Liddell, Chuck

Liddell was born in Santa Barbara , California . He was raised by his single mother and maternal grandfather, who taught Chuck and his brothers and sisters boxing techniques from a very young age. Liddell began studying Koe-Kan karate at the age of 12. On the back of the soldier’s head, a Koe-Kan tattoo still flaunts. He later mastered Kempo's martial art. At the San Marcos School in Santa Barbara, thanks to remarkable sporting indicators, Liddel became the captain of two teams at once - in American football and in wrestling. In his youth, Chuck very willingly got into fights with drunk students, where each time he was convinced that picking up a worthy opponent to him was not an easy task.

After leaving school, the young man went to study at the Polytechnic University ( en: California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo). At the university, Cal Poly set Liddela on the condition that he lead the local wrestling team, and he, in turn, would give a scholarship to Chuck. Chuck Liddell, of course, could not refuse such a tempting offer and was the captain of the student team for 4 years.

In 1995, he graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in economics and plunged into adulthood. By this time, Chuck already knew what he wanted to do. In 1993, he saw on television the UFC Championship. Chuck literally fell in love with this sport.

Kickboxing

After graduation, Chuck continued to improve himself in martial arts, but this time in kickboxing. He studied under the leadership of John Hackleman, who represented the California school "Arroyo Grande", and became the winner of two national championships. He got the USMPA and WKA heavyweight championship belts. His record is 20 wins, of which 16 by knockout, and only 2 losses. Lidel began practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the supervision of John Lewis shortly before his UFC debut. Subsequently, Lewis and Hackleman became the permanent seconds of Chuck Liddell and in MMA. It is noteworthy that Chuck demonstrated a very original technique of striking - he put his hand far enough when swinging for striking, and the angles of his strokes were also slightly peculiar. Be that as it may, the crushing force of his blows made it clear that this peculiar technique still works well. A distinctive feature of Liddell was the fact that he never made fraudulent movements and feints, and all his punches were hard and “punchy”.

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, Liddell made his debut in 1998 at the UFC 17 in Mobile, Alabama, defeating Noah Hernandez (MMA: 3-2) on May 15, 1998. On March 5, 1999, Chuck converges in a cage with submission master Jeremy Horne at UFC 19. Horn at the time of the battle with Chuck had 22 wins with 4 losses and 4 draws. The battle begins in the stance, after which it flows smoothly to the ground, where by the 12th minute Horn won by a choke technique. The decision was controversial, as Aisman held out until the gong without surrender.

On December 16, 2000, Chuck met with Jeff Monson . Liddell won by unanimous decision. In the next fight, Chuck met with former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin "Monster" Rendelman (MMA: 9-4) at the UFC 31 tournament on May 4, 2001. After a brief fuss, Chuck breaks out of a heavy hug, and at the end of the second minute left side sends the Monster to the floor, simultaneously adding to it the left - the right. The referee crashes between them and stops the fight. Hall rejoices, Chuck celebrates victory.

On January 11, 2002, Chuck defeated Amar Suloev , a kickboxer from Armenia.

Challenger battle with Vitor Belfort

On June 22, 2002, Liddell met with a young Brazilian, Vitor Belfort , in a duel for the status of a mandatory contender for the UFC light heavyweight title. From the beginning of the third round, Vitor twice managed to transfer Chuck to the ground, and after the second time, Aisman was able to get out only in the third minute, after pressing Fenom to the net. After a minute mutual pressure, the fighters diverge to the side, circling the octagon until the end of the round, doing nothing special. In the 4th minute of the third round, Belfort rushes to the attack and bumps into a hard right side and lands on the fifth point. Liddell bumps into Phenoma from above and tries to finish off, after which a siren sounds and Big John crashes between the fighters. The hall chants YESE and buzzes with displeasure when the camera moves to Belfort. The two judges 30-27, the third 29-28 and the winner by unanimous decision declare Liddell.

On November 22, 2002, in an intermediate match, Chuck knocked out a Brazilian fighter, Renato Sobrala .

Championship fight with Randy Couture I

Aisman came close to the UFC champion title. However, champion Tito Ortiz refused to go out against Liddell. UFC managers found a way out by declaring a fight for the interim champion title between Liddell and Randy Couture .

In the first minute of round 1, Couture hits Chuck’s head with a knee, after which he transfers the second to the ground with a beautiful throw. Aisman gets up and the fight continues in the stance. Couture continues to chase Liddell in a circle, followed by infrequent shootings from a distance with even less frequent hits. At the end of 4 minutes, Couture makes a passage to his feet, but Chuck manages to get up, but he remains pressed to the net until the end of the round. In the 2nd round, Couture more and more often gets Liddell side impacts, Aisman tries to answer, but Randy is more accurate every time. In the middle of 4 minutes, Randy, catching Liddell’s right leg, cuts off his left and perfectly translates the fight into the stalls. Fuss continues on the floor, where, 20 seconds before the end of five minutes, Aisman is on top, but soon a siren sounds. And the second round of Couture. In the first minute of round 3, blows from both sides pour from a cornucopia, but Randy is also more accurate in hits. In one of the attacks, the fighters converge in a clinch, and Chuck presses Couture to the cage, but, without changing his style, releases Randy and goes to the middle of the octagon. Randy continues to “drag like a tank” and again transfers Chuck to the floor with a beautiful throw. Taking the position of a rider from above, Couture scores an opponent and the referee stops the fight. Chuck continues to lie fully conscious on the floor, and disappointment reads in his eyes.

