White says to Liddell: Dazzle me or hang up the gloves

by The Legend on Mar 14, 2009 6:26 PM EDT

"I've made it very clear to Chuck. Very clear," White told The Canadian Press. "It's not about money, it's not about this, that. Chuck is one of my good friends. Chuck (has) cemented his legacy in the UFC and in the fight game. I'm not even saying if he wins, unless he looks incredibly impressive (in Montreal) - I mean, he's going to have to go out there and dazzle me, for me to want Chuck to still fight."

"I love him, and I don't want to see what I saw in his last fight ever again," he added.

http://www.thescore.com/mma/mma_news_article.aspx?eventid=NEWS-CP-13203048063

Would White really go up to a good friend and ask him to retire or possibly even cut him? Especially since Chuck is one of the UFC's top draws.

A question I have is how much longer can Chuck be a top draw if he keeps on losing? My opinion, not much longer.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Comments

Sorry if my post sucked it was the first time I ever did a news post and didn’t reply to something.

by The Legend on Mar 14, 2009 6:27 PM EDT reply actions

Nice post. It’s really interesting to hear Dana say that to his cashcow. But I agree…Chuck needs to think about finishing up sometime soon.

by AnonymousA on Mar 14, 2009 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions

not bad at all!

thanks for posting

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Mar 14, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Thumbs up.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Mar 15, 2009 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

This post did not suck.

Informative. Not too wordy. Catchy headline.

I’ll throw in a picture for you:

by steak_knife on Mar 14, 2009 7:03 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs

quality picture right there

by Epy on Mar 14, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions

I think maybe the comment is being taken out of context a little bit. Dana is saying he wants to see his friend do well. I don’t think he’s legitimately suggesting that he would tell Chuck to hang it up. It’s probably more “he’s better than that” than “I think he’s lost it”.

"I hit [Evensen], and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now." -Pat "The Real Techno Viking" Berry

by Blackout612 on Mar 14, 2009 7:33 PM EDT reply actions

I can’t see the UFC cutting Chuck and Chuck isn’t going to retire until he is ready but if he doesn’t impress this next fight that might be the end of the UFC pushing him like they have. I can’t image them wanting to put ad money behind Chuck’s shows (or paying him those huge PPV shares) if he is just going to finish out his days as a light heavyweight gatekeeper. Of course for Chuck irrelevance might be enough to push him on into retirement.

by who me on Mar 14, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions

As long as he is drawing they will promote him, and he will draw for a very long time even if he keeps losing.

by Michael Rome on Mar 15, 2009 3:44 AM EDT up reply actions

High cost and diminishing returns is going to even catch up with Chuck Liddell eventually.

by who me on Mar 15, 2009 4:05 AM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think it’s going to be a problem for Liddell or any other MMA fighter to dazzle Dana if Shogun shows up like he did in his last fight.

by steveoc24 on Mar 14, 2009 7:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Word.

Hello, Japan!

by Mr.Kib on Mar 16, 2009 2:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Dana is obviously talking as a friend of Chuck not as The UFC President, Liddell still has several more fights left in him and I really can’t wait to see him against Shogun.

by Raker on Mar 14, 2009 8:01 PM EDT reply actions

I guess I read Dana’s mind when I asked if this was a must win fight for Liddell on yesterday.

http://www.mmaforreal.com

by Kelvin Hunt on Mar 14, 2009 10:29 PM EDT reply actions

I think Dana isn’t talking about winning or losing. It’s about being the diamond that he used to be. He could lose against Shogun but look great and re-born. Also, I think it’s about the last line. I honestly think Dana loves Chuck and doesn’t want him going out with more massive epic KOs.

by Dooda on Mar 15, 2009 2:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Dana and Chuck

UFC will never let Chuck go,Dana can always use him to fight on Spike TV.

by TERRENCEFROMSOUTHEAST on Mar 15, 2009 11:34 AM EDT reply actions

Iceman vs Spider

This is a matchup that should happen (only is Chuck wins his next fight). If he losses he can retire and there is no shame to lossing to the p4p king.

by Bandaka on Mar 16, 2009 11:55 AM EDT reply actions

would love to see that. But I don’t see it happening.

by Bigperm on Mar 16, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

There’s definitely no shame in losing to the P4P king, but I think everyone figures Silva would just KO Chuck brutally. At least I think so. So I don’t see this fight happening either.

by pud333 on Mar 16, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Chuck’s got that crossover appeal. I think he’ll be a big draw for a long time. There are some fighters that people just love to watch, even if they lose, and that’s Chuck. Though I’d have to agree with Dana. Chuck is coming to the end of his career. The guy hasn’t evolved enough, or at all, in the last couple of years. I think a lot of the top LHW fighters will have figured Chuck out by now, or they will soon, unless he changes things up.

by pud333 on Mar 16, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

The way to beat Chuck is to counter punch. End of story. He’s never going to go for a takedown anymore and is basicallyt looking to land a big counterpunch the whole time. Having said this, I’m sure it’s alot different when you’re in there with him and he starts landing shots that throw your gameplan out the window.

I do thinnk he has a few more fights in him but don’t think he’s ever going to get the title back because there is no way he’s beating guys like Rampage, Machida anytime soon and he’s pushing 40.

by Bigperm on Mar 16, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Perhaps he can go out with a couple nice victories. You’re right though, the title is out of reach for him.

by pud333 on Mar 16, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Hype

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit hype talk from Dana White. UFC 97 Dana White interview will include some tidbits along the same lines to build up some drama, but realistically, what’s Dana White going to do? He has no control in this situation.

Chuck can fight if he wants to, regardless of what White thinks, and White isn’t going to let Chuck just walk to some other promotion. Load of bull, if you ask me.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Mar 16, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions