When Liddell started his MMA career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Liddell made his UFC debut in 1998, with a decision victory over Noe Hernandez. Despite a submission loss to top contender Jeremy Horn shortly after, Liddell began establishing his reputation as a devastating striker with victories over Kevin Randleman, [Murilo Bustamante]], Vitor Belfort, Renato Sobral and Tito Ortiz.
By 2002, Liddell was considered the number one contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, with growing popularity and support from his fans. The UFC tried to arrange a title bout with then-champion Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz cited scheduling conflicts. To force Ortiz's hand, they created an interim light heavyweight championship and matched Liddell with experienced wrestler and former heavyweight champion "The Natural" Randy Couture at UFC 43. Couture neutralized Liddell's hooks with straight punches and eventually began taking him down at will. Couture eventually gained full mount and forced a referee stoppage due to punches.
After this defeat, Liddell entered the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as the official UFC representative. After defeating Alistair Overeem in the first round of the tournament, Liddell was eliminated in the next round by PRIDE veteran Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, losing by corner stoppage, when his corner threw in the towel.
Returning to the UFC, Liddell was once again put in contention for the light heavyweight title, preparing for a match with former champion Ortiz. The pair had once trained together at the Pitfight Club and experienced a falling out that escalated as Ortiz taunted Liddell. The falling out stemmed from Ortiz's unwillingness to give Liddell a title fight, despite Liddell's status as the top contender in the UFC. Eventually, after Ortiz lost the title to Randy Couture, the two would meet in a highly anticipated fight at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After most of the first round was spent feeling each other out, Liddell threw a few punches and a kick which was blocked by Ortiz, with Ortiz slapping himself on the head, taunting Liddell. When the round ended Ortiz pushed referee "Big" John McCarthy out of his way, into Liddell, and the pair exchanged words. Shortly after the second round started, Liddell threw a flurry of punches which knocked Ortiz down and led to a TKO victory. Ortiz has since stated that Liddell's thumb made contact with one of his eyes, causing him to momentarily see "nothing but black". Since UFC 47, the bad blood between both fighters remained, with Ortiz repeatedly stating that he wanted "his" belt back. Despite the tension, Ortiz and Liddell would not fight again for two and a half years.
The Ultimate Fighter
In early 2005, Liddell was a coach on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV's reality show which featured fighters competing for a UFC contract. Liddell was the coach of Team Liddell, while then-UFC-light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture coached Team Couture. The series was a success for both Spike TV and the UFC. Both of the winners of the show, Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin, were members of Team Liddell and have gone on to successful MMA careers.
UFC Championship
On April 16, 2005 at UFC 52, Liddell fought Randy Couture, again for the light heavyweight title. This time the fight ended in a first round knockout victory for Liddell, making him the new UFC light heavyweight champion. Liddell was scheduled to defend his new title against UFC veteran Jeremy Horn, at UFC 54, a matchup the UFC claimed was demanded by long-time fans of the sport since Horn had given Liddell his first loss. Throughout the bout, Liddell dominated with aggressive punches, causing knockdown in several rounds. Liddell's defensive wrestling ability, especially his sprawl, stifled the bulk of Horn's offense, which was centered on grappling and submission wrestling. Liddell eventually won the fight via TKO in 2:46 minutes of the fourth round after Horn informed the referee that he could not see. Liddell had successfully defended his title and, in the process, avenged two of his three career losses.
On February 4, 2006 at UFC 57, Liddell faced Randy Couture in a rubber match, defeating Couture for the 2nd time via knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada to retain the light heavyweight championship belt. After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. In Liddell's next defense, at UFC 62 on August 26, 2006, Liddell would best Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who he had defeated nearly three years prior. Liddell scored a quick TKO victory at 1:35 of the first round.
It was announced during UFC 61 that, if he were to defeat Sobral, Liddell would face off against Pride Middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight failed to materialize due to the competing promotions' inability to reach an agreement. UFC president Dana White attributed this to Silva's subsequent knockout loss to Mirko Filipovi?.
In what would be the most financially successful UFC event to date, Liddell fought a rematch with Ortiz at UFC 66, which took place on December 30, 2006. Liddell's takedown defense neutralized Ortiz's wrestling ability, forcing Ortiz to stand up with a known striker. Although Ortiz did take Liddell down at one point in the fight, Liddell went on to defeat Ortiz via TKO in the third round to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. It was later revealed that Liddell tore his MCL prior to the fight. In addition, during the fight he popped the tendon out on the middle finger on his left hand.
