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Interview w/ Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (part 1)
Reported By: Chris Colderley - 07.09.2003 10:08 AM
Part I – An ice breaker with “the Iceman,” Chuck Liddell
By Chris Colderley ©
Boxing Insider talks with Chuck Liddell
*************.com: First, Chuck let me start with the Pride Grand Prix. You have entered the tournament and will fight in round one in August. How is the training and preparation?
Chuck Liddell: It’s going well: so far, so good. I am healthy, and I am working [hard].
*************.com: Good! What are you working on specifically to make a successful transition from the UFC to Pride Fighting Championships?
Chuck Liddell: Well there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two. In Pride, the only difference is that there are no elbows and you can kick to the head on the ground or knee to the head on the ground, which I like.
Photo: UFC.tv
*************.com: Do you think you will be able to take advantage of that rule, where you haven’t been able to in the UFC?
Chuck Liddell: Definitely! I think it helps the striker, when you sprawl, if you knee to the head. If you can get a good sprawl and get someone’s head down, you can start kneeing.
*************.com: Dana White, the President of the UFC, has stated on several occasions that he wanted you to fight Vanderlei Silva, and he’s put up $200,000 if you defeat Silva. How important is it to have the support of the UFC?
Chuck Liddell: Well it’s great to have their support and have that confidence behind me. I have always thought that I could beat Vanderlei, and I think it would be a fun fight to watch. But, I think I am going to put him down, if we ever get out there [together].
*************.com: “Put him down” as in take him down or as in knock him out?
Chuck Liddell: Knock him out!
*************.com: How much added pressure does the bet and the fact that you are carrying the UFC’s torch put on you?
Chuck Liddell: I would say it’s a little bit of pressure, but I am used to that – having pressure on me from all angles. I just have to go out, fight my fight, and win. I want to win no matter what. Whether there’s no pressure or a lot of pressure, I want to win. I am going to go out there and give it my best shot.
*************.com: Pride has been accused, at times, of stacking the odds in favor of their fighters, and making some very questionable calls in matches. I can think of Royce Gracie’s last match, for example. Do you have any concerns about fighting with the organization as an outsider?
Chuck Liddell: We will see. I am hoping they are going to treat me fairly, but I am planning on trying to end every one of my fights so they don’t get a chance to do that to me. I figure it’s one of those things I have to look at: I really have to dominate the fight. If it’s a close fight, I don’t think I am going to win . . . I want to put the guy away one way or another: submit him or knock him out. If I can’t [finish], I have to, at the least, make it very dominant so they will look bad if they score the decision the other way. I can’t give them a reason to award the decision the other way.
*************.com: Are you going to be more aggressive than you usually are for that reason?
Chuck Liddell: I am definitely going to have to be, yeah!
*************.com: Which fighter do you think is going to make it to the final, besides yourself?
Chuck Liddell: It could go anyway. It all depends on the matches. Styles make fights and it depends on who is facing who? Until they get the bracket out, it’s a little hard to pick favorites.
*************.com: Arethey planning to have a public drawing of the bracket?
Chuck Liddell: I think so. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just did the first round, and then they decided how the second round was going to be – the second and third rounds in November.
I am not sure. I think they are going to do a public drawing for the bracket. That’s the way I understood it, but whatever they want to do, I don’t care. I wouldn’t mind fighting anybody in there. I would like to fight all of the guys in there. There are a lot of tough guys in the tournament. That’s what makes it exciting for me.
*************.com: Yesterday, the UFC announced the title bout between Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. How did you feel when you first heard the news?
Chuck Liddell: Someone told me about it the other day. I assume that’s what they [Tito’s camp] were looking for anyway. I assumed that [fight] was going to happen. If I lost, I assumed Tito would come out and fight Randy.
I always thought Tito would fight as soon as I was out. He would fight for the same amount of money as he was getting before. He always said it was money, but as soon as I lost . . . The only thing that bums me out is that I let him off the hook by losing.
*************.com: You still have something to prove to Tito. Will he ever give you a fight?
Chuck Liddell: You know, I don’t think so. But from what I understand about the stuff he was saying, I don’t think he’s going to have a choice if I pull off this Grand Prix . . . Especially with the comments he’s made since the Couture fight, I don’t know how he would back out of it.
*************.com: Let’s be confident! When you WIN the Grand Prix, Tito will have to fight you!
Chuck Liddell: Oh Yeah, I am planning on it don’t worry.
If I pull off the Grand Prix, I don’t think he has a choice. He’s been saying he would have beaten me worse than Randy did!
*************.com: Exactly. Did you hear the press conference yesterday?
Chuck Liddell: I don’t pay much attention to that stuff. I have heard some comments from a few people, but I really don’t care. I expected Tito to talk crap. I said before the fight that he was preparing to talk crap. He said, when I lost, that he was prepared to fight me, when had never come close to saying he would fight me. And, I lost. I had a bad day, and now, he’s talking his crap. That’s what he’s going to do. That’s how he is.
Part two of the Chuck Liddell interview will run later this week.
Chris Colderley is a freelance writer and a *************.com contributor.
