Chuck Liddell On UFC's Emergence As A Mainstream Sport: ‘I Always Thought It Would Get Big'

Forbes

13 hours ago

Chuck Liddell is one of the big reasons UFC went from an underground sport into the mainstream phenomenon that it is today.
The former Light Heavyweight Champion was one of the faces of the company back in 2005 when the company seemingly went from a sport that was considered underground into one of the most popular sports companies in the United States.
The presence of guys like Liddell, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and the debut of the "Ultimate Fighter" TV show on Spike TV (now Paramount Network) showcasing the Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight launched UFC into the mainstream stratosphere in a matter of weeks during the early portion of 2005.
It all happened at the same time that Liddell won the Light Heavyweight Championship for the first time over Couture in April of 2005 at UFC 52.
"I always thought it would get big because it was a great sport," says Liddell in a one-on-one interview. "I love the sport, and I was trying to get it there, I just thought it would take a lot longer to get there. The Ultimate Fighter show, that was really the big thing that launched us there. It was the fast track in getting us big."
The Season 1 finale of the Griffin vs. Bonnar fight is considered the most important fight in MMA history. It was the first live and free MMA ever and it's what led to UFC becoming the dominant entity that it is today. UFC now broadcasts events basically every week on ESPN after landing a $1.5 billion deal with ESPN over five years.
"I thought it was a great sport where we were trying to get it out in front of people for free to check this out," says Liddell of the Griffin-Bonnar fight that ended with Griffin winning by unanimous decision. "We had just chosen to have a free fight on TV. We had to tell them what we had and to have that fight, the Forrest-Bonnar fight, you couldn't ask for a better fight than that."
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finale aired on April 9, 2005 with Liddell winning the title a week later at UFC 52. At the time, UFC 52 was the highest-grossing event at the live gate with over $2.5 million in sales. Liddell held the title for two years, successfully defending the championship four times, including in a rematch with Couture and a highly hyped rematch against Ortiz -- which Lidell won -- at the end of 2006 in what was the most financially successful UFC event to that point.
"I can tell you, I went away from being able to walk into a store and thinking that guy knows who I am, that guy wearing the Tapout shirt probably knows who I am, to walking down the mall and seeing 60-year-old ladies going, 'Hey, good fight last night," says Liddell while laughing. "It's pretty crazy. From the show airing and that fight, and then a week later, I won the title, it just exploded. That was pretty, pretty crazy."
Without hesitation, Liddell says the fight against Couture in 2005 where he won the title is the best fight of his career.
"The toughest opponent is hard to say," says Liddell when asked who his toughest opponent was. "Most of the guys that were the best guys were at my weight at the time. I gotta take that Randy fight (for best fight ever) the one where I finally won the title, I avenged a loss. It was after the sport was blowing up. It was a pretty amazing time, so I'd have to pick that one. To knock out Randy, he had never been knocked out before. It was a good time."
Liddell was well-known for his aggressive striking style, which often led to knockouts. Of his 21 career wins in MMA, 13 came via knockout.
"Not really," says Liddell when asked if he mimicked anyone's fighting style. "it was just me picking different stuff I learned from different people. I work on stuff on the ground and getting up so often, I was really good at getting off my back and getting back up. I got that from (mixed martial arts fighters) John Lewis and Scott Adams. Rolling through, I could roll through a knee bar halfway through and then stand up. I was trying to make my style a way that I can finish fights the fastest and the best.
"For me, I worked, concentrated on my ground game, I concentrated on getting back to my feet," Liddell continues to say of his fighting style. "I had wrestling, I concentrated on defending takedowns and then try to knock you out."
The California native debuted in UFC in 1998 at UFC 17 when it was an underground sport and became the face of UFC (and the champ) at the exact time the sport became a national phenomenon in 2005, He continued to fight until retiring in 2010 following a loss against Rich Franklin.
"I had a lot of great times," says Liddell of time with UFC. "It was a lot of fun, growing the sport, traveling around, doing all the stuff. I wouldn't trade it for anything. In the sport now, where you have more opportunities to fight, back then, there were five or six fights a year. Fighting three times every two years was my average throughout my career. But I'm one of those guys, I would have fought as much as you let me. "
Liddell is enjoying life in his post-fighting career, but his name remains a household one for UFC fans. The 55-year-old recently had a one-of-a-kind Blue Diamond statue made of his trademark victory celebration sold via auction for $30,000 through UFC Collectives by Memento Exclusives. It's the second-most expensive item sold through UFC collectives, which often auctions off memorabilia through a partnership with the mixed martial arts company.
The most expensive UFC item sold through Memento Exclusives — which has a partnership with UFC — is a $40,000 fight night jersey worn by Ilia Topuria.
Artist Dan Medina — who has known Liddell for years — sculpted the one-of-one item with gold center strip and approximately 14 carats of diamonds set into a UFC Championship belt design. Liddell is the first of many UFC legends that will be sculpted by Medina, with the other greats' sculptures being released through UFC Collectibles.
"I was the first one (Medina) he did," says Liddell of the sculpture. "Now we're going to probably get more done in the future, doing some other guys. But I thought that was iconic -- that's my pose. It's pretty cool."