For a couple months now there have been rumors of former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell either taking on UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 95 in London, with Silva moving up to light heavyweight or Liddell moving up to heavyweight to face Randy Couture for a fourth time, in Germany at UFC 99 in June.
Addressing the rumors, “The Iceman” has made it clear that he is not looking for a fight with Silva or Couture and the organization has not approached him about either fight.
However, there is one fight on Chuck Liddell’s mind; a rematch with Keith Jardine. Liddell has been quoted as saying, “There’s been a few names. We have Jardine listed. We want him in March.”
As many fans may remember, Chuck lost a split decision to Jardine at UFC 76 in September of 2007. Jardine fought with a great gameplan of stiff leg kicks and fast hands; a formula devised by his coaches, Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn.
The Jardine fight was Liddell’s second straight loss at the time, following his knockout loss to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson where he lost his title.
‘The Iceman’ has lost three of his last four fights, with two of those losses coming by way of vicious knockout. Liddell’s most recent loss was hand delivered by Jardine’s teammate and good friend, ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans. The victory for Evans set up a fight with Forrest Griffin for the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 92 and left many Liddell fans wondering if ‘The Iceman’would retire.
In a CBS radio interview on the “Tom Leykis Show”, Liddell said that he is not sure about just who he could be fighting next, but plans on using a wider variety of his arsenal that he has not used in quite some time.
“My next fight… I don’t know, but I will come out and use all of my skills. Hopefully from here on out this style will be effective.” said Liddell, who has most recently been seen training at American Top Team in Florida, so he can add some versatility to his fighting style.
It is quite an interesting scenario when you take a look at the status of the light heavyweight division. There are four guys involved right now in a little “top contender mini-saga.” Not only are they fighting to remain near the top of the division but they are also fighting to remain relevant in the UFC and some could possibly be fighting to keep their job.
Here’s the LHW mini-saga and another lesson in mma math:
Liddell lost to Jardine
Jardine was KO’d by Wanderlei
Wanderlei lost to Liddell
Liddell was KO’d by Rampage
Rampage was KO’d by Wanderlei (twice)
It can be confusing, but if Chuck Liddell can get his rematch with Keith Jardine, it may be the perfect fight to at least become a contender for top contender. If the UFC had the winner of Jardine vs. Liddell fight the winner of Rampage vs. Wandy, then the winner of that match could in turn, fight the winner of the Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin Light Heavyweight Title fight that takes place December 27 at UFC 92.
No doubt about it, Chuck is out for revenge. In his mind he never should have lost the Jardine fight. He is nearing forty and truthfully, there’s probably not that many fights left for him. If he could get a win over Jardine, he could possibly be one more fight away from a title shot. If Liddell could put the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship belt around his waist one final time it would put the icing on one of the most memorable mixed martial arts careers in history.
-Jeff Howard