As a combat sports fan, you have to admit that when the year began you never assumed that you'd be witnessing a trilogy fight between former UFC champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz -- especially considering the former has been away from the fight game for the past eight years. Yet here we are, and on Saturday night, Liddell will make his return to the cage to face off with his longtime hated rival. And before anyone assumes this is a publicity stunt on behalf of Liddell, he's not shy in letting everyone know he wants back in the game.
The 48-year-old Liddell (21-8), who was coaxed into retirement by UFC officials in 2010 following a trio of violent knockout losses told CBS Sports on Tuesday that his bitter rival Ortiz (19-12-1) is nothing more than a "tuneup" for bigger things.
"I wanted to get back into the game. I got interested and excited about fighting again and I needed a tuneup fight. And I needed a tuneup fight that we could sell," Liddell said. "Tito is a great tuneup fight and a great measuring stick to where I am and where my comeback is. If everything goes to plan on Saturday, I'll be ready to go and fight someone for real."
"If I can't perform to the level I expect to, I'll hang it up for good."
If you are choosing to remain skeptical about Liddell's decision making, you aren't alone. While Liddell-Ortiz III brings enough name value and remaining hostility between fighters to coax some nostalgic interest, it's a fight that both UFC and even Bellator MMA -- which has promoted the last four fights of the 43-year-old Ortiz -- wanted nothing to do with.
Instead, the pair of legends and former UFC light heavyweight champions will meet on pay-per-view at The Forum in Inglewood, California (9 p.m. ET, FITE TV), under the banner of boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy banner, which makes its debut in MMA.
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Skeptics remain abound regarding how well the fight will actually sell considering the poor undercard and not-so-stellar public performances by De La Hoya in promotion of the fight. That's not even taking into account the combined age of the two fighters (91) and the fact that Liddell has looked every bit his age during various workout videos that went public ahead of the fight.
| Fight | Weightclass |
|---|---|
Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz | Light heavyweight |
Deron Winn vs. Tom Lawlor | Light heavyweight |
Gleison Tibau vs. Efrain Escudero | Catchweight (160 pounds) |
Walel Watson vs. Ricardo Palacios | Bantamweight |
Jay Silva vs. Oscar Cota | Heavyweight |
De La Hoya made both fighters equal partners with him in the PPV bout, which according to the former boxing star will net both the biggest paydays of their careers should the fight do well financially because of how large their percentage split is. That remains a big if, however, whether the fight will sell, especially considering ticket sales have reportedly been slow and De La Hoya lowered the PPV price to $39.99 on Monday.
Still, regardless of how many fans pony up to see it, the two legends will do business for a third time in a rivalry that once helped build the UFC into the powerhouse it is today thanks to the trash talking between them. Liddell won both of their meetings by knockout, including their 2006 rematch at UFC 66 that set a new PPV record at the time for the sport of 1.05 million buys.
"He says I'm a tuneup fight? Man, I think this guy has lost his mind over the last eight years," Ortiz said. "You have to understand, I've been competing over the last eight years. The last time I fought was 2017 against Chael Sonnen and choked him out in two and a half minutes. My timing is there, my wrestling is there and everything is still there exactly where I'm going to need to be able to beat Chuck Liddell.
"At the end of the day, we are enemies, we are not acquaintances, we are not friends and on Saturday night I'm going to smash his face and we won't be friends then either."
Ortiz, who underwent a grueling 18-week camp to ensure he had properly recovered from neck surgery, said he would consider himself the winner of the rivalry should he score his first victory over Liddell on Saturday. He also thinks Liddell was "sandbagging" it a bit by making himself appear slower and older than he really is during public workouts in order to give Ortiz a false sense of security.
| Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
|---|---|---|
Tito Ortiz -315 | Chuck Liddell +245 | Light heavyweight |
"This is the best chance he has ever had against me but he never had a chance at all," Liddell said. "Best chance? Maybe, but I don't think it's much of a chance. If I don't trip and break my ankle on the way into the ring, I think he's in trouble.
"It's the one thing that when I was retired I heard the most from fans, 'Can you just come back and fight one more time and beat Tito up?' That was the most commonly asked question from every third fan I would meet and they would say that."
Liddell has heard the negative talk regarding his age and inactivity and isn't buying into the notion that if Ortiz takes him down early, the fight is over.
"I will get back up and I will knock him out," Liddell said. "It's really simple. I'm very good at working out of the bottom. If he takes me down I will get back up and finish the fight."
Ortiz, meanwhile, predicted he would end the fight via knockout.
"What if I keep the fight on the feet and knock him out at his own game? I'm stubborn like that," Ortiz said. "I just want to give the fans the best fight."
Prediction
They say the last thing to go in an aging fighter is power and Liddell has twice proven already that he's capable of changing a fight against Ortiz with one punch. But outside of that "puncher's chance" in the first round, it's hard to imagine Liddell's timing or stamina will be anywhere close to how we remember him before a run of five losses in six fights beginning in 2007 ended his career.
Ortiz has fought nine times since Liddell retired (winning four of them) and has looked fairly credible during the twilight of his career amid his recent Bellator run. Should Liddell spend a large amount of the opening round on his back, it's very likely his gas tank will be emptied.
The other problem for Liddell is his punch resistance, which effectively disappeared 11 years ago following his one-punch knockout loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Ortiz has remained fairly durable in recent years and has been stopped due to strikes just twice (via ground-and-pound against Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira) in the 12 fights since he last shared the cage with Liddell.
Even if Ortiz eschews sound strategy and looks to trade with Liddell, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him as the last man standing.
Pick: Ortiz via first-round TKO
