Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell believes styles make fights, and he would give Jon Jones trouble in his prime, and even today if they fought.
Chuck Liddell was the star of the UFC’s light heavyweight division for many years, and one of the centerpieces of the company. His career ended with a few knockouts, but he firmly believes that he could still compete with the next generation star of today – Jon Jones. Jones, who will look to win his title back when he faces Daniel Cormier in April, has long been a target of Liddell’s when it comes to criticism. And on a recent Fighter and The Kid podcast, he set his sights on him again (transcribed by David St. Martin of MMA Fighting):
“We’ll see how he comes back. He always shows up to fight. He’s good at winning fights. If he keeps beating everybody he’s the best right now. I still think if he fought someone like me in my prime he would have a lot of trouble.
“The problem is he doesn’t hit hard enough to hurt me and he’s not going to out-wrestle me. He’s not going to out-wrestle me and I hit too hard for him. I would catch him sooner or later. Styles make fights.”
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“What he does really well, if you’ve got a guy that’s a great striker, he can out-wrestle them,” Liddell said of Jones. “If he’s got a guy who’s a wrestler, he can out-strike him, out-point him. For me? I’d be big trouble for him because if he could take me down he wouldn’t be able to keep me down, if he even got a takedown. I will hit him. I’ll put my hands on him. I could still give him trouble.”
The 46-year-old Liddell last competed in 2010, when he was knocked out by Rich Franklin. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2009. The last time Liddell criticize Jones, Jones told him to keep his mouth shut. I’d expect a similar response if Jones gets wind of these comments.