On Saturday night, former UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell returned to the cage after eight years away, in search of a third win over his arch rival Tito Ortiz. Unfortunately for Liddell, this fight didn’t go as planned. Instead, the UFC Hall-of-Famer was walked down and ultimately snuffed by a crackling Tito Ortiz punch late in the first round.
Speaking at the post fight press conference for this show, which was promoted by long-time boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya, Liddell delved into what went wrong in this trilogy fight with Tito Ortiz.
“I loved being in there,” Chuck Liddell said (via MMA Fighting). “You’ve got to understand, I love fighting. I don’t do this for money. I never did this for money or fame. That’s not why I started. I did this because I love being out there, I love fighting, so I was at home in there. I was ready to go. I wish I’d done a few things different, obviously, but it happens.
“I was kinda gonna slow play him, just make sure he didn’t get any confidence, get a cheap takedown, but I should’ve fought the way I normally do. I don’t care if you take me down, I’ll get back up. And I should’ve came at him with a fast pace. I was kinda back and forth between hanging back and moving fast. I went with the ‘hang back,’ kinda get it going and figure out what he’s doing, and I should’ve gone after him fast. But then again, would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. Would it have changed the outcome? Who knows, so whatever.”
Chuck Liddell also touched on his retirement plans after the fight, admitting that he isn’t yet sure what the future holds.
“I feel great right now,” Liddell said. “I mean, I’m fine. I don’t feel bad. I don’t think it was a bad knockout. I was able to answer all of the questions in the corner right away when they came up and asked me, ‘Where do you live? Where are we?’ All of the questions, I was able to answer them all right away, so I’m fine.”
Whatever the case, Liddell assures that he will partake in a training camp again — whether it’s to get himself ready for a fight, or to prepare another fighter.
“The one takeaway I have from this is that I will definitely be in a training camp again,” Liddell said. “I don’t know if it’ll be for me or for someone else, but I miss being in the gym and getting ready for a fight, or getting someone else ready for a fight. So I will now be more involved in training guys — at least training guys if not fighting, but for sure training guys.”
What did you think of Saturday night’s Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz rematch?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/25/2018.