Chuck Liddell to Officiate Lamar Odom vs. Aaron Carter Fight

Chuck LiddellUFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will make his celebrity boxing debut, but as a referee and not as one of the fighters. Liddell will officiate the upcoming celebrity boxing match between pop star Aaron Carter and former NBA champion Lamar Odom on June 11 in Atlantic City. FITE TV was the first to share […]

Chuck Liddell

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will make his celebrity boxing debut, but as a referee and not as one of the fighters.

Liddell will officiate the upcoming celebrity boxing match between pop star Aaron Carter and former NBA champion Lamar Odom on June 11 in Atlantic City. FITE TV was the first to share that Liddell would be moderating the action for the fight.

This will be the first time that Liddell has officiated a fight in any capacity during and after his professional fighting career. The 51-year-old has recently called out YouTuber turned Boxer Jake Paul for a fight after Paul took aim at a plethora of MMA fighters for his next boxing match.

While this is Liddell’s first taste of the celebrity boxing world, he hasn’t ruled out a fight against Paul in the future.

“I’m ready anytime for that clown,” Liddell claimed just days ago in a since-deleted tweet.

The event will be held by FITE TV in the first event under the brand-new “Celebrity Boxing” promotion. Odom and Carter recently got into a heated confrontation at a press conference promoting their fight last month. Odom has been showcasing his development in boxing in preparation for the bout.

As for Liddell, his last professional fight was in the trilogy bout against Tito Ortiz in an event held by Golden Boy Promotions in late 2018. Before that, he had lost five of his final six fights with the UFC with the last coming by knockout against Rich Franklin at UFC 115.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion is one of the legends in combat sports; and while his upcoming appearance will be as a referee and not as a fighter, he’s sure to help garner the attention of fans to the fight.

Do you think Chuck Liddell would ever participate in a celebrity boxing match?

Chuck Liddell Enters Celebrity Boxing After All As A Guest Referee

The Iceman cometh….to the world of celebrity boxing….as a special guest referee. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell recently expressed interest in fighting the “clown” known as Jake Paul, but now the UFC Hall of Famer has decided to up and join the celebrity b…

The Iceman cometh….to the world of celebrity boxing….as a special guest referee. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell recently expressed interest in fighting the “clown” known as Jake Paul, but now the UFC Hall of Famer has decided to up and join the celebrity boxing circus by becoming a special guest referee for a bonafide slobberknocker between […]

“The Iceman” Chuck Liddell Wants A Piece Of Jake Paul

We have a surprising new entry into the Jake Paul sweepstakes, UFC light heavyweight legend, “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell. Right when you think you’ve heard it all when it comes to Jake Paul, there is always another surprise lurking around the corner. Th…

We have a surprising new entry into the Jake Paul sweepstakes, UFC light heavyweight legend, “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell. Right when you think you’ve heard it all when it comes to Jake Paul, there is always another surprise lurking around the corner. This time, that surprise is Chuck Liddell. Chuck Liddell has joined the ever-growing […]

UFC Legend Chuck Liddell Says He’s ‘Ready Anytime’ for Possible Jake Paul Fight

Chuck Liddell , who is 51 years old and has fought just once in the past 10 years, has joined the long list of athletes and celebrities who want to fight YouTuber Jake Paul…

Chuck Liddell , who is 51 years old and has fought just once in the past 10 years, has joined the long list of athletes and celebrities who want to fight YouTuber Jake Paul…

Chuck Liddell Gives Backstory Behind Unusual 2007 TV Interview

Chuck LiddellUFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has had all kinds of wild moments inside the cage; including his trilogies with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. But the “The Iceman” concerned fans and critics alike back in 2007 when he appeared incoherent during a television interview with “Good Morning Texas” while promoting the film “300”. During […]

Chuck Liddell

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has had all kinds of wild moments inside the cage; including his trilogies with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture.

But the “The Iceman” concerned fans and critics alike back in 2007 when he appeared incoherent during a television interview with “Good Morning Texas” while promoting the film “300”.

During a recent podcast chat with UFC president Dana White, Liddell was asked about the infamous 2007 sitdown and gave more context surrounding the unusual moment.

“I took Ambien. I was having problems sleeping back then,” Liddell said. “They didn’t wake me up mentally, but they got me to that show somehow.”

