Exclusive Chuck Liddell Interview - Click here to purchase this issue

Here is the exclusive interview with Chuck Liddell in issue 10 of MMA Sports Magazine.

MMA Sports: Congratulations on your win against Wanderlei Silva, tell us your thoughts on that fight?
Chuck: I thought it was a great fight; I had a great time in there with him. It was a very fun fight. It was everything I thought it would be. Obviously, I couldn’t be any happier with my performance. I thought he (Silva) had a great performance too. It was great.

MMA Sports: Many years in the making, did you expect the fight to be what is was…a war?
Chuck: I knew coming in it was going to be a war, so yeah, it was everything I thought the fight was going to be and again, it was a great fight I thought.

MMA Sports: You’re in the media a lot, do a lot of interviews and so forth, does it get difficult to prepare for fights sometimes?
Chuck: Not really, it really doesn’t bother me. As long as I don’t have to travel a bunch to do them, and can do it on the phone or something, we’re good.

MMA Sports: A lot of reports out there say that you party too much, how much truth is in that?
Chuck: You know the thing about this, I have been doing the same stuff I’ve always done, it’s just now people all of a sudden care. If I go out, it’s not like I’m out drinking and doing a lot, I’m drinking water most of the time when I go out. But I do like to go out, I like to be social.

MMA Sports: How do you prepare yourself mentally after two consecutive losses to come back and have a huge win like this?
Chuck: We had a little help in the room with Sam “The Bull” Henson (2000 Olympic Silver Medalist in Olympics Wrestling Freestyle) and he’s got a good attitude and is a good coach, to get some attitude back. And we actually had Anthony Robbins help us out too. He actually did some good stuff to help out. He also came to the fight and the night before, and I did meditation the night before the fight.

MMA Sports: Did you do anything different going into the Wanderlei fight, than going into the Jackson or Jardine fight?
Chuck: We trained the way we always do physically. We definitely picked the intensity up a little bit in sparring and I think that was the difference.

MMA Sports: Do you want to do Liddell vs Jackson 3? Chuck: Oh YEAH! I definitely want that! What would be different if you faced Quinton Jackson again?
Chuck: I wouldn’t do anything different; I mean I would try not to make any mistakes. You know it’s what we’ve worked on since then, so I don’t make mistakes. I mean, I’ve said this before, even my trainer has said, if I’m getting after someone, sooner or later I’m going to get caught, so you know.

MMA Sports: How did you get the nickname ‘The Iceman’?
Chuck: I got it because I don’t nervous before a fight. My trainer used to fight and he would get nervous before he fought.

MMA Sports: The Asian Tattoo on the side of your heard, what does that mean?
Chuck: It’s from my original karate style (Koei-Kan Karate Do). It literally means house or temple of peace and prosperity.

MMA Sports: When did the Mohawk come around?
Chuck: I was actually going to a Slayer concert with some friends of mine. Everyone shaved their heads, and I grew up with my head shaved, I’ve had my head shaved my whole life. So they said you got to do something, so I said I’d try a Mohawk, so I did, and that’s how I got it.

MMA Sports: You have a new book coming out, “ICEMAN: Chuck: My Fighting Life”, tell us about that?
Chuck: It is about my life growing up and then all through my fighting career.

MMA Sports: Every time you win, people see the Liddell yell trademark, how did that come about?
Chuck: I’m happy when I win, that’s all, and I let it out.

MMA Sports: How important is your trainer John Hackleman?
Chuck: He’s very, very important.

MMA Sports: How long have you two been training together?
Chuck: I’ve been training with him for about 15 years.

MMA Sports: How did you meet each other?
Chuck: One of the black belts that used to come to the school I used to train at called and asked me to come and spar with them. When I came in to spar, he was good, you know. He happened to be a kick boxer and he said if you ever want to train come over to the house. We sparred for one 19 minute round, I think that day, and I just kept taking a beating. But I just kept coming so finally one of us said, hey let’s stop now.

MMA Sports: What were you training in prior to that?
Chuck: I was in karate; I’ve been doing martial arts since I was 12 and wrestling since I was 14.

MMA Sports: You’re one of the best MMA fighters in the world. Have we seen the best of Chuck Liddell or do you also keep improving?
Chuck: I got to keep improving; you got to be willing to learn new things. Always keep improving and learning and improving your game. That’s why the guys that have been in this a long time in this sport are always studying the game.

MMA Sports: A fighter’s life is not easy, a lot of hard training involved. So why do you do it?
Chuck: I do this because this is what I like, I love my job.

MMA Sports: You have a huge fan base, why do you think that is?
Chuck: I actually go out and fight and don’t talk a lot of shit, but sometimes I’m like that too. I don’t know, I go to fight hard and I think it’s my style of fighting too, people like to see.

Liddell on the other Fighters…
Wanderlei Silva: Very tough, very good.
Quinton Jackson: (Groans) I just want another shot at him.
Forrest Griffin: You know, he’s a very entertaining guy.
Keith Jardine: He’s tough too. Another guy I want another shot at.
Sokoudjou: I don’t know anything on him.
Lyoto Machida