Is Chuck’s latest injury the last straw?

We all love to see the athletes we admire age gracefully and pick the right moment to retire from their chosen sport. It’s entirely unfair to the athletes themselves, of course. And the pressure to retire sooner rather than later is magnified in combat sports. You can only take so much punishment.

Chuck Liddell’s career looked in grave danger of collapse after he lost to both Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Keith Jardine. Instead, “The Iceman” showed he could still deliver at age 38 when he beat Wanderlei Silva last December.

His next fight will be for big money. It was supposed to be this Saturday in London versus Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but both fighters had to pull out with injuries – Liddell tore his right hamstring in training. It’s a serious enough injury to once again call into question his future in MMA. But, as Randy Couture has proved, there is life in the octagon after 40.

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Without the Iceman, will anyone pay to watch UFC 85 on Pay-Per-View?

A torn hamstring is what’s keeping Chuck “the Iceman” Liddell from making the trip out to London next June to take part in UFC 85. In his place will be James Irvin (14-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who recently won UFC Fight Night 13 earlier this month. Commenting on the injury to Liddell, here’s what UFC president Dana White had to say:

“Being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight. But I wouldn’t let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 per cent.”

So, here’s what your UFC 85 Main Card and Preliminary Card look like:
Date: June 7, 2008
Location: London, England
Venue: O2 Arena
Broadcast: Pay-Per-View

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)
Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin
Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum
Thales Leites vs. Nate Marquardt
Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick

PRELIMINARY CARD (NOT TELEVISED)
Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan
Luiz Cane vs. Jason Lambert
Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor
Antoni Hardonk vs. Neil Wain

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Pismo Beach, and all the clams you can eat. Also, the 2nd Annual  Polar Bear Plunge earlier this month. What, a polar bear dip in March? In California?

Better not make Chuck Liddell angry. The pride of San Luis Obispo was on hand as part of the fundraising effort for the Special Olympics. The face of the UFC joked with reporters that 15 minutes in the Pacific would be preferable to his daily ice bath.

Is that the only way he can forget Willa Ford? No; hockey fans (and those who watch The Ultimate Fighter) will be familiar with the ice bath as a way to reduce other forms of swelling, such as after an injury, or simply after an intense workout. Liddell and his most recent opponent, Wanderlei Silva, are just two of the MMA warriors taking the plunge. It might work for you, too – but check with your doctor first.

The UFC hasn’t officially announced this matchup yet, but the folks at MMA Junkie appear to have broken the news about what promises to be a huge main event at UFC 85: Chuck Liddell versus Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. This card is pencilled in for June 14 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Odds on this matchup will almost certainly be released within milliseconds of its official announcement. Both fighters are trying to shake off damaging losses; Liddell has already taken the first step by beating Wanderlei Silva at UFC 70, but Rua is still stinging from September’s UFC debut loss to Forrest Griffin.

Meanwhile, odds for both UFC 82 and 83 are up on the board. Anderson Silva is a –150 favorite to beat Dan Henderson (+120) on Mar. 1, while Georges St. Pierre is a huge –500 chalk to beat Matt Serra (+350) and reclaim the full Welterweight title on Apr. 19.

Mixed martial artists are some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. Take Chuck Liddell: grappler, actor, businessman, and now author. His autobiography Iceman: My Fighting Life was released on Jan. 29 and is available at bookstores nationwide. Liddell recently appeared on Conan O’Brien’s talk show to promote the book. Yes, he paints his toenails.

What, a fighter can’t be a writer, too? The octagon is no place for the weak of mind. Liddell got his accounting degree at Cal Poly SLO in 1995; according to Sports Illustrated, Liddell is among the roughly 80 percent of UFC fighters with college degrees.

Cerebral though he may be, Liddell actually got some help with this project. Chad Millman is the ghostwriter; handicappers might remember Millman for his 2002 book The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers, and the Death of Their Las Vegas. Millman also co-authored Invincible, the Vince Papale story that became a Hollywood blockbuster starring Mark Wahlberg.

