MMAVu

While Chuck Liddell still may yet be the UFC’s biggest draw, his time with the promotion may be coming to an end on April 18th in Montreal.

UFC President Dana White has made it clear to Liddell that he needs to show him amazing, something spectacular, to keep his spot within the UFC. White states that he loves Liddell, but he won’t allow him out in the cage if Liddell isn’t competitive anymore. I have to agree, seeing Rashad Evans splatter a 39yr old man across the canvas was nearly senior citizen abuse. How fast and far the mighty have fallen. Check out this quote from White in an interview with the Canadian Press.

A year and a half ago, people were arguing over who’s the best light-heavyweight in the world. Shogun or Chuck. And here we are, with these guys basically fighting to see who’s going to really stick around in that division.

That takes us to Liddell’s opponent, Mauricio Rua. White’s previous statement was exactly that, while Rua ruled Pride with an iron fist, Liddell ruled the UFC. Hard to believe that was such a short time ago. In Rua’s two fights in the UFC, he has gassed out two times, and the guy is a freaking spring chicken at age 27.

He was so bagged he couldn’t hold his arms up against Forest Griffin…and against Mark Coleman. Against Griffin, who is a cardio machine…well, maybe…first time in the UFC, jitters…maybe. Against a 44yr old Mark Coleman?! Rua looked terrible in squeaking out a last minute knockout against a guy old enough to be his dad.

Anywho, it looks like the axe will fall on the loser of this fight…unless the loser is Liddell

C’mon Dana, I think that’s just a pep talk, and should Liddell lose, the UFC would put Chuck against dudes like Tim Boetsch or Sean Salmon. Hey, what’s Jason Lambert doing these days?

Some highlights of Chuck Liddell’s interview with mmanews.

On him choosing to fight Rashad Evans over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua:

No, I was happy with the decision. I was offered Shogun but he wouldn’t be ready ‘til November or December. That was the main thing I didn’t want to wait that long for my next fight. Rashad’s a tough opponent it’ll be a great fight.

And another thought about fighting Evans:

After I beat Rashad I think I deserve the next title shot.

Liddell certainly has his swagger back. After suffering back to back losses to Rampage Jackson and Keith Jardine, Liddell out-pointed Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 and looks to get back into the title picture as soon as possible. There are other contenders out there, including Thiago Silva, Lyoto Machida, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva and…Anderson Silva. Here’s Liddell’s thoughts on a potential super fight with the middleweight champion:

Sure, it could be a good fight but I think I’m too big for him. He’s a tough fighter and I have all the respect in the world for him but I think I’d be too much for him.

Liddell may be bigger, but both guys are strikers. It wouldn’t be like grappers or wrestlers tossing eachother around. I’d pay to see these guys throw down.