MMAVu

There’s a war a-brewin’ between Chuck Liddell’s long time trainer John Hackleman and UFC President Dana White. Hackleman insists Liddell’s decision to retire should be made by Liddell himself, while White insists Liddell hang up the gloves, right f*cking now. Here’s some of the back and forth going on between the two via Sherdog.com:

Obviously, John Hackleman didn’t pay his house off yet…  F*cking right I wouldn’t [let Liddell fight for another promotion] …. [But] at the end of the day, if that’s what he wanted to do, I mean, what am I going to do? …I can’t tell him, ‘No, you f*cking can’t.’

Liddell has been quiet in the background, mulling over his decision. It can’t be easy caught between your best friends like this, but the simple fact Liddell himself has not confirmed his retirement speaks volumes. I tend to think Liddell is leaning towards fighting again, and only time will tell if it’s with the UFC or not. He could still make millions fighting the b-level guys, such as Tito Ortiz, Frank Shamrock, etc.

The difference between this situation, than with Randy Couture, is that White himself is imposing the “no more fighting” rule, while Couture tried to impose it on the UFC in 2007. If push came to shove, I think the UFC would let Liddell walk with less of a fight than Couture.