It was in the air. It always is when these things happen. You really have to pay attention to it to catch the vibe. The vibrations were in the undercurrents, like a shark in the water. Chuck Liddell had been its chum a few times in the last couple of fights. On Saturday, it feasted again.
On Saturday, Chuck Liddell faced former Ultimate Fighter winner, Rashad Evans. In the first round, Chuck lumbered with his usual herky-jerky form. He went to unload an uppercut, and as he did so, became a fixture to the knockout highlight reel for Evan’s career. Evan’s unloaded a shot that cut Chuck down like a tree. Liddell hit the canvas like Nicholas Cage flick.
Fans were stunned. They shouldn’t have been. The Iceman has been frozen for quite a while.
At 39 years old, the party mentality that this former kickboxer was adhering to was finally beginning to assure this fighter’s peak was on a downward slide. Whether it was his constant pushing where he’d be partying later that night on the microphone, or perhaps his painted nails, the man seemed to coasting. He had been suckered in believing his own legend and trusting of his fists over anything else. The training regimen faltered. The focus wavered. The fists did his bidding, and that’s all he started to bring to the table.
This was all happening even before Rampage Jackson came to the UFC. As Jackson, a training and focus causalty in his own past, came in hard, Chuck went down like the raft of the Kitner Boy. Then in his next fight, Keith Jardine came in with an excellent patient game-plan. He made Chuck look awkward, with no answer for kicks that took his legs out. Kicks to someone who was a kickboxer? It boggles the mind that he couldn’t answer. But therein lies the issue at its core.
The two losses in a row made Liddell alter his training.
When Liddell came into the Wanderlei Silva fight, he was ready. Focused. He had trained harder. He was also benefitting from a size advantage that meted out a beating on Silva. Silva was unable to compensate or even get comfortable. Liddell gave Silva fits by actually having a strategy instead of just walking forward with fists. Liddell gained in many eyes. No, he was not done yet.
Yet, as Lidell met Evans, he walked with fists again. A man who has skills in many facets became one-dimensional. Evans was faster to the punch. Speed kills, especially when you are predictable. Liddell ate Evan’s fist and hit the canvas. He looked off-kilter, distraught, and perhaps still hearing the starting bell. Yes, you are correct. There isn’t a bell in a MMA fight.
What Liddell must do is come in like many of the fighters are now doing. Come in ready with multi-facets. Be ready to wrestle. Be ready with submission defense and offense. Be ready with ju jitsu. Be ready with fists. Be ready with strategy. The well-rounded fighter is what assures longevity. This is what Randy Couture is a master of. Liddell is guilty of letting skills slack, limiting options, and it is making him quaff the canvas more than a celebratory cocktail. For this is a guy who is actually a good kickboxer, good wrestler, good in ju jitsu. Once upon a time.
Did the UFC generate Liddell into this limited beast? After all, they hyped him, handed him fighters that would work to his style, and then gave him bonuses for dispatching them with a fury. Maybe. He was very much a product of their machine to make excitement over substance.
In the end, however, blame Chuck himself. The buying-in of comfortability. The champ who can rest on a few things, simplfy his craft, and then leave himself open to those savvy or good enough to exploit it. Greg Jackson, trainer to both Jardine and Evans, clearly had a gameplan to let his good fighters exploit it.
Make no mistake about it, ladies and gentlemen…that king of the mountain has fallen. Just fists will not do it any more.
The question is: Does Chuck have the heart and focus to rethink and recraft himself at age 39? Therein lies the new million dollar question. Otherwise, he will merely remain a doorstop to any kid who comes up.
-BD