Following the infamous interview, which garnered over a half-million views on YouTube, White grew increasingly concerned over Liddell’s mental state and flew to Texas with business partner Lorenzo Fertitta to confront the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

Liddell also said that following the interview, he couldn’t remember flying back home to San Luis Obispo, California, and was in a haze due to the Ambien pill. At one point during the interview, WFAA anchor Gary Cogill had to shake Liddell awake and asked whether or not he could continue the live segment.

Liddell was issued a drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following the interview and passed without any concerns.

White also addressed the moment and talked about the challenges of being in the spotlight that UFC fighters have to deal with on a regular basis.

“The hard part is these guys dealing with fame, money, girls and all the things that come along with it,” White said. “We had that moment with Chuck.”

Following his career in Mixed Martial Arts, Liddell has lived a relatively quiet life away from the octagon. He has made several television appearances, including a ESPN 30 for 30 documentary surrounding his rivalry with Ortiz.

What are your thoughts behind the backstory about Chuck Liddell’s infamous “Good Morning Texas” interview?

5 Times Former Teammates Faced Off Prior To UFC 258

rankingsAt the top level of MMA, many of the best and most popular athletes find themselves training out of large gyms with access to some of the best coaches available. Given the drive to be the best and the necessity to train with partners of the same size and skill level it is not uncommon […]

rankings

At the top level of MMA, many of the best and most popular athletes find themselves training out of large gyms with access to some of the best coaches available.

Given the drive to be the best and the necessity to train with partners of the same size and skill level it is not uncommon for training partners to eventually find themselves standing across the octagon from one another at some stage of their careers.

This has been one of the major storylines heading into UFC 258 where the Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will take on former training partner and friend Gilbert Burns to defend his title.

These two top-ranking Welterweights were training partners as recently as 2019, however, with Burns putting together a string of high-profile wins in 2020 and Usman continuing to defend his title, a clash between the two was bound to occur.

In this situation, the champion opted to take leave from his regular home of Sanford MMA and seek training under the guidance of the highly respected coach Trevor Whittman.

While the two of these fighters have remained mostly respectful of one another, and a shift in camp has made the process simpler, this has not always been the case for other fighters.

Here are five times that training partners have met inside the UFC octagon.

Jones vs Evans

Jon Jones faces off against teammate Rashad Evans before UFC 145.
Image via UFC.com

In 2011 Jackson Wink MMA was home to two of the top Light-heavyweights in the world in the form of Rashad Evans and Jon Jones. With both these athletes piecing together multiple winning streaks against other well-known opposition title implications were in the works for both fighters, and first, it seemed as though Evans would take a shot at regaining the title he once held. These plans were cut short, however, as injury would strike leaving Evans sidelined and making way for Jones to take a shot at the title against the champion Shogun Rua.

Jones went on to claim the title with a stunning third-round TKO over the champion after dominating the action for the duration of the fight. After claiming the title Jones was adamant at first that he would not fight with his teammate Evans, however, as time went on and after defending his title Jones became open to the idea much to the disappointment of Evans.

Evans chose to leave his longtime home at Jackson Wink MMA vowing never to train with coach Greg Jackson again claiming that he had bought on the situation by allowing Jones to come onboard to their team against his wishes. After leaving, Evans would continue to help found the Blackzilians, a team in Florida that would produce some of the top talents in the organization.

The two faced off in the main event of UFC 145 and Jones was able to dominate Evans receiving a unanimous decision victory to defend his title.

Lawler vs Woodley

Robbie Lawler touches gloves with former teammate Tyron Woodley at UFC 201.
Image via UFC.com

American Top Team in Florida has been at the pinnacle of MMA for the longest time producing many champions and top tier fighters for the UFC. In 2016 the gym was home to the Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler who had just defended his title twice in bouts against Rory McDonald and Carlos Condit. After taking out this opposition a new challenger emerged, this time in the form of his training partner Tyron Woodley.

At this point in his career, Woodley had bounced back from a loss to McDonald with back-to-back wins over Dong Hyun Kim and Kelvin Gastelum to cement himself as the number one contender.

Given the situation with the pair being at the same gym and choosing to remain at the same gym, the coaching staff were split in half and both fighters continued to train under the American Top Team banner for their fight.

When it came to fight night, Woodley was able to claim the welterweight title with a stunning knockout victory over his former training partner in the first round.

Following this loss, Lawler would make the move away from American Top Team to train at Hard Knocks 365 under Henri Hoof, the gym that would eventually become Sanford MMA.

