Dana Hopes Liddell Never Fights Again
Nearly a year ago Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz fought in the much-maligned third fight of their rivalry for the underwhelming Golden Boy MMA event.
Since that time Ortiz has signed with Combate Americas, while Liddell said in an ESPN 30 For 30 documentary on his groundbreaking rivalry with Ortiz, that he may consider fighting again,” Liddell’s longtime friend and promoter Dana White was not exactly thrilled to hear that.
“[Performs a facepalm]. Listen, Chuck is a very, very smart guy,” White said to TMZ. “I’ve said it many, many times. Tito, not very smart. Not an intelligent guy. He’s just not! I’m not being mean, I’m not being rude. The worst thing about Tito is Tito’s one of those guys that thinks he’s smart but he’s not and those are the most dangerous type of guys. Chuck is actually a smart guy and I tried to talk both of them out of this De La Hoya fight, told them that this De La Hoya thing was bad. Chuck, I tried to talk out of the fight period. Chuck Liddell is 50 years old and should not be fighting. He’s a grown man and he can do whatever he wants to do but let me tell you what, the commission that sanctions that fight, wow.”
“Chuck Liddell is one of the greatest people you could ever meet,” White said of his former client, fighter and friend. “He’s a good person. He’s a good guy. He’s a guy that you become friends with and you’re friends with that guy for the rest of your life. He’s that guy. He takes care of the people that are around him. All the people that were around him in the beginning of his career are still around him now and still friends with him. He’s a good person. When you meet Chuck Liddell, when you get to know Chuck Liddell, you love Chuck Liddell.
“He’s one of the best human beings you can ever meet, he’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever worked with in the fight game, I love him, I respect him, and the crazy thing is, all the reasons that we love Chuck Liddell are the same reasons he wants to fight. To his core he is a fighter, it’s what he loves to do, but that third fight should have never happened.”
Transcribed by MMA Fighting