Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell Biography

NAME: Chuck Liddell
NICKNAME: Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell
WEIGHT CLASS: Light Heavyweight
AGE: 41 years old - 12/17/69
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-2, 205
REACH: 76”
BIRTHPLACE: Santa Barbara, California
FIGHTING OUT OF: San Luis Obispo, California
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English
STYLE: Kickboxing
TRAINER: John Hackleman
STRENGTHS: Excellent striker, well-rounded grappler, knockout power
TRAINING: Chuck works on combining his kickboxing skills, submission skills, and his wrestling skills. Chuck runs in the morning and then does a workout focusing on stand up and then later he'll do a workout focusing on grappling and submissions. Sometimes he mixes the workouts. He runs five or six days a week and does interval training with a trainer three days a week. He does a high rep weightlifting routine three times a week. I try to keep my training about the same for all my fights.
PROFESSIONAL MMA RECORD: 21-8

UFC HISTORY:

UFC 115 (6/12/10) Liddell was knocked out by Rich Franklin at 4:55 of the first round.
UFC 97 (4/18/09) Liddell was stopped via strikes by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at 4:28 of the first round.
UFC 88 (9/6/08) Liddell was knocked out at 1:51 of the second round by Rashad Evans.
UFC 79 (12/29/07) Liddell scored a three round unanimous decision over Wanderlei Silva.
UFC 76 (9/22/07) Liddell lost a three round split decision to Keith Jardine.
UFC 71 (5/26/07) Liddell was stopped at 1:53 of the first round by Quinton Jackson, losing his UFC Light Heavyweight title in the process.
UFC 66 (12/30/06) Liddell retained his title for the fourth time, stopping Tito Ortiz with strikes at 3:59 of the third round in their long-awaited rematch.
UFC 62 (8/26/06) Liddell made it two in a row over Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, icing him in just 95 seconds of the first round to retain his title for the third time.
UFC 57 (2/4/06) Liddell retained his UFC light heavyweight crown for the second time, knocking out Randy Couture at 1:28 of the second round.
UFC 54 (8/20/05) Chuck avenged his first career loss by defeating Jeremy Horn by TKO in 2:46 of the fourth round.
UFC 52 (4/16/05) Chuck became the first man to ever knock out Randy Couture, winning in 2:06 of the first round to become the new UFC World Light Heavyweight Champion.
UFC 49 (8/21/04) Chuck knocked out Vernon "Tiger" White in 4:05 of the first round.
UFC 47 (4/02/04) Chuck knocked out longtime rival Tito Ortiz in: 38 seconds of the second round.
UFC 43 (6/06/03) Chuck lost to Randy Couture by TKO in 2:39 of the third round in a fight for the interim LHW title.
UFC 40 (11/22/02), Liddell knocked out tough Brazilian Renato "Babalu" with a kick to the head at 2:55of the first round.
UFC 37.5 (6/22/02) Chuck defeated Vitor Belfort by unanimous decision
UFC 35 (1/11/02) Chuck defeated Amar Suloev by unanimous decision.
UFC 33 (9/28/01) Chuck defeated Murilo Bustamante by unanimous decision.
UFC 31 (5/04/01) Chuck knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman at 1:18 of the first round.
UFC 29 (12/16/00) Chuck defeated Jeff Monson by unanimous decision.
UFC 22 (9/24/99) Chuck defeated Shootfighter Paul Jones by ref stop at 3:53 of the first round.
UFC 19 (3/05/99) Jeremy Horn defeated Chuck at 12:00 by referee stoppage due to choke out.
UFC 17 (5/15/98) Liddell made his debut winning a decision over boxer Noe Hernandez.

Q&A

When and why did you start training for fighting?

Liddell was inspired to take up martial arts at 12 years old after watching demos after "Kung Fu Theater”. Chuck started in koei-kan karate-do at age 12, wrestling at age 14 and then kickboxing after that.

What ranks and titles have you held?

UFC Hall of Famer, former UFC World Light Heavyweight champion. Chuck has a kickboxing record of 20 and 2 and has held the USMTA North American Heavyweight title and the IKF National Heavyweight title. IFC Light Heavyweight champion. Purple belt in jiu-jitsu under John Lewis.

Do you have any heroes?

As far as influences go, in fighting, probably John Hackleman for my striking and John Lewis for getting me going in MMA.

What is your favorite technique?

Right leg whip kick.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC?

I just want to keep fighting and keep winning.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn?

Chuck wrestled for California Polytechnic State University and graduated from there with a degree in accounting.

What was your job before you started fighting?

Chuck’s parents used to say to him, "You have a college degree. Why don't you get a real job?!" Early on Chuck used to work as a bartender and a bouncer.

OTHER

• MMA’s biggest superstar
• Inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2009
• Appeared on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2009
• Has been featured in a cover story in ESPN The Magazine
• Has appeared in movies and on HBO’s Entourage series
• Has the most feared right hand in MMA
• Owns wins over former UFC champions Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Randy Couture (twice), Tito Ortiz (twice).  Five of those six wins were by knockout.
• Had four successful light heavyweight title defenses, all by knockout.
• Avenged losses to Couture and Jeremy Horn.  Only other losses are to Quinton Jackson (twice), Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua and Keith Jardine.
• 2-1 in PRIDE with wins over Guy Mezger and Alistair Overeem.
• 16-7 in the UFC
• 13 wins by knockout
• Has worked with 1976 Gold medal winner and former lightweight boxing contender Howard Davis Jr.
• Liddell retired in January of 2011. He is currently the UFC’s Executive Vice President of Business Development.