Woodley vs Covington

Colby Covington faces off with former teammate Tyron Woodley ahead of their fight night main event.
Screengrab via UFC (YouTube)

Another pair of teammates from American Top Team, Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington would not only produce one of the best examples of former teammates facing off, but the two would also produce one of the most heated rivalries in the sport. Once Woodley claimed the title by defeating Robbie Lawler, Covington was still an up and comer working his way towards title implications. This did not take long, however, as by the end of 2017 Covington had his sites set on Woodley and an interim title fight in the wings.

In 2018 Covington would go on to claim the interim title by defeating Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 225, however, after the UFC was unable to schedule a bout between the two former training partners, Covington would be stripped of his title without having the chance to challenge Woodley.

In the meantime, while the rivalry heated up Woodley would have mixed results boasting multiple successful title defenses against the likes of Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till, before being bested by Kamaru Usman.

Covington, however, would return to face Lawler and dominate him setting himself up for that long-awaited title shot against the now champion Kamaru Usman.

While it may have been much later than most expected, following losses for both fighters, Covington to Usman in his title shot, and Woodley to up and coming title contender Gilbert Burns, Woodley and Covington would finally meet in the octagon.

In this fight, Covington did what many had expected and dominated the former champion managing to get a TKO in the fifth round after Woodley suffered a rib injury.

Garbrandt vs Dillashaw

TJ Dillashaw knocks down former teammate Cody Garbrandt.
August 4, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cody Garbrandt falls after being hit by TJ Dillashaw during UFC 227 at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Team Alpha Male has produced some of the best Bantamweight fighters that the UFC has ever seen and been home to multiple champions including both TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.

After losing his title to Dominick Cruz in 2016, TJ Dillashaw had opened an opportunity for his former training partner Cody Garbrandt who at the time was undefeated and a top contender in the division to challenge Cruz for the title. In this matchup, Garbrandt showed incredible striking skill and managed to defeat Cruz by unanimous decision to claim the title.

Following this TJ put together back-to-back victories within 2016 to set himself up for a title shot once again and now it would be to face his former teammate in a heated grudge match that had been in the works since Dillashaw’s departure from the gym.

After six years at Team Alpha Male, Dillawshaw would make the move to Colorado to train with former Alpha Male coach Duane Ludwig as well as training at Team Elevation. This move wasn’t taken lightly by Garbrandt or gym owner Uriah Faber who predicted that with this move a matchup between top prospects would be on the horizon.

The fight did come to fruition in 2017 when the pair faced off as the co-main event of UFC 217. This was a short fight, however, it was action-packed so despite being finished in the second round, the UFC chose to give Garbrandt a rematch to try and claim back the title he had just lost to Dillashaw.

In the rematch, however, the result was the same but the duration was shorter with Dillashaw finding the knockout shot in the first round to defend his title and close out the rivalry between the two former teammates.

Ortiz vs Liddell

Chuck Liddell faces off with Tito Ortiz ahead of their trilogy fight.
Sep 14, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Fight promoter Oscar De La Hoya (center) gets in between Chuck Liddell (left) and Tito Ortiz while promoting their upcoming MMA bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Arguably the most iconic rivalry in the sport, before Title Ortiz and Chuck Liddell met inside the octagon the pair were avid training partners. Being one of the earliest Light-heavyweight champions in the UFC Tito Ortiz was known for his impressive grappling ability that had allowed him to reach the pinnacle of the sport at the time. Ortiz was however training his striking to be on par with the rest of his skills and part of that training was done with up and coming UFC fighter Chuck Liddell.

These two athletes would corner each other in the ring, train together, and ultimately wind up in a fierce rivalry with the UFC title on the line.

After Ortiz had lost the belt to Randy Couture, Liddell had the perfect opportunity to fight for the title and in doing so he claimed the gold and set in motion a grudge match between himself and his former training partner.

In this meeting Liddell emerged victorious winning via KO in the second round, however, the rivalry didn’t end there and the two wound up fighting once again two years later in 2006.

The second matchup went similar to the first with Liddell winning by TKO in round three. While it looked like the rivalry was over this was far from the truth and 12 years later the pair would face off for the third and final time.

In 2018 Golden Boy MMA held the event Liddell vs. Ortiz: War’s End which would see the two veterans fight one another years after their prime. This would be the only time Ortiz would taste victory against Liddell winning by KO in the first round.

This trilogy match would be Liddell’s final MMA fight and Ortiz’s second last, however, Ortiz has not officially hung up the gloves as of yet.