Ortiz down and led to a TKO victory. Tito has stated that Chuck's thumb made contact with one of Tito's eyes, causing him to momentarily see "nothing but black". Since UFC 47, the bad blood between both fighters remained, with Ortiz repeatedly stating that he wanted "his" belt back. Despite the tension, Ortiz and Liddell would not fight again for two and a half years.

The Ultimate Fighter

In early 2005, Liddell was a coach on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV's reality show that featured fighters competing for a UFC contract. Liddell was the coach of Team Liddell, while then-UFC-light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture coached Team Couture. The series was a success for both Spike TV and the UFC. Both of the winners of The Ultimate Fighter, Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin, were members of Team Liddell and have gone on to successful MMA careers.

UFC Championship

On April 16, 2005 at UFC 52, Chuck Liddell would rematch Randy Couture, again for the light heavyweight title. This time the fight ended in a first round knockout victory for Liddell, making him the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Liddell was scheduled to defend his new title against UFC veteran Jeremy Horn, at UFC 54, a matchup the UFC claimed was demanded by long-time fans of the sport since Horn had given Liddell his first loss.[10] Throughout the bout, Liddell dominated with aggressive punches, causing knockdowns in several rounds. Liddell's defensive wrestling ability, especially his sprawl, stifled the bulk of Horn's offense, which was centered on grappling and submission wrestling. Liddell eventually won the fight via TKO in 2:46 minutes of the fourth round after Horn informed the referee that he could not see. Liddell had successfully defended his title and, in the process, avenged two of his three career losses.

On February 4, 2006 at UFC 57, Liddell faced Randy Couture in a rubber match, defeating Couture for the 2nd time via knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada to retain the light heavyweight championship belt. After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. In Liddell's next defense, at UFC 62 on August 26, 2006, Liddell would best Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who he had defeated nearly three years prior. Liddell scored a quick TKO victory at 1:35 of the first round.

It was announced during UFC 61 that, if he were to defeat Sobral, Liddell would face off against Pride Middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight failed to materialize due to the competing promotions' inability to reach an agreement. UFC president Dana White attributed this to Silva's subsequent knockout loss to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović.

In what would be the most financially successful UFC event to date, Chuck Liddell would rematch Tito Ortiz at UFC 66, which took place on December 30, 2006. Liddell's takedown defense neutralized Ortiz's wrestling ability, forcing Ortiz to stand up with the more skilled striker. Although Ortiz did take Liddell down at one point in the fight, Liddell went on to defeat Ortiz via TKO in the third round to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. It was later revealed that Liddell tore his MCL prior to the fight. In addition, during the fight he popped the tendon out on the middle finger on his left hand.

Rematch with Quinton Jackson

In his fifth defense, Liddell would lose the title at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 in a rematch with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Liddell was knocked down by a Right Hook less than two minutes into round 1 and was subsequently unable to defend himself against Jackson's strikes on the ground, resulting in a TKO victory for Rampage. After the loss Liddell was widely criticized after reports indicating he had been seen in night clubs the week before the event. He responded that it was nothing he had not done prior to his other fights in Las Vegas.

At the post-UFC 71 press conference, Liddell indicated he would continue to fight. Dana White also said that his next opponent would likely be "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva.

Post Championship

On July 11, 2007 Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumoured bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to be the main event for UFC 76 in Anaheim, California. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine.

In the main event of UFC 76, Liddell lost a split decision to Keith Jardine, the first consecutive losses of his career. Following the fight, UFC president Dana White, who is close friends with Liddell, stated, "The Chuck Liddell that I saw fight didn't look like the Chuck Liddell that loves to fight".

On October 23, 2007 UFC president Dana White announced that a matchup between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision to what many fans and MMA critics called the best fight of the year. Both fighters were awarded "fight of the night" honors. This fight was also voted 2007's Fight of the Year at the first annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.

On February 1, 2008, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell, however on March 4 it was announced on UFC.com that "Shogun" was receiving surgery on his knee and was forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler "Sugar" Rashad Evans would replace Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight, as well.

On September 6, 2008, Liddell fought "Sugar" Rashad Evans at UFC 88. At 1:51 of the second round, Evans connected with an overhand right, Liddell's trademark punch, resulting in the former champion unconscious on his stomach. Chuck had simultaneously thrown a right uppercut, missing Evans' face and instead making contact with the armpit. The knockout was dubbed "knockout of the year" by MMA-website Sherdog and given "knockout of the night"-honors by the UFC.

Despite multiple rumors about possible return fights with Randy Couture and Anderson Silva, Liddell has stated in a recent interview that he has not been approached by management regarding either fight. He also said that he plans to return to action in March or April 2009. During a recent guest appearance on "The Tom Leykis Show," Liddell stated that there have been a "few names" being discussed for his next opponent. He would later add that he wants a rematch with Keith Jardine in March. However, Dana White stated in the UFC 92 post fight press conference that Liddell's next opponent will not be Jardine, but will be Mauricio "Shogun" Rua or Wanderlei Silva.

Liddell has long been criticized for over-relying on the same coaches and training partners. Shortly following his knockout loss to Rashad Evans, long time trainer John Hackleman confirmed that Liddell is participating in training sessions with American Top Team to "round out his skills", although he is still officially associated with Hackleman and The Pit.

Personal life

Liddell is associated with The Pit team and recently earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Liddell has a brother, Sean Liddell, who also competes in MMA, fighting last in the WEC. Liddell continues to train in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he attended college. Liddell was once romantically linked to one-time UFC host, pop artist, and Playboy model Willa Ford. He has two children, Trista, 10, and Cade, 9. He and Cade appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine in May 2007.

Liddell is engaged to his longtime girlfriend.

He is a part owner of two bars in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dillinger's and NZone and the Mixed Martial Arts Social Networking Website, MMA Jacked.

Print media

On May 9, 2007, Liddell became the first UFC fighter to be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. Liddell also released his autobiography, Iceman: My Fighting Life, on January 29, 2008.

Acting career

Liddell has also made several film and television appearances. He appeared as himself in the movie Bachelor Party Vegas, He appeared as "Graft" in the pilot episode of the TV series Blade: The Series, had a guest cameo in the first season of Inked on A&E, and made a brief appearance in the 1981 film The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jack Nicholson in which he plays a boy-scout that plays with a register, and is then scolded by Nicholson. Liddell also had a very small part in the Jet Li movie Cradle 2 the Grave as one of the cage fighters, along side Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. He also had a small appearance in the Nickelback music video for their song "Rockstar". Liddell is seen in his MMA shorts and holding his fighting gloves. He also appears in another music video, "Cowards" by American Head Charge.

Liddell appeared as himself in an episode of Entourage entitled "Gotcha", which aired on April 29, 2007. In the episode, he participates in a scheme to a pull a prank on Johnny "Drama" Chase on a Punk'd-like show called Gotcha! hosted by Pauly Shore. Chuck Liddell has also had cameos in the film The Death and Life of Bobby Z, 300 and Drillbit Taylor.

Statistics

Nickname The Iceman
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Reach 76.5 inches
Nationality American
Born December 17, 1969 (1969-12-17) (age 39)
Fighting out of San Luis Obispo, California, US
Town of birth Santa Barbara, California, US
Team/Association The Pit
Primary fighting style Kempo, Kickboxing, Wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Wins 21
By knockout 14
By submission 1
Losses 7
Draws 0