If Chuck Liddell is contemplating retirement, his trainer and closest confidante John Hackleman is the last to hear about it.
“He’s already said he’ll be back in the gym next Monday,” said Hackleman, who has coached Liddell for 16 years. “He’s going to fight again, hopefully as soon as possible, maybe in December. We’re looking at ‘Shogun.’”
Along with Liddell, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was among the casualties at Saturday night’s at UFC 76 “Knockout” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rua, largely considered one of the top three light heavyweights in the world, was systematically dismantled by Forrest Griffin, succumbing to exhaustion and a rear-naked choke in the third round’s final seconds. With Griffin not even ranked in the top ten, the loss was considered a sizable upset, only matched by former light heavyweight champion Liddell’s defeat to Keith Jardine via a split decision a few moments later.
Liddell’s second consecutive loss successfully derailed a New Year’s Eve collision with former PRIDE light heavyweight champion Wanderlei Silva, who sat cageside shaking his head following Saturday’s results. The pairing of Silva and Liddell has been long sought-after by UFC president Dana White.
Popular San Luis Obispo trainer Hackleman says his camp had already been alerted that a match-up with the Brazilian Chute Boxe member could be on the horizon. In response, Hackleman approached both White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva Saturday night to make it known Liddell’s team was favorable to the bout, which could take place as early as Dec. 29’s UFC 79 in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Chuck will face anyone they put in front of him,” says Hackleman. Due to their formidable records, a bout between Liddell and Rua would catapult either fighter back into title contention.
Speculation of Liddell’s retirement surfaced Saturday following a routine post-fight press conference where the 37-year-old deferred comments regarding his next career move and intonated he would have to mull things over.
“You’re dealing with a guy that just lost a fight, is totally depressed right after a humungous loss,” says Hackleman, who was not present at the press conference. “Of course, he’s disappointed. We didn’t get into details about the fight, especially after a loss, because that’s not the time you want to talk about it. We usually talk about it when we get back in the gym.”
Hackleman has his theories as to what went wrong for his prized student in the cage he dominated for four years till his defeat at the hands of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson last May at UFC 71.
“I think things went wrong with Keith Jardine. Keith Jardine came out and fought like a freakin’ killer," says Hackleman. "Chuck just couldn’t pull the trigger in time and was just a hair off and Jardine’s timing was perfect.”
http://thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4933
“He’s already said he’ll be back in the gym next Monday,” said Hackleman, who has coached Liddell for 16 years. “He’s going to fight again, hopefully as soon as possible, maybe in December. We’re looking at ‘Shogun.’”
Along with Liddell, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was among the casualties at Saturday night’s at UFC 76 “Knockout” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Rua, largely considered one of the top three light heavyweights in the world, was systematically dismantled by Forrest Griffin, succumbing to exhaustion and a rear-naked choke in the third round’s final seconds. With Griffin not even ranked in the top ten, the loss was considered a sizable upset, only matched by former light heavyweight champion Liddell’s defeat to Keith Jardine via a split decision a few moments later.
Liddell’s second consecutive loss successfully derailed a New Year’s Eve collision with former PRIDE light heavyweight champion Wanderlei Silva, who sat cageside shaking his head following Saturday’s results. The pairing of Silva and Liddell has been long sought-after by UFC president Dana White.
Popular San Luis Obispo trainer Hackleman says his camp had already been alerted that a match-up with the Brazilian Chute Boxe member could be on the horizon. In response, Hackleman approached both White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva Saturday night to make it known Liddell’s team was favorable to the bout, which could take place as early as Dec. 29’s UFC 79 in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Chuck will face anyone they put in front of him,” says Hackleman. Due to their formidable records, a bout between Liddell and Rua would catapult either fighter back into title contention.
Speculation of Liddell’s retirement surfaced Saturday following a routine post-fight press conference where the 37-year-old deferred comments regarding his next career move and intonated he would have to mull things over.
“You’re dealing with a guy that just lost a fight, is totally depressed right after a humungous loss,” says Hackleman, who was not present at the press conference. “Of course, he’s disappointed. We didn’t get into details about the fight, especially after a loss, because that’s not the time you want to talk about it. We usually talk about it when we get back in the gym.”
Hackleman has his theories as to what went wrong for his prized student in the cage he dominated for four years till his defeat at the hands of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson last May at UFC 71.
“I think things went wrong with Keith Jardine. Keith Jardine came out and fought like a freakin’ killer," says Hackleman. "Chuck just couldn’t pull the trigger in time and was just a hair off and Jardine’s timing was perfect.”
http://thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4933