The UFC can breathe again. Their No. 1 star, Chuck Liddell, is back in the good graces of MMA fans after defeating rival Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision at UFC 79.

The Silva win was crucial to Liddell’s career for two reasons. One, the fight came after poor performances against Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine. Two, the Liddell-Silva fight was a classic. It wasn’t the main event at UFC 79 (that spot went to Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes), but it was the Fight of the Night.

Getting Liddell back into the Light Heavyweight title picture may take some time. Jackson is going to be a coach for The Ultimate Fighter 7 and will fight Forrest Griffin at the conclusion of the series. But a big-money bout between Liddell and Shogun Rua would merit main-event consideration. Liddell’s shelf life may be short at age 38, but count on the UFC to keep selling this product.

This was a monster year for MMA. There can be no denying that combat sports have reclaimed their spot in the sports mainstream. The biggest MMA stories of 2007 were talked about at water coolers across the nation. Here are 10 of them.

UFC buys PRIDE Fighting Championships, marking end of an era in Japan
Quinton Jackson upsets Chuck Liddell for UFC Light Heavyweight title
Randy Couture comes out of retirement to beat Tim Sylvia for Heavyweight title
Randy Couture attempts to sever ties with UFC, citing low payouts
Fedor Emilianenko spurns UFC, competes for BodogFight and M-1 Global
Chuck Liddell beats Wanderlei Silva in long-awaited (and classic) bout
Mark Cuban invests in MMA, debuts HDNet Fights
Brock Lesnar wins K-1 debut, signs with UFC
Keith Jardine stuns Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin upsets  at UFC 76
K-1’s Dynamite!! USA flops miserably in front of papered Los Angeles crowd.

UFC 79 Nemesis ended up being even better than expected. In the main event Georges St. Pierre easily handled ex-champion Matt Hughes with a second-round submission. St. Pierre dominated the fight from the onset, taking Hughes to the ground halfway through the first. Then he worked past his guard and laid the ground and pounded on him until the end of the round. The second round was more of the same until St. Pierre got Hughes in an arm bar and won by submission.

The other marquee fight on the card had two legends going toe-to-toe for three rounds. Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell didn’t hold anything back as the two aging fighters both wanted to put on a show for their fans. Both men took hard shots but kept going at each other until the final bell. Liddell ended up winning by unanimous decision.

Chuck Liddell is a member of more than the Chuck Liddell Fight Team. He and five other celebrities have joined forces to promote Dell products. If you visit http://www.yoursishere.com/ you will find Liddell, Burt Reynolds, Brooke Burke, Ice T and others, all promoting a different Dell product.

Dell is calling the campaign Star Power and all the stars do is say one line on a particular Dell product. All Liddell says is “XPS Power”, and shakes his fist in the air as he says it. It’s a bit silly really, and it certainly doesn’t make me want to run out and buy a Dell product.

Hopefully he got paid a pile of dough for the endorsement. It’s no secret that the UFC isn’t making guys like Liddell rich from their fight purses. This may be the beginning of MMA fighters making big endorsement deals that will supplement their UFC incomes.

What has Chuck Liddell done for you lately? Not much – two straight unimpressive losses, against Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine. But Liddell is not alone in his frustrations. His opponent at UFC 79, Wanderlei Silva, has also dropped two matches in a row, to Mirko Filipovic and Dan Henderson. Fittingly, Liddell and Silva are each priced at –115.

This is a perfect moment for Liddell to get back on track. If he was tentative against Jackson or lacking in motivation against Jardine, he’ll be neither of those things against Silva. Liddell has been thinking about knocking Silva out for well over a year, since they were the 205-pound champions of UFC and PRIDE, respectively.

We’ve seen ex-PRIDE fighters like Filipovic and Henderson struggle in the octagon since the promotion was purchased by UFC. One notable exception: Jackson. Will Silva make it two? With two strikers like this in the octagon, it could be a case of first punch wins.