It’s been two decades since Chuck Liddell knocked out Randy Couture to capture the UFC light heavyweight title, and somehow, “The Iceman” still feels just as connected to the game.
Liddell was one of the first true icons of MMA — the face of the UFC when the sport started breaking into the mainstream. Now 55, retired (for real this time), and long removed from his last UFC fight, he’s still watching, still analyzing, and still missing it.
“I love fighting,” Liddell told MMA Fighting. “I’m always going to miss it. That was a great time.”
He was talking about the 20-year anniversary of that UFC 52 knockout, a moment that not only avenged a loss to Couture but officially kicked off the Liddell era in the UFC’s 205-pound division. At the time, he was 15-3 and fresh off wins over Tito Ortiz and Vernon White. That night at the MGM Grand in 2005, he finally got his hands on the belt — and for Liddell, it still ranks as the moment.
“Everyone always asks me about my favorite win,” he said. “So many great memories, but if I had to pick one, that was it. Avenging the loss, winning the title — that was a high moment for sure.”
After a few more wars and one of the UFC’s most legendary title reigns, Liddell hung up the gloves in 2010 following a loss to Rich Franklin. He later took a business role with the UFC but was let go after the sale to WME-IMG. Then came an ill-advised comeback against Tito Ortiz in 2018 under Golden Boy — a fight most fans would rather pretend didn’t happen.
But even if he’s no longer in the cage, Liddell hasn’t really left the sport.
“I still follow fights. I go to some of the UFCs, the bigger ones I want to see. I’m that guy watching fights on my phone at dinner,” he laughed.
Looking back, he sees a completely different sport from the one he helped build. Back in the day, opportunities were limited. Fighters might compete twice a year if they were lucky. Now? There are nearly 50 UFC events annually, and the roster is stacked with hundreds of fighters from all over the world.
“When I started, if you made $150K a year, you were crushing it,” Liddell said. “That was with three fights a year. There wasn’t any big payday — you fought because you loved to fight.”
And that, to him, is one of the biggest differences between fighters then and now.
“You still have both today — guys who are fighters, and guys who are athletes who can fight. But the mindset is different. Some of them don’t have that same grit. They’re great athletes, but you can rattle them. You can push them to a point where it’s no longer a fight.”
That old-school mentality is what Liddell still values most. So when asked to name his favorite current fighter, he didn’t hesitate.
“Alex Pereira,” he said. “He’s a beast, man. I love his attitude about fighting. He’s got that killer instinct, and of course, he’s from Glover [Teixeira], so I like that too.”
It’s a fitting pick. Like Liddell, Pereira is a knockout artist who’s captured titles in multiple divisions and doesn’t say much outside the cage, he just fights. And that’s exactly what Chuck respects.
Liddell also made it clear that if there were more fights available back in his day, he’d have stayed even busier.
“I would’ve fought a lot more. But there just weren’t that many events,” he said. “Now you’ve got hundreds of fights every year. It’s wild how much it’s grown.”
Even though the sport has evolved and modern fighters are more well-rounded, coming up in MMA gyms from a young age, learning everything at once,Liddell still sees value in the raw, scrappy spirit of his era.
Back then, fighters came in with a background in wrestling or striking, maybe both, and learned the rest as they went. Now? You’ve got guys who’ve been training MMA as a single discipline since they were teenagers. It’s not better or worse, just different.
“It’s changed,” Liddell said. “You gotta be good at everything now. You can’t just be a striker or a grappler. But what hasn’t changed is the need for that mindset. You still need that fire.”
For fans of the sport who remember Liddell’s reign, it’s a reminder of what built the UFC into what it is today.
