If there is one man who knows what Chuck Liddell is capable of as a competitor, it is Randy Couture. After all, it was a victory over Randy Couture that earned Chuck Liddell his first UFC championship. Later that same year, Liddell would defeat Couture once again in a rematch at UFC 57 to further cement himself as the light heavyweight champion. But that was 13 years ago. Randy Couture has long since retired, and up until last year, Chuck Liddell did also.
Chuck Liddell would come out of retirement last year at 48 years of age to fight another aging fighter in Tito Ortiz. Liddell would make the then 43-year-old Ortiz look like a fighter in his prime, and Randy Couture was one of the fans watching who couldn’t help but believe that Chuck Lidell should no longer be fighting. In fact, Couture believes everybody watching felt that way, but he would also concede that the final authority in the matter deservedly belongs to Chuck Liddell himself:
“I think everybody feels that way,” Couture said on The Ariel Helwani Show regarding whether Liddell should no longer be fighting. “Again, I think maybe he feels that way, but, again, it’s such a personal thing. If in his heart he feels like he has more to do and more to accomplish, then who can hold that against him? I think he’s got to let it run its course. But I think most people watching and certainly seeing that fight felt like it wasn’t the same Chuck we’re used to seeing.”
Randy Couture can relate to Chuck Liddell to a certain degree, as once an activity as thrilling and primal as fighting gets into your blood, it is difficult to adjust to the mundanities of everyday life:
“Our identity is wrapped up in that sole endeavor, and that’s a difficult thing to just let go of and walk away from. We’re not normal humans. So to think you’re just gonna throw us back in this real world and it’s gonna be honky dory, it doesn’t work that way.”
If Chuck Liddell decides to have another fight, do you believe he should be permitted to by an athletic commission?
