Kempo Chris
05-07-2003, 12:09 PM
Chuck Liddell Speaks On Couture, Silva & More
Published by John Hartnett on 05/02/2003 at 04:04 PM
I recently had the privlage to catch up with the current #1 contender for the UFC light heavyweight championship, Chuck Liddell. Heres what Chuck's been up to lately.
John Hartnett: So Chuck, how have you been keeping yourself busy since your last fight at UFC 40 with Babalu?
Chuck Liddell: Well, I’ve been keeping myself busy by training with a couple guys that are fighting and keep working like I normally do, training with the guys.
John Hartnett: UFC 43 coming up on June 6th, you’ll be facing Randy Couture. That match is official now right?
Chuck Liddell: Yes it is.
John Hartnett: What are your thoughts on Randy Couture as a fighter?
Chuck Liddell: Randy’s a tough guy. I think he’s a mentally tough guy and hes a true champion, you know. He doesn’t duck anybody and he’ll take any fight that he can get. He wanted to come down to 205 and they offered him me and he said no problem. So hes just a tough competitor.
John Hartnett: Will there be any changes in your training? Because we all know you were getting ready for Tito Ortiz who is very similar to Randy Couture.
Chuck Liddell: I don’t think it changes anything, because they are both similar styles of fighters. So yeah, my training doesn’t change at all.
John Hartnett: What’s your strategy going to be going into this fight?
Chuck Liddell: Well that’s no mystery I think to anybody. I’m gonna defend the takedown and try to knock him out.
John Hartnett: Now Dana White stated that this match would be for the light heavyweight title. Do you know weather it will be for an interim title, or if in fact Tito Ortiz has been striped?
Chuck Liddell: From what I understand it will be an interim title, just because Tito is afraid to fight. So since he’s holding out and not fighting I think they are just gonna do an interim title. I don’t think they are gonna strip him yet, it hasn’t been long enough. I mean he had a fight six months ago, and if he wants to have one fight a year, so be it. They just don’t wana wait around because they don’t think he’s gonna fight me in a years time.
John Hartnett: After you fight with Randy Couture, what’s next for Chuck Liddell?
Chuck Liddell: I want another fight. I’m gonna keep fighting, I fight because I like it. It keeps me busy, it keeps me working, it keeps me entertained and it keeps me training hard. So yeah, after Randy I would like to fight Vanderlei Silva, I think that’s one the fans would like to see. Cause both of us are strikers and both of us stand there and hit each other. But right now I’m concentrating on Randy. I wana get by Randy and I wana knock him out.
John Hartnett: Has there been any talk between companies about you facing Vanderlei Silva?
Chuck Liddell: They’ve talked about it here and there, but I don’t know. UFC said they are willing to let me fight him over there at times, and it just hasn’t worked out. They [PRIDE] haven’t wanted to set the fight up from what I understand. So hopefully maybe as it goes maybe with a interim title I’d have a shot at them letting me fight him
John Hartnett: At UFC 42 you made a few appearances in the corners. Who were you with that night?
Chuck Liddell: I worked Cabbage’s corner and I worked Duane Ludwig’s corner.
John Hartnett: I spoke with Duane earlier, and he said he was out in Hawaii training with you and John Hackleman. How did that training go?
Chuck Liddell: It went good. Id like to get him a little further away from a fight, because there are a few things I would like to show him and work with him on. And that’s hard to do right when your training for a fight, because you don’t wana give a guy a lot of new things to work on. Almost every thing he used was staff he had coming into that fight. He’s a tough kid.
John Hartnett: His next fight is coming up in July for K-1, do you think you’ll help him train for that event?
Chuck Liddell: K-1, I think he’ll probably stick with his kickboxing coaches for the K-1 show.
John Hartnett: What about Wesley Correira, how’d you end up in his corner?
Chuck Liddell: Well actually, Cabbage just had one corner guy and I wanted to help out and actually he listened real well in the corner. I just came out to help in the corner. I’ve met him before, he’s a great guy, I’ve hung out with him before. He just asked me if Id help corner him, and I went out there and he performed well, and he did a great job.
John Hartnett: Any special messages you want to send out to your fans?
Chuck Liddell: Hey, just come watch this fight, it’s gonna be exciting. We’ve got a lot of good fights on this card and I’m planning on making the final fight an exciting one.