Reported By: Chris Colderley - 07.09.2003 10:08 AM
Part I – An ice breaker with “the Iceman,” Chuck Liddell
By Chris Colderley ©
Boxing Insider talks with Chuck Liddell
*************.com: First, Chuck let me start with the Pride Grand Prix. You have entered the tournament and will fight in round one in August. How is the training and preparation?
Chuck Liddell: It’s going well: so far, so good. I am healthy, and I am working [hard].
*************.com: Good! What are you working on specifically to make a successful transition from the UFC to Pride Fighting Championships?
Chuck Liddell: Well there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two. In Pride, the only difference is that there are no elbows and you can kick to the head on the ground or knee to the head on the ground, which I like.
Photo: UFC.tv
*************.com: Do you think you will be able to take advantage of that rule, where you haven’t been able to in the UFC?
Chuck Liddell: Definitely! I think it helps the striker, when you sprawl, if you knee to the head. If you can get a good sprawl and get someone’s head down, you can start kneeing.
*************.com: Dana White, the President of the UFC, has stated on several occasions that he wanted you to fight Vanderlei Silva, and he’s put up $200,000 if you defeat Silva. How important is it to have the support of the UFC?
Chuck Liddell: Well it’s great to have their support and have that confidence behind me. I have always thought that I could beat Vanderlei, and I think it would be a fun fight to watch. But, I think I am going to put him down, if we ever get out there [together].
*************.com: “Put him down” as in take him down or as in knock him out?
Chuck Liddell: Knock him out!
*************.com: How much added pressure does the bet and the fact that you are carrying the UFC’s torch put on you?
Chuck Liddell: I would say it’s a little bit of pressure, but I am used to that – having pressure on me from all angles. I just have to go out, fight my fight, and win. I want to win no matter what. Whether there’s no pressure or a lot of pressure, I want to win. I am going to go out there and give it my best shot.
*************.com: Pride has been accused, at times, of stacking the odds in favor of their fighters, and making some very questionable calls in matches. I can think of Royce Gracie’s last match, for example. Do you have any concerns about fighting with the organization as an outsider?
Chuck Liddell: We will see. I am hoping they are going to treat me fairly, but I am planning on trying to end every one of my fights so they don’t get a chance to do that to me. I figure it’s one of those things I have to look at: I really have to dominate the fight. If it’s a close fight, I don’t think I am going to win . . . I want to put the guy away one way or another: submit him or knock him out. If I can’t [finish], I have to, at the least, make it very dominant so they will look bad if they score the decision the other way. I can’t give them a reason to award the decision the other way.
*************.com: Are you going to be more aggressive than you usually are for that reason?
Chuck Liddell: I am definitely going to have to be, yeah!
*************.com: Which fighter do you think is going to make it to the final, besides yourself?
Chuck Liddell: It could go anyway. It all depends on the matches. Styles make fights and it depends on who is facing who? Until they get the bracket out, it’s a little hard to pick favorites.
*************.com: Arethey planning to have a public drawing of the bracket?
Chuck Liddell: I think so. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just did the first round, and then they decided how the second round was going to be – the second and third rounds in November.
I am not sure. I think they are going to do a public drawing for the bracket. That’s the way I understood it, but whatever they want to do, I don’t care. I wouldn’t mind fighting anybody in there. I would like to fight all of the guys in there. There are a lot of tough guys in the tournament. That’s what makes it exciting for me.
*************.com: Yesterday, the UFC announced the title bout between Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. How did you feel when you first heard the news?
Chuck Liddell: Someone told me about it the other day. I assume that’s what they [Tito’s camp] were looking for anyway. I assumed that [fight] was going to happen. If I lost, I assumed Tito would come out and fight Randy.
I always thought Tito would fight as soon as I was out. He would fight for the same amount of money as he was getting before. He always said it was money, but as soon as I lost . . . The only thing that bums me out is that I let him off the hook by losing.
*************.com: You still have something to prove to Tito. Will he ever give you a fight?
Chuck Liddell: You know, I don’t think so. But from what I understand about the stuff he was saying, I don’t think he’s going to have a choice if I pull off this Grand Prix . . . Especially with the comments he’s made since the Couture fight, I don’t know how he would back out of it.
*************.com: Let’s be confident! When you WIN the Grand Prix, Tito will have to fight you!
Chuck Liddell: Oh Yeah, I am planning on it don’t worry.
If I pull off the Grand Prix, I don’t think he has a choice. He’s been saying he would have beaten me worse than Randy did!
*************.com: Exactly. Did you hear the press conference yesterday?
Chuck Liddell: I don’t pay much attention to that stuff. I have heard some comments from a few people, but I really don’t care. I expected Tito to talk crap. I said before the fight that he was preparing to talk crap. He said, when I lost, that he was prepared to fight me, when had never come close to saying he would fight me. And, I lost. I had a bad day, and now, he’s talking his crap. That’s what he’s going to do. That’s how he is.
Part two of the Chuck Liddell interview will run later this week.
Chris Colderley is a freelance writer and a *************.com contributor.
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