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.

This fight is still a possibility for UFC 88 in Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on September 6th. These two were originally schedule to headline UFC 85 in London, England this past weekend after Maurico Shogun Rua dropped out of the main event. Liddell later dropped out as well due to a hamstring injury. Rather than take on a dangerous and unknown fighter, (Luiz Cane was offered to replace Liddell) Evans opted to postpone the fight.

This fight makes sense from a contender’s standpoint since Evans is 6-0-1 in the UFC and Liddell is still the company’s main draw. It does not seem as if Shogun Rua, Liddell’s original opponent will get his wish to fight Liddell. Rua recently made a plea for Liddell to “wait for him” for a December fight but will not likely happen, unless Liddell does what he did last year and fight in September and December. Here’s hoping the fights do happen though!

“I think this is a huge setback for this fight, and it’s a huge setback for the UFC and this England show. But in the grand scheme of things for Chuck Liddell’s future, I think it’s just a minor setback because I think his hammy is going to heal up 110 percent and he’s going to be back stronger than ever.”

Chuck Liddell’s trainer John Hackleman talks about the hamstring injury that forced Liddell out of UFC 85′s main event against Rashad Evans on June 7.  A lesser-name light heavyweight, James Irvin, has stepped up to take on Evans.  Meanwhile, the report indicates that Liddell could return against his original UFC 85 opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, sometime in September.  Rua had to withdraw from the bout because he blew out his knee, again.  There’s no word on whether or not he’ll be fit in time for a September fight with Liddell which is too bad, because a healthy Rua is one heck of a fighter.  Rua handily defeated the UFC’s current champion Rampage Jackson under the Pride FC banner back in Japan.

Credit: KSBY 6 Action News