From mmanews.com
Published by John Hartnett on 05/02/2003 at 04:04 PM
I recently had the privlage to catch up with the current #1 contender for the UFC light heavyweight championship, Chuck Liddell. Heres what Chuck's been up to lately.
John Hartnett: So Chuck, how have you been keeping yourself busy since your last fight at UFC 40 with Babalu?
Chuck Liddell: Well, I’ve been keeping myself busy by training with a couple guys that are fighting and keep working like I normally do, training with the guys.
John Hartnett: UFC 43 coming up on June 6th, you’ll be facing Randy Couture. That match is official now right?
Chuck Liddell: Yes it is.
John Hartnett: What are your thoughts on Randy Couture as a fighter?
Chuck Liddell: Randy’s a tough guy. I think he’s a mentally tough guy and hes a true champion, you know. He doesn’t duck anybody and he’ll take any fight that he can get. He wanted to come down to 205 and they offered him me and he said no problem. So hes just a tough competitor.
John Hartnett: Will there be any changes in your training? Because we all know you were getting ready for Tito Ortiz who is very similar to Randy Couture.
Chuck Liddell: I don’t think it changes anything, because they are both similar styles of fighters. So yeah, my training doesn’t change at all.
John Hartnett: What’s your strategy going to be going into this fight?
Chuck Liddell: Well that’s no mystery I think to anybody. I’m gonna defend the takedown and try to knock him out.
John Hartnett: Now Dana White stated that this match would be for the light heavyweight title. Do you know weather it will be for an interim title, or if in fact Tito Ortiz has been striped?
Chuck Liddell: From what I understand it will be an interim title, just because Tito is afraid to fight. So since he’s holding out and not fighting I think they are just gonna do an interim title. I don’t think they are gonna strip him yet, it hasn’t been long enough. I mean he had a fight six months ago, and if he wants to have one fight a year, so be it. They just don’t wana wait around because they don’t think he’s gonna fight me in a years time.
John Hartnett: After you fight with Randy Couture, what’s next for Chuck Liddell?
Chuck Liddell: I want another fight. I’m gonna keep fighting, I fight because I like it. It keeps me busy, it keeps me working, it keeps me entertained and it keeps me training hard. So yeah, after Randy I would like to fight Vanderlei Silva, I think that’s one the fans would like to see. Cause both of us are strikers and both of us stand there and hit each other. But right now I’m concentrating on Randy. I wana get by Randy and I wana knock him out.
John Hartnett: Has there been any talk between companies about you facing Vanderlei Silva?
Chuck Liddell: They’ve talked about it here and there, but I don’t know. UFC said they are willing to let me fight him over there at times, and it just hasn’t worked out. They [PRIDE] haven’t wanted to set the fight up from what I understand. So hopefully maybe as it goes maybe with a interim title I’d have a shot at them letting me fight him
John Hartnett: At UFC 42 you made a few appearances in the corners. Who were you with that night?
Chuck Liddell: I worked Cabbage’s corner and I worked Duane Ludwig’s corner.
John Hartnett: I spoke with Duane earlier, and he said he was out in Hawaii training with you and John Hackleman. How did that training go?
Chuck Liddell: It went good. Id like to get him a little further away from a fight, because there are a few things I would like to show him and work with him on. And that’s hard to do right when your training for a fight, because you don’t wana give a guy a lot of new things to work on. Almost every thing he used was staff he had coming into that fight. He’s a tough kid.
John Hartnett: His next fight is coming up in July for K-1, do you think you’ll help him train for that event?
Chuck Liddell: K-1, I think he’ll probably stick with his kickboxing coaches for the K-1 show.
John Hartnett: What about Wesley Correira, how’d you end up in his corner?
Chuck Liddell: Well actually, Cabbage just had one corner guy and I wanted to help out and actually he listened real well in the corner. I just came out to help in the corner. I’ve met him before, he’s a great guy, I’ve hung out with him before. He just asked me if Id help corner him, and I went out there and he performed well, and he did a great job.
John Hartnett: Any special messages you want to send out to your fans?
Chuck Liddell: Hey, just come watch this fight, it’s gonna be exciting. We’ve got a lot of good fights on this card and I’m planning on making the final fight an exciting one.
From mmanews.com