It seems the most historic rivalry in MMA can never come to an end, as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” wants another piece of “The Iceman.”
UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz recently called out the legendary Chuck Liddell for a fight through Twitter, saying that the two had to run it back in the UFC in what would be the fourth fight between them if the bout were to materialize.
The two former UFC light heavyweights are part of one of the biggest and most documented rivalry in MMA of all time. Both fighters hailing from Southern California and former friends at one point, their rivalry during their prime in the mid-2000s, supercharged the UFC at a time when MMA needed a big boom to succeed bringing millions of fans to the sport.
The two have fought a total three times. In their first fight at UFC 47 in 2004, Liddell became the first man to knock out Ortiz with a blistering barrage of punches. In the rematch at UFC 66 in 2006, Liddell again finished Ortiz to defend his light heavyweight crown. In their trilogy bout in 2018 when both were past their prime, especially Liddell who was 48 years old at the time of the fight, Ortiz got the better of the “Iceman” as he proceeded to knock him out in the first round. That was Liddell’s last fight.
As the series stands at 2-1 for Liddell, it seems the “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” wants to even the score. However, it does seem unlikely that Liddell would return considering his current advanced age of 51 and the fact of how easily he was knocked out in his last fight.
It is clear that Liddell is not a competitive fighter anymore and his chin has very much deteriorated at this point. Back in his heyday, Liddell was known for having an iron chin, but the years of damage and the wear and tear on his body has had an effect on his ability to take a punch.
Furthermore, the UFC seems unlikely to do these ‘legends’ fights. We have seen the promotion match up the aging veterans of the sport with the young lions of the sport coming up. This is one of the reasons why Dan Hardy wanted to be released from his UFC contract—so he could fight in a different promotion because he believed the UFC would not grant his wishes of fighting a fellow legendary veteran of the sport but instead would match him up with a young, hungry prospect.
Would you want to see a fourth fight between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell?
