Chuck Liddell opens up on what it would take for him to fight again

Recently, there was some buzz of UFC Hall of Fame legend Chuck Liddell making a return to competition. The 47-year-old appeared to be in great shape and some photos on social media including one with his old rival Tito Ortiz had people talking about a potential return.

Liddell spoke on this week’s episode of The MMA Hour and opened up on where his mind was at in terms of ever coming out of retirement to fight again.

“I don’t think the itch to fight has ever left me, ever,” Liddell said (transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting). “I mean, I got paid to do what I love for a living, and I got paid very well to do it. So that’s going to always be there. That’s always going to be like, ‘Man, I wouldn’t mind getting out there again.’ That’ll always be there, and then it’s just that battle of should I? Or, is it the right thing to do? That’s what it all comes down to.”

With Liddell being let go from his role with the UFC as an executive after the company was sold for over $4 billion last year, “The Iceman” has done some work and had some talks with other MMA promotions. With Liddell’s name and draw, the former UFC light heavyweight champion says that the topic of him fighting again is always brought up.

“I have had people that I was doing some promotion stuff with go, ‘You know, we had an idea. We should have, like, a legends fight,’” Liddell said. “It’s always that. That conversation always comes up when we’re talking about doing some promotion for a company, or helping them promote their league. The conversation always leads to, ‘Have you ever thought about doing a legends fight?’ Like, ‘We have this new idea, we’re thinking about a legends fight.’ New idea, yeah, that’s brand new. No, it always comes up.

“But it’s just, in the right situation, if they offered enough money, and my body would hold up to getting in shape, I’m not saying I’d say no.”

There has been speculation that Liddell could join Bellator where Chael Sonnen has been doing his thing in trying to get Liddell to come out of retirement to fight him. Liddell said that he actually likes Chael but doesn’t pay much attention to what he says because he is always talking trash. However, in terms of fighting Sonnen in the cage, Liddell said he does like how they match up in a fight.

“Talk about if I had to pick an easy big-name fight to come back to,” Chuck Liddell said of Sonnen. “If I ease into fighting again, I mean, a warm-up fight, that’s the one you’re talking about.”

on 9/22/2017.