Rematch with Quinton Jackson
In his fifth defense, Liddell would lose the title at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 in a rematch with Quinton Jackson. Liddell was knocked down by a right hook less than two minutes into round 1 and was unable to defend himself against Jackson's strikes on the ground, resulting in a TKO victory for Jackson. After the loss, Liddell was widely criticized after reports indicated he had been seen in night clubs the week before the event. He responded that it was nothing he had not done prior to his other fights in Las Vegas.
At the post-UFC 71 press conference, Liddell indicated he would continue to fight. Dana White also said that his next opponent would likely be Wanderlei Silva.
Post championship
On July 11, 2007 Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumoured bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to fight in the main event at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine.
In the main event of UFC 76, Liddell lost a split decision to Keith Jardine, the first consecutive loss of his career.
On October 23, 2007 White announced that a matchup between Liddell and Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision to what many fans and MMA critics called the best fight of the year. Both fighters were awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. This fight was also voted 2007's Fight of the Year at the first annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.
On February 1, 2008, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell,however on March 4 it was announced on UFC.com that "Shogun" was receiving surgery on his knee and was forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler "Sugar" Rashad Evans would replace Mauricio Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight, as well.
On September 6, 2008, Liddell fought Rashad Evans at UFC 88. At 1:51 of the second round, Evans connected with an overhand right, Liddell's trademark punch, resulting in the former champion landing unconscious on his stomach. It was revealed after the fight that Liddell had lost control of his bowels during his unconsciousness. The knockout was dubbed "knockout of the year" by MMA-website Sherdog and given "knockout of the night"-honors by the UFC.
Despite multiple rumors about possible return fights with Randy Couture and Anderson Silva, Liddell has stated in a recent interview that he has not been approached by management regarding either fight. He also said that he plans to return to action in March or April 2009. During a recent guest appearance on "The Tom Leykis Show," Liddell stated that there have been a "few names" being discussed for his next opponent. He would later add that he wants a rematch with Keith Jardine in March. However, Dana White stated in the UFC 92 post fight press conference that Liddell's next opponent will not be Jardine, but will be Mauricio Rua or Wanderlei Silva.
Liddell has long been criticized for over-relying on the same coaches and training partners. Shortly following his knockout loss to Evans, long-time trainer John Hackleman confirmed that Liddell is participating in training sessions with American Top Team to "round out his skills", although he is still officially associated with Hackleman and The Pit.
Last UFC fights
On January 17, 2009, Dana White confirmed during the UFC 93 post fight press conference that Liddell's next fight would be against Mauricio Rua at UFC 97 in April 18 in Montréal, Canada.On April 18 at UFC 97, Liddell was defeated by Shogun in the first round by TKO. After the fight, White declared that Liddell is retired from fighting. White said, "I care about him. I care about his health, and it's over, man. It's over." White went further, saying, "At the end of the day, I care about these guys. I don't want to see anybody stick around too long. You're never going to see Chuck Liddell on the canvas again." In May however, Liddell's trainer, John Hackleman, claimed 'with confidence' that Liddell isn't done yet and that he's "definitely on top of the food chain." Liddell has "more than one fight left in him." In an interview afterwards, White went on to rhetorically ask "can I tell him not to fight? Absolutely not. If he still wants to fight, he can fight. I'm not saying, 'It will never happen. It will never happen.' But he made a deal with me [not to fight]."
On July 10, 2009, at the UFC 100 Fan Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
After UFC 101 in August, Dana White stated that "I don't want him to (fight). He wants to, so we'll see what happens." Two days afterwards, Liddell went on record to say that he was undecided on the matter and that "it's hard for an athlete to quit what he's done his whole life." Liddell went on to say that he would be "making that decision in the gym, not in the ring" after sparring sessions.
It was later announced that Liddell would be coaching opposite Tito Ortiz on the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the two of them fighting each other on June 12, 2010 at UFC 115. However, in March, it was rumored that Ortiz was pulling out for as yet unknown reasons and Ortiz would be replaced by Rich Franklin. This was then denied by UFC president Dana White.
On April 7, 2010, White confirmed that Liddell/Ortiz 3, would in fact be the main event for the card, however, on April 12, 2010, the main event was changed to Liddell vs. Rich Franklin.
On June 12, 2010, Liddell faced Rich Franklin at UFC 115 and was dominating Franklin until he got caught at the end of the first round at 4:55 with a vicious counter right hook, knocking The Ice Man out cold. This is after Franklin broke his arm blocking a body kick from Liddell. Only a few hours after the match, UFC President Dana White declared that he guarantees "The Iceman" will not fight in the UFC ever again.Liddell later said in a post-fight interview, "The only reason I lost is because I forgot to breathe."
Liddell is in 2nd place for the most wins inside the Octagon with 16, behind Matt Hughes' 18 career wins under the UFC banner.
