Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell may not knock out opponents at will anymore, but he can still draw an audience that rivals any when it comes to fans looking to learn exactly how to throw that KO punch.
The former champion was in Canada Saturday for a seminar as part of the Grand Opening of a new DojoBuy.com outlet at a mixed martial arts store in Waterloo, Ont. Hatashita International, which supplies retail MMA equipment and apparel, brought in the ultra-popular Chuck to help promote the event -- and give people some hands-on tips from a legend.
A few hundred people packed in the back portions of the property -- founder Roman Hatashita, a four-time Canadian judo champion who represented the country at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics said the store is 10,000 square feet in size, with another 20,000 in the back where the cage, ring and training mats are set up.
"There is no better sport for conditioning and no better sport for learning self-defence," said Hatashita, who got the seminar going by sharing a bit about his passion for mixed martial arts. "Whether you’re six-years old or 60, there’s something for everybody."
Then the show began. Liddell gave lessons on moves that he employs in the cage, starting off with what he called one of his favourites: the overhand right.
"This is your money shot, your haymaker. But it’s not one you should throw all the time," Liddell described. "You set up your opponent with straight punches. And then make it seem like it comes out of nowhere."
Those who paid for a premium ticket were given the chance to get inside the "ropes" and follow along with his movements. And there were spectators three-rows deep just to take in the demonstrations.
Liddell wasn’t surprised by the turnout.
"I’ve been coming up here for a long time. (You have) great fans up here (in Canada)."
His documented popularity with the ladies, notwithstanding, it can’t be all easy for him. Liddell is one of, if not the most recognizable names and faces in mixed martial arts, so he gets a lot of demands for his time. Yet he also reached a plateau a year and a half ago, right when the sport started to gain mainstream attention. At the time, he was still the light-heavyweight champion who had defended his belt four straight times and was on a seven-fight knockout streak. He seemed invincible.
But since the spotlight has really been on MMA, his career has kind of gone downhill -- at least in terms of results with three losses in his past four fights. And he just doesn’t have that aura that he used to.
Though he was quick to quell any thoughts of his career being at the tail end.
"I’m not planning on retiring for a while," Liddell told me. "I’ll be around."
He couldn’t give any insight on what’s next, only that he’s trying to get a fight by March. And if I wanted to know who that opponent would, he said I should call Dana (he chuckled).
There was a rumour going around that a fight with Anderson Silva could be in the near future. I don’t know whether a lot of people really want to see that right now, considering he just got owned by Rashad Evans. And there are a ton of other fighters lining up for a shot at Silva, each probably providing a more compelling matchup than Lidell.
Of course, Silva is now talking about retiring so I’m thinking such a fight may have to happen soon before the middleweight champion calls it quits. Chuck disagrees.
"He’s a great guy," Liddell said of Silva. "If the fight made sense and the money made sense, I’m sure he’d come back."
Can the fight makes sense? Not if he can’t do something about his chin. He showed in the Rashad fight, like the Jackson bout, that he can get caught and quickly go down. And this has been reflected in fighter rankings, including Sportsnet’s first light-heavyweight ranking snapshot, where he has been knocked out of the Top 10.
He thinks he can rectify that partly with his game plan.
"I was trying to chase him too much," Liddell admitted. "I should have slowed it down and came after him a little slower. I hate doing that though."
If he is willing to adjust his approach, I would still be willing to pay to see The Iceman vs. The Spider. (If I didn’t get a press pass, that is.)
But no matter what, he’ll continue to get the rock-star treatment wherever he goes.
Later this week, look for a feature on The Iceman on Sportsnet Connected.
