Chuck Liddell says filming ‘TUF’ a good start to his comeback

By Brett Okamoto

Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 | 7:53 p.m.

Before the UFC announced that Chuck Liddell would return to mixed martial arts and coach against Tito Ortiz on the 11th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," there had been plenty of speculation that his fighting career was over.

But according to Liddell, the speculation wasn't necessary. He was never even close to hanging it up.

"I knew I wanted to fight," Liddell said. "As a fighter, I have to go out my own way. If I go out, it has to be my decision. I can't let someone else make that decision for me."

After taking a long break from the sport following his loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in April, Liddell is in Las Vegas for the next six weeks to film the upcoming season of "TUF," which premieres March 31 on Spike TV.

Getting back into the gym as a coach has been great, Liddell told the media Monday, and it has been good preparation for his comeback fight against Ortiz. That fight should happen sometime this summer.

"It's a good way to do it. It's a good way to get pre-trained," Liddell said. "I wanted to take a year off, so that would have taken me through April. It's a good way to make sure if that's the guy they want me to fight, I'm motivated for it. These six weeks should motivate me."

It's well-known that Ortiz (16-7-1) and Liddell (21-7) already have a long history, dating back to before they met in the octagon for the first time in 2004.

Liddell accused Ortiz of avoiding a title defense against him while Ortiz held the championship belt from 2000 to 2003.

After losing the title to Randy Couture, Ortiz met Liddell in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. Liddell posted a knockout win, then added a TKO win over Ortiz in a rematch in 2006.

Although the rivalry has died down quite a bit since, Liddell said six weeks of constant interaction should rekindle some of the animosity.

"I did one interview with him today and I'm already getting pumped about punching him in the mouth," Liddell said. "I knocked him out twice already, but I have no problem getting up to fight him."

Liddell is looking to bounce back strong from a tough stretch he suffered prior to the break, in which he lost four of his last five fights.

The slump prompted UFC president Dana White to repeatedly say he believed the 40-year-old fighter should retire.

Even after he announced that Liddell would be returning to competition, White said in December that he hoped it would be for only one fight.

Not surprisingly, Liddell has longer plans than one fight — a couple of comeback fights and, if he wins, a climb up the light heavyweight ladder.

"I'd want another fight," Liddell said. "Hopefully, Dana will be happy and I'd want a shot at a contender and then a shot at the title.

"I don't think I have anything to prove, really, but I'd like to prove (Dana) wrong and show him I'm not done. I'm not too old and I can still fight."

Ortiz, who dropped his only fight in 2009 to Forrest Griffin in November, actually agreed with his rival once Monday, saying he believed Liddell still can be competitive in the UFC.

"He's in shape and his sense of awareness is there more than ever," Ortiz said. "Maybe he'll refine himself. He's realized he has his fight career ahead of him and he wants to take advantage of it. I think Chuck shouldn't have a problem at all."

Liddell said he doesn't blame anyone for questioning his abilities given his current skid, but also pointed out that fans can have a short memory.

After dropping two straight to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Keith Jardine in 2007, Liddell remembers everyone proclaiming he was back after he defeated Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision in December that year.

In the following fight against Rashad Evans, Liddell said he believed he was winning the fight until Evans dropped him with a now-famous right hand in the second round.

If he had held on to win that fight, Liddell said, things would be different today.

"It's hard when you dominated for so long and then lose four out of five fights," he said. "But the funny thing is, after I lost those two fights I beat Wanderlei and everyone was saying, 'Oh, you're back.'

"Then, if that punch from Rashad is one inch off and he doesn't knock me out, I probably would have won that fight and got a title shot."

It will be at least another five months before Liddell and his fans get to see if his first fight back is a successful one.

But even if it's not, Liddell said he won't allow anyone to push him out of the sport. He'll leave on his own time.

"You need to go out on your own," Liddell said. "I'm not going to let fans or people that aren't close to me and don't know what I can still do make that decision for me. They were glad when Randy retired after I knocked him out (in 2006). Everyone said, 'Oh, he's done now. He's too old.'

"He came back and he's still fighting."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.