PRIDE Championship Tournament

After the defeat in June 2003, already in August, Chuck flies to Japan to try to challenge the title of “Pride” champion Wanderlei Silva, but first you need to earn the right to fight in qualifying matches, and fate brings Aisman with future MMA star and K-1 Alistar Overim .

Alistar Overeem (MMA: 16-3), 23 years old, won 12 early victories in his last 12 fights. The first round began with an instant attack of the Dutchman, having missed the left side, Liddell successfully lands on Overeem. Alistar, leaving the clinch, continues to attack with his knees. After another missed knee hit, Chuck transfers the future Overeem to the ground, where he himself begins to process the Dutchman with his knees. At the end of 3 minutes, the Dutchman drops sharply and the Irishman immediately takes advantage of this. The powerful cross on the right finds the head of Overeem as the final destination. Shocked Alistar backs away to the ropes, where he is overtaken by a hail of Chuck blows, and the left side puts a bullet. Liddell's vivid victory by knockout.

On November 9, 2003, in the semi-finals of the PRIDE tournament, the Irishman met with an American, Quinton Jackson . At the beginning of 3 minutes, striking Aisman's leg, Rampage perfectly transfers the battle to the ground, where he scores the opponent until the moment when Chuck's seconds throw out a towel.

After losing the tournament, Liddell defeated the Americans, Tito Ortiz and Vernon White.

UFC World Title Conquest

On April 16, 2005, two of the best fighters of the division, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, meet in the second fight at the famous MGM GRAND arena in UFC 52 in a champion fight. The fight begins according to the old scenario: Couture crushes, Liddell at second speed works second number. In the second minute, Chuck, in exchange, injured Randy’s eye, the medic, having examined the patient, allowed to continue the fight. Couture rushes to the attack and runs into the right line. Knockout. Couture is brought to feelings, and Chuck is even more emotional than usually celebrates a victory.

On August 20, 2005, in his first title defense, Liddell knocked out an American, Jeremy Horne, whom he had lost earlier in his career. The denouement occurs in the fourth minute of the fourth round: Horn, being on the floor after a missed two, refuses to continue the fight, telling the judge that he sees nothing. Revenge taken, title defended.

Third Fight with Randy Couture

On February 4, 2006, at UFC 57 in Las Vegas, Aisman and Natural ( Randy Couture ) converge in a third bout. The first round goes with the utmost care, the price of the mistake is too high, Couture, as before, is hunting for Chuck. In the first half, Aisman is slightly more accurate in rare times, in the second half, Natural, having hit a couple of times with side impacts, takes Liddell to the ground. Chuck manages to get up, and the round ends in pressure from the net. A couture comes to his corner with a cut. In the first two minutes of round 2, Chuck is hit twice by deuces, Couture looks much slower than Liddell. And so, in the third minute, the denouement sets in: Couture rushes to the attack and runs into the right oncoming one, after which he already receives a hail of blows from Aisman on the floor, John McCartney stops the battle.

Thus ended the great trilogy, after which Randy Couture announced the completion of careers, as it seemed then forever.

On August 26, in the third title defense, Liddell won by knockout in the first round of the Brazilian, Renato Sobrala .

On December 30, 2006, in the fourth title defense, Aisman entered the ring with his former rival, world champion in the past, Tito Ortiz . Tito looked more active until, in the fourth minute of the third round, he missed the left side and after the right one into the jaw. Once on top, Chuck finishes off the Bad Guy and retains the Champion title. Later it became known that Aisman went into battle and fought with an injured knee.

Loss of title. Second Quinton Jackson battle

In March 2007, shortly before UFC 68, Chuck appeared on the TV show Good Morning Texas for an interview and to advertise the film 300 Spartans, but turned out to be very sleepy and fell asleep in the middle of the interview. UFC President Dana White explained that Liddell had pneumonia and took a large dose of sedative the night before the interview.

In 2007, the UFC owners Fertitta’s brothers buy and bankrupt their main rival, the Japanese Pride, which is why some of the best fighters in the Japanese promotion sign contracts with the UFC. So fate brings 37-year-old Chuck for the second time with Quentin Jackson at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007.

The battle begins cautiously: Chuck circles the ring, Rampage follows him. In the rack, Jackson looks more collected: his arms are raised high and cover his head, his elbows are pressed to the body, Chuck, on the contrary, is too open in his usual manner. In the middle of the second minute, Aisman goes on the attack, inflicting a right uppercut and a left on the side, but runs into a counterattack from the left side. At the end of the second minute, Chuck, showing the deception on the right, tries to unsuccessfully break through the left side of the liver and with his hands down goes to the side where Quentin’s right side catches him. Liddell, being on the floor, receives several hits from above from Jackson and faints for a moment. Knockout. This time the "exotic" stand let Aisman down. Rampage becomes the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

September 22, 2007 Liddell lost on points in a rating match to American Keith Jordan.

