Maybe Chuck Liddell isn’t the best person to ask about advice for fighters who have been knocked out a few too many times.
After all, “The Iceman” was last seen losing a farcical “fight” to rival Tito Ortiz under the now-defunct Golden Boy MMA banner. The fight was so bad that it only took one event to sink Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion. Regardless, many wondered how a fighter like Liddell with such a concerning string of knockout losses would even be licensed to fight in California.
Many are wondering the same about former UFC two-division champion BJ Penn as well. ‘The Prodigy’ is on a record losing streak in the UFC. Somehow, he still has an upcoming fight with Nik Lentz at a yet-to-be-determined date and location.
Outside of the cage, Penn has been entrenched in a series of concerning incidents. He was accused of domestic violence by the mother of his children, and also allegedly videotaped getting in bar fights. A video of yet another bar fight where Penn appeared to get knocked out cold surfaced earlier this week.
Fight Canceled?
He may be from the litmus test for making such a call. Nonetheless, “The Iceman” told TMZ Sports (transcribed by MMA Junkie) that Penn should withdraw from his upcoming bout if he was indeed knocked out:
“I was told he got knocked out,” Liddell said. “If he got knocked out, then I think that cancels the fight. I mean, you’ve got to take some time off after that and recover. He’s going to have to at least postpone it for a little bit.”
Liddell went on to describe how he’s never gotten to the point of violence with a civilian looking to rile him up. He said he just takes it a grain of salt. Fighting outside the cage just isn’t worth it to him:
“I usually have fun with them,” Liddell said. “I don’t get that problem very much and I usually just joke around with them, I have a good time with it, usually. It just really isn’t worth it at this point.”
Many Penn fans are echoing that sentiment. It’s been a sad downward spiral for a man who was long one of the UFC’s most feared competitors. Perhaps he should take it slow in his return after getting knocked out in the street. But most would argue he shouldn’t even be fighting again in the first place.
The counterargument from many close to Penn is that having a fight camp is the only thing that keeps him out of trouble with drugs and violence. He has a fight coming up, yet he still got into the bar fight from the footage released earlier this week.
Should Penn listen to Liddell’s words, or is he far past that point?
