Rumors swirl of Chuck Liddell’s return

After Chuck Liddell lost to Mauricio Shogun Rua at UFC 97, UFC president Dana White declared that the Iceman was done and would be retiring from the sport. Chuck sounded a lot less certain, and for a few weeks there was a war of words between White and Chuck’s trainer John Hackleman over who’s decision it was for Liddell to stop. Chuck, being Chuck and not being much of a talker, stayed out of it for the most part, simply saying he’d take some time to mull it over and make a decision on his own ’soon.’

Chuck Liddell - Image: Zuma Press

While we haven’t had any official word yet, all signs are now pointing towards Chuck having made a decision to keep fighting. On Saturday Night at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, Dana White went on an Inside the Octagon segment and re-iterated his desire not to see his close friend fight again but added “I’m not his father, he can do whatever the hell he wants to do.”

That might not seem like much, but keep in mind this was a prepared statement directly from the UFC made on national television. There was no reason for Dana White to bring the topic back up except to backtrack on the issue and open the door for Chuck’s return.

Now just a few days afterwards, there are unconfirmed reports coming out that the UFC is looking for Chuck’s next opponent, with Rich Franklin being named as a possibility. Again, I want to stress that none of this has been officially or even semi-officially confirmed but you know the saying: where there’s smoke there’s fire and right now I’m seeing a ton of smoke.