Chuck Liddell criticizes the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the UFC 229 headliners for a brawl that took place after the bout.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor was called the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history. The promotion’s president Dana White claimed the PPV was trending towards three million buys before fight night. The card itself delivered in every way imaginable, but it will now be infamous for the post-main event brawl.
Chuck Liddell Sounds Off
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Liddell took to Instagram to give his take on the conclusion of UFC 229:
“Incredible performance by both fighters [Conor McGregor] and [Khabib Nurmagomedov], 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 sh*t 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. #respect #honor #martialarts #champion #goldenboypromotions.”
He also expressed discontent with how the UFC promoted Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor:
“Both sides were in the wrong here! 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!”
Liddell is set to return to MMA competition on Nov. 24. He’ll have a third encounter with Tito Ortiz. It’ll be “The Iceman’s” first bout since June 2010. Liddell was knocked out in his last three fights and at the age of 48, he’s hoping to prove that he can still hang.
Do you agree with Chuck Liddell on the UFC’s role in the Las Vegas brawl?
