Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has proclaimed he’ll train Ronda Rousey “any time she wants,” noting the former women’s bantamweight champion is in need of aid with her striking.
The Iceman was approached by TMZ in San Francisco this week, where he noted the gulf in quality between Rousey’s striking and that of “professional striker” Holly Holm, who defeated her via second-round knockout at UFC 193 in November:
It was a thunderous head kick from Holm that saw Rowdy crumple to the floor as she suffered her first UFC defeat almost three months ago, reminding the 29-year-old as to where she has work left to do.
As far as striking coaches go, Rousey could do a lot worse than Liddell, who holds the record for most knockouts in the UFC, with 13 from his 23 bouts under the promotion’s banner.
Until she came up against Holm, Rousey had gone past the first round just once in her professional career and gained a particular reputation for her submissions, winning her first eight fights via armbar.
Men’s Fitness writer Joel Snape described her clinch game as “phenomenal,” but conceded Rousey has a lot to work on when it comes to stand-up compared to the likes of Holm:
Liddell was also quizzed on the controversy surrounding Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, who was suspended for three months by the California State Athletic Commission this week for falsifying documents, per Sherdog.
Rousey’s future with the trainer is in doubt after he was also handed three years’ probation and a $5,000 fine, which Sherdog outlined as prevented him from cornering “in California or in any other states that are members of the Association of Boxing Commissions.”
Presumably not impressed with the approach taken to train his fighter for the Holm fixture, Liddell appeared to make fun of the suspended Tarverdyan when asked for his opinion on the latest developments: “Is that the guy who told her she could out-strike Holly Holm? Is that the same guy who said she could out-strike Holly Holm, a real striker?”
As well as being an apparent dig at Tarverdyan, those comments reinforced the notion Lidell believes stand-up to be Rousey’s real weakness, or at least she should have made a better attempt to take Holm to the ground.
Snape also called into question whether Rowdy had perhaps been lulled into a false comfort at Tarverdyan’s gym when asked about the prospect of Rousey having a tune-up bout before making her return:
Speaking on The Neighbourhood radio show earlier this week, UFC president Dana White said Rousey will “probably” return to the octagon in November, where she’ll take on the victor of Holm and Miesha Tate’s bout on March 5 (h/t ESPN’s Brett Okamoto).
It’s been almost six years since Liddell took his leave of the UFC, but one of mixed martial arts’ most respected fighters ever would undoubtedly have much to teach one of the current generation’s heavy hitters.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com