Issue 068

October 2010

Few people know Chuck Liddell quite so intimately as UFC President Dana White does. He’s been Chuck Liddell’s manager, employer, and close friend. He talks exclusively to Fighters Only about spending the last decade alongside the greatest star in mixed martial arts.

You were Chuck’s first manager before the Zuffa group bought the Ultimate Fighting Championship. When did you first encounter ‘The Iceman’?

The first time we met was at a party! One that Tito threw after he beat Wanderlei Silva.

How was it working with him as a manager and a friend back then?

He’s always been the same since back then. Easy to work with, easy-going, and easy to deal with. He just loved to fight. That’s all he cared about. He’d do it for free. He’d do it in somebody’s backyard. He didn’t care.

How instrumental do you think Chuck’s been in the rise of the UFC itself?

He’s been a huge partner to us. A great fighter and a great champion. He’s been a magnificent ambassador for the sport.

Did you know Chuck was going to be a star, even back then?

He’s people’s perception of what an ‘ultimate fighter’ looks like – but his attitude and personality aren’t. You know what? Just before we bought it – when I was still managing him and we were trying to get Chuck back in the UFC – John Peretti, the old matchmaker, said ‘Chuck Liddell will never be a star.’ John said, Chuck had a ‘played-out mohawk’ and lots of other negative things. But I believed in Chuck because of his personality. I knew he was going to be engaging to fans. Always a good guy, never a bad guy. The other thing was his fighting style. As we started to make the transition from boxing to mixed martial arts, the one thing I was worried about was educating people about the ground game - folks who were so used to boxing trying to figure jiu-jitsu out. But Chuck had a style where he liked to stand up. He’d defend the takedown, stand and trade, and he had knockout highlights.

There are pictures of Chuck, Tito, and Rampage all training together. Were they a tight group back in the day?

Oh yeah. There weren’t a lot of top guys to train with then. So these guys would go around training with everybody. Chuck would train with the Militech camp, too.

And you trained with Chuck as well, right?

I used to train with him, Tito, and Ricco [Rodriguez]. The guys who came out of our camp were wrestlers, so when it came to boxing… let’s just say I used to do pretty well. The first time I actually sparred with Chuck was at Big Bear. He hit me and immediately I thought, ‘This guy has power!’ So Chuck called me ‘Sebastian the Crab’ after that Disney movie [The Little Mermaid], because I had my hands glued to my head while we were sparring. He hit me with a big right hand and I thought, ‘Holy Sh*t!’ So I used to make sure my defense was tight!

Personally, what’s Chuck’s most memorable contest?

The first Tito fight. That’s my favorite because we both had so much animosity towards Tito back then. It almost felt like I was part of that fight. I actually had a good time when we went over to Japan for the Pride fights against Mezger, Overeem, and Rampage, those were fun too.

How did you feel when you finally made Chuck’s fight against Wanderlei Silva happen?

The fun fights are ‘us against them’ – us against Tito, us against Pride. Wanderlei was bittersweet because after he came over here I got to know him, and he’s such a sweet guy. It was strange not hating on him anymore! A lot of people used to feel weird when they got called to take a fight against Chuck, because they knew how close we were and they felt like I wanted them to lose. Now, I always wanted Chuck to get to the pinnacle, make a lot of money, and become famous. But when he got there I couldn’t think that way anymore. He’s a grown man, and it’s two guys fighting.

You’ve said before that Chuck’s secret weapon is his brain. What else can you tell us about Chuck that’s not immediately apparent?

When he goes to a club and starts drinking he dances all over the place. He went on Dancing With The Stars of course. That takes balls. I wouldn’t do it. But the stories I’d like to share with you, I wouldn’t want you to write!

You’ve hinted that Chuck could be an ‘ambassador’ for the UFC, what exactly would that role entail?

It means he doesn’t do a f*****g thing every day, he just does what he wants, and whenever I need him he comes and helps me out!

Sounds like an awesome gig!

He’s never going to be the sort of guy who’s at the office, down in the trenches, with me every day. He’s got a lot of opportunities but he’s going to have the UFC too. I f**king love him to death. He’s one of my closest friends. He’s the kind of guy who comes over to my house on holidays. He helped us build this business and he’s always going to be a part of it as long as I’m here.