John Hackleman isn’t ruling out a potential mixed martial arts (MMA) return for Chuck Liddell.
Hackleman coached Liddell throughout his career and is a friend of “The Iceman.” Throughout the years, Hackleman has seen Liddell climb the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) light heavyweight division. The former UFC champion has been retired since 2010, but a return may not be a completely out of reach.
During a recent appearance on the “Anik & Florian Podcast,” Hackleman explained why Liddell may want to compete again (via MMA Weekly):
“Just like when they first wanted him to quit, and he wanted to keep fighting, everybody was thinking I was trying to push him to keep fighting, which isn’t true. But like I always said, it’s whatever is in his heart. And plus, three million bucks? Who is gonna tell someone, ‘no. I’m not going to allow you to make $3 million?’ Which is more than most people make in three lifetimes.”
With Liddell pushing closer to 50 (he’s 47 years of age), Hackleman said the right match-up is key:
“It would all depend upon – this sounds so bad – but it would depend on the match. It would all depend on the match. I’m not gonna name who I would let him fight. Well, it’s not up to me to let him fight or not, but who I would okay (for him to fight) and who I wouldn’t.”
