The former UFC light heavyweight champion praised the UFC 229 main event, but had harsh words for both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov for their roles in the post-fight brawl that spilled into the stands.
Over the years, Chuck Liddell has had his share of heated rivalries. His time spent in the MMA limelight included a years-long feud with Tito Ortiz (one that’s just recently been rekindled), as well as an ongoing war of words with Jon Jones. He even has a few street fight stories floating around out there. But, he’s never been involved in anything like what went down at UFC 229.
Maybe that’s why Liddell has come out so strongly in criticism of both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, after Khabib jumped the cage and went after Dillon Danis triggering a massive brawl that spilled into multiple fights in the crowd and among fans after the event as fans exited the arena. In a series of posts on Instagram, Liddell gave his thoughts on the “incredible” fight between the two men, and the “shit show” that followed.
“Incredible performance by both fighters @thenotoriousmma and @khabib_nurmagomedov,” Liddell posted on social media, “But to end it like they did was a huge embarrassment to the sport. We (fighters)are sportsmen and champions and we should hold ourselves to a higher standard. We owe it to our fans and the sport itself. I don’t know when things started turning into some kind of shit show?!!! Unfortunately, when you allow more and more B.S. during weigh ins and outside of fights; You only slap fighters on the wrist for acting like barbarians and then offer them bigger contracts and reward them for this behavior. There is no penalty for their actions and it condones this type of behavior and consequently our sport loses its sacred respect.”
“Both sides were in the wrong here!” Liddell continued in a separate post. “However, this is what you should expect when you start to reward fighters for this kind of behavior and when you use a video of a bus attack to promote a fight. Oh and btw look who threw the first punch inside the ring before ‘he got jumped unprovoked’ This UFC is not what we old timers built with our blood and sweat! It’s unacceptable!”
Currently, the ‘Iceman’ is preparing for his MMA return after after almost a decade away from the sport. Liddell last fought Rich Franklin at UFC 115 back in 2010, lose by KO in the first round. He’ll be making his comeback, to take on an old, familiar foe in Tito Ortiz on November 24th in Inglewood, CA, headlining the debut card for Oscar De La Hoya’s MMA arm of Golden Boy Promotions. Maybe there he’ll have a chance to show these youngsters what “sacred respect” is all about.