Chuck Liddell

[Gene Kiniski]

Let me start off by saying that, over the last few days, I have realized how big of douchebags the Sherdog posters are (forums, of course). I was reading through and I realized that a lot of people seem to dislike Chuck Liddell. There is actually an entire thread dedicated to it.

Because he overhyped. Cos he was UFCs poster boy. Cos he only fought wrestlers.

[Gabriel]

Chuck has a lot of holes that have recently been exposed. I like his fights generally, as his style makes for an exciting battle with most opponents.

Is he as good as he was made out to be when he was Champion? No. I don't think so at all... but he is a very exciting fighter, and I'd be hard pressed to remember a Liddell fight that bored me.

[Evansfan1]

Chuck Liddell is a guy who I can take or leave. I have never really flat out rooted for the guy, but I won't totally go against him. I got to give him props as one of the best fighters in the world though. Not only was he UFC's poster boy like said, but he is the only guy to knock out Randy Couture and he did it twice! Yeah, he has fell off the map a little and did lose to Rampage twice, but that doesn't make him bad and nowhere near overrated. The one thing I just always think about him was when he fought Ortiz. Especially the second time, where Ortiz was just waiting back and Liddell was getting bored. So Liddell drops his hands and is like "you gonna do anything sometime soon." I just love the cockiness out of him, but it isn't a bad guy cocky which makes it even better.

Flat out, Liddell is an outstanding fighter and say whatever you want about him, but he has the bragging rights over everyone as like I said, he is the only one to knock out perhaps the best fighter ever in the UFC.

[KCC]

From browsing Sherdog, it reminds me of the ROH message board, or a good majority of the TNA fans. They hate most of the popular UFC-created superstars (Liddell in this case) and root for the lesser-known fighters (anyone from PRIDE). There's nothing wrong with that, but most of them are downright ignorant about it (the reaction of that board after Cro Cop/Gonzaga made me cackle with glee).

Do I think Liddell is overrated? No, but I'm not sure if the reason he's so popular is because of his skill. I think his look has a lot to do with it, as he's marketed as an action hero more than a fighter. His emotionless, 'Ice-Man' persona is what made him; and it shows because despite two consecutive losses, the fans still loved him when he fought Wanderlei. That being said, he definitely deserves respect if only because he is one of the ones who helped get UFC off the ground and into the mainstream. While his ground skill may be lacking and his chin may be more vulnerable than was once believed, he is still one of the best/most entertaining fighters in his weight class right now.

[Your Mom]

Chuck got me hooked on UFC and it was totally the gimmick. He is a good fighter and all and I still like him but he is nowhere near the best which is what I thought when I first saw him

[aajj1144]

Disclaimer: My opinion lol

Ok, for 1 I respect Chuck's KO power and his striking prowess. now with that aside I personally am not a Chuck Liddell fan. For one I have followed Pride and UFC for a long time and I know that there are numerous people out there Eons better then Chuck would ever be. Now here is the problem, all of these new MMA fans automatically turn to Chuck. All I hear is everyone talking about Chuck this and Chuck that, sure he's a good striker but he is almost past his prime. But for all of these recent MMA fans it seems as if Chuck can do no wrong, I guess that is a little bit of the reason that I am turned away from him, basically because he is an Overhyped counter puncher who doesn't really have a technique. Jackson vs Liddell 1 and 2 was enough for me to realize that one of Chuck's weaknesses is his lack of aggression at times.

Also recently he has been a bit boring to watch as he has lost 2 of his last 3 with 1 loss by TKO and 1 by Decision. His win also came by decision, BUT hopefully his fight with Shogun will prove that he still has some of the KO power of the 2006 Chuck

[Enter Blue Guy]

Chuck has been one of my favorite fighters for a while now, his fight with Vitor Belfort was the fight that got me back into MMA after not watching since it was taken of PPV years ago. So I'm always biased for the Iceman.

I think I've stated my take on him a million times on this board alone and I'm exhausted from playing hockey tonight, so I'll just cut and paste some various posts of mine regarding Chucky.

pre fight prediction on Chuck vs. Keith Jardine

Keith Jardine vs. Chuck Liddell: Chuck matches up perfectly in this fight. Jardine is going to want to keep his distance, throw his leg kicks, follow the leg kicks with a jab or something more if he sees fit, then back away. Which I don't think Chuck minds at all. Chuck is THE definitive counter fighter, he wants you to stand back and strike at a methodical pace, because if you do that, eventually Chuck is going to catch coming in and for the next week, your jaw is going to be very sore. Don't expect Chucky to turn it on unless he thinks he has Jardine hurt. Until then, I expect him stand back and let Jardine come in, throw his leg kicks or his jabs, and Liddell will try to sting him countering those. And if Keith follows up, that's when Chucky is going to launch a heat seeking hook or uppercut.

One thing I like about Jardine is how fierce he fights, he comes in hard, throws his punches and kicks hard, generally just moves around hard and quick. However, I don't see him keeping such a hard and quick pace in this fight where he can get burned with a single shot out of nowhere at anytime from a guy who is very hard to telegraph. Chuck is always moving around at strange angles and directions, keeping unorthodox stances. It really throws guys that are planning to fight in a similar way to Jardine should off their game. I can Jardine having some success with his strategy early on, but as his confidence grows in the fight, the more he tries to move in for more than just jabs and leg kicks. And that is were Chuck is going to make him pay.

Edited March 1, 2008 by Enter Blue Guy

[KevinStorm]

Didn't Liddell beat Tito Ortiz? That's all I need to know to like the guy.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Like a few others, Chuck hooked me in when I first started watching UFC. The only reason he's being classed as overrated is because the UFC hyped him up so much. Whatever anybody says, he's easily one of the most exciting fighters to watch, certainly for the average person tuning in as well, which is why I find him such a great selling point too. I could literally watch him face anybody, because you're pretty much guaranteed to see something great when Chuck fights. It's not really his fight he got so hyped by the UFC and people started to class him as overrated. I still think he's as dangerous as nearly anybody when he's on his feet and it was only a loss to Jackson that brought a bit of a downfall for the guy, and losing to Jackson isn't exactly something to be ashamed of. I know UFC over hyped him at times, but because of that, I find some people now actually underrate the guy, more than they do overate him. I'd personally rather watch him over any single fighter in the UFC, bar Forrest Griffin (Simply because that guy's the REAL deal ).

[Enter Blue Guy]

Didn't Liddell beat Tito Ortiz? That's all I need to know to like the guy.

[EndOfAnEra]

Regarding Rampage, some people just have your number. I'm a HUGE Rampage fan, and would never call his victories a fluke, but it shouldn't make Liddell a BAD fighter by any means. Rampage just happened to beat him. Liddell beat Ortiz, Ortiz beat Shamrock, and that's the way it goes.

I think his main problem of late was his lack of focus. He started popping up on TV shows and all sorts of shit, then showed up to fight. Sure I don't know what his training was like, but all the extra-curricular activity can't help.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I don't think that second loss to Page was any fluke. People don't give enough credit to Jackson's hands and Chuck's stance just begs for him to be caught with something sweet. He's just mastered his counter striking style so well that he can usually avoid those dangerous shots.

[Toe]

The fact that Chuck Liddell beat Randy Couture twice is enough for me to see him as a great fighter. He is always exciting in the ring, and that is what I want when I watch the UFC - exciting fights.