UFC King vs PRIDE King

On October 3, 2007, Dana White announces that the long-awaited bout with Wanderlei Silva will take place on December 29, 2007 at UFC 79.

The first round was a mutual shootout, in which Chuck worked as the first number, and Silva counterattacked. Nice spectacular round with Aisman's slight advantage. In the second round, the fighters alternately beat each other, and in the last minute they rolled up a real cabin. The segment with a slight advantage for Wanderlei. In the first seconds of the third round, Chuck makes a (oh miracle!) Pass to his feet and knocks Wanderlei to the floor, but the Brazilian quickly breaks out of his arms and rises to the rack. Further, Chuck works as a single counterattack and at the beginning of the third minute, locking Silva at the fence, arranges for the second a little shake. At the last minute, Wanderlei begins to hit a little more often, but this is clearly not enough to take the round. And now, Chuck again holds a successful takedown. Aisman’s heavy but well-deserved victory by a separate decision. Both fighters were awarded for the fight of the evening, and at the annual World MMA awards, the Liddell-Silva standoff was recognized as the 2007 fight.

At sunset, career

The next rival to Chuck, already 38, was Rashad Sugar Evans (MMA: 13-0-1) at UFC 88 on September 6, 2008. The first round takes place in a "low-impact" and rather boring environment: Rashad runs around the octagon, and Chuck constantly pursues him. Liddell inflicts a little more punches than Evans, but on the whole equal length. In the second minute of the second round, Chuck more and more runs into oncoming hits, and here comes the denouement - the right hook from above lands right on Aysman's chin. Chuck, like a henchman, falls onto the floor. Heavy knockout. The reason for the defeat of the critics considered the coaching staff of Liddell.

April 18, 2009 Chuck meets “Pride” star Mauriciu “Shogun” Rua (MMA: 17-3) at UFC 97. The fight begins with Liddell’s attacks, Rua often works second number. In the third minute, the Shogun conducts a takedown, but Aisman gets out. In the stance, the battle goes with varying success, the fighters defend well. In the fifth minute, Chuck conducts a takedown, but makes a mistake by releasing the opponent and inviting him to the rack. After a few seconds, the Shogun in a swoop overtakes Aisman with a long side to the left and, already on the floor, finishes off the victim until the battle stops completely.

After the fight, Dana White announced that Liddell is ending his career. However, in May, coach John Hackleman said that Chuck was ready to fight on.

On July 10, 2009 at the UFC 100, Chuck Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. In August 2009, Chuck announced that he would decide on a career in the training process after sparring sessions.

A fight with Ortiz is planned for June 12, 2010 at UFC 115, but later replaced by former UFC middleweight champion Rich “Kozyrny” Franklin, who has already lost his former position, like Chuck, but still remained a very dangerous opponent, having suffered 5 defeats only from top level fighters. From the first seconds of the battle, Chuck begins his attacks, Franklin responds to meet. At some points, however, as in previous battles, an open stand makes itself felt - Rich gets into Chuck quite well. At the end of the fifth minute, Chuck hits the right one right, but fails to finish retreating Franklin. At the end of the round, Chuck gets into Rich with a haikik, but, again trying to finish off, loses his balance. Jumping sharply to his feet, Chuck tries to crush the enemy, but runs into the right oncoming side. Another heavy knockout. A few hours later, Dana White announced that Chuck would never again fight in the UFC.

On December 29, 2010, Chuck decided to end his military career. At a UFC 125 press conference, Liddell announced his resignation and announced that he would be Vice President of Business Development at UFC: “I want to thank Frank and Lorenzo Fertitt, Dana White for everything they have done for me and for our sport over the years. Most of all I want to thank my family and my fans. I love MMA and I am excited about entering a new phase of my life, I will continue to promote the best sport in the world, the sport that I love. Now that I’m retired, the UFC gives me the opportunity to engage in promotion ” ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} .

From time to time, Liddell appears in cameo and episodic roles in Hollywood films, participates in sports and other television programs, in particular, played the role of the protagonist in the video clip of the Cowards nu-metal band American Head Charge ^[8] . In the first issue of the TV show “The Invincible Warrior ”, Chuck also happened to demonstrate his skills while experiencing the cestus and cutter of ancient Roman gladiators.

Today, Chuck continues to keep fit by training in San Luis Obispo, California. In September 2013, in an interview (the source is not specified), Chuck said that maybe he would return to the sport like George Foreman. Liddell has two children - daughter Trisha and son Cade.

But maybe there are already three children.

Chuck owns the Ultimate Iceman Gift Shop in San Luis Obispo. Periodically, Chuck flickers in advertising, in various television projects ("Dancing with the Stars", "The Draw with Eshtan Kutcher") and on the big screen.

In 2008, an autobiography of Chuck Liddell entitled “Icy. My Fighting Life ”( ISBN 978-0-525-95056-1 ) ^[9] .

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