Issue 106

October 2016

The history of mixed martial arts retold through the pages from FO’s archives

OCTOBER 2010

THE ICEMAN SPEAKS

There might not be any fight left in Chuck Liddell, but he’s still got plenty of passion, just like he told us three years ago

To say that Chuck Liddell has never been afraid to voice his opinion on all things MMA would be an understatement to say the least. Much like his moniker, ‘The Iceman,’ suggests, Liddell exhibits very little emotion and is famous for his straightforwardness in the cage and in interviews too.

Whether it was his verbal sparring with former UFC light heavyweight champion and arch nemesis Tito Ortiz or lambasting his team on The Ultimate Fighter for not giving their all during training, Liddell has always been known as a straight shooter, a personality trait FO consultant editor Gareth A Davies picked up on when he interviewed Liddell for his Fighters Only Icon Issue. Liddell was quick to explain that his late grandfather’s influence helped shape him into the speak-my-mind man he is today.

“That’s how my grandfather was. He’d shoot people straight up. He had no ego about it. If people didn’t like something he said, it didn’t make a whole lot of difference. He meant it. The one thing you would never have done is called him a liar. You could argue your position but don’t ever call him a liar. He had such strong principles and ethics, but don’t ever call pops a liar. He would never lie about anything. If he said he was going to do something, he’d do it.”

And even though Liddell has long since retired from mixed martial arts The Iceman is still shooting from the hip and telling it how it is in regards to some of the hottest topics in MMA today, including the very controversial subject of fighter pay. Whilst most of today’s fighters believe they’re underpaid for the work they do in the UFC, in an interview with Sirius 92 XM’s Fight Club Radio Liddell broke down what a fighter needs to do to get the same six-figure checks he earned during his career.

Liddell explained: “I just had this conversation with a top-10 fighter, and he’s saying the same thing. These guys have got to understand, this is a performance-based sport, like all sports. You fight good, you win, you get paid. Alright? You’re starting out, no one knows who you are, no one cares, you don’t get paid. Period. 

“It’s simple. My first contract I was offered by the UFC, or my second contract, it was 1-and-1 (thousand), 2-and-2, 3-and-3. That’s $12,000 for the year.

“Everybody doesn’t want to hurt the lower guys from getting paid, but it comes down to, it’s a performance-based business. You get good, you win, then you get paid. Guys are getting paid plenty, trust me. I got paid plenty, trust me.

“People got to understand, the fighters at the top are the fighters that are supposed to get paid because they’re the guys that are bringing people in, bringing eyes to the TV, getting pay-per-view buys, and putting people in the seats. I mean, that’s what it comes down to. You want to get that? Beat everybody. Be good enough. If you’re not good enough to get there – sorry. It’s not a welfare state.”

Whether he’s knocking people out or not it seems as if Chuck Liddell will always be the first to tell you what he truly thinks.

NOSTRADAMMAUS:

WHEN TWO BECOME ONE

Gareth A Davies dropped a little hint for MMA fans in his column that the much-loved, Zuffa-owned MMA promotion the WEC would potentially merge with the UFC sooner rather than later. At the time it seemed far fetched, yet a few months later the UFC announced the merger.

ELSEWHERE IN THE OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE

NATURAL ADVICE

After defeating Chael Sonnen in dramatic fashion at UFC 117, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva drew praise for his ability to finish the Oregon native after being manhandled for four-and-a-half rounds. However, he did draw criticism from another MMA legend in Randy Couture. 

‘The Natural’ stated he believed Silva was simply doing his best not to lose and wasn’t taking out guys like he used to. Fast forward three years later and Silva no longer has a title, debatably because he didn’t fight at his potential against new champ Chris Weidman. Did Randy see it coming all along?

LIGHTWEIGHT STANDOUT

As you can tell we have quite the eye for picking out talent here at the Fighters Only headquarters, so when we featured Anthony Pettis in the magazine after his breakout performance against Shane Roller at WEC 50 we knew we had a star on our hands. However, we’d be lying if we said we knew what type of highlight reel violence he’d eventually bring to the WEC and UFC.

NO LUCK FOR THE IRISH

Ask any Irish MMA fan how they feel about the UFC not returning to the Emerald Isle since UFC 93 and it’s highly likely they’ll explode into expletives. There were rumors of a possible St Patrick’s Day event happening due to the UFC having first refusal on the O2 Arena in Dublin, but four years later and it still hasn’t returned. Could the meteoric rise of Conor McGregor give them enough of a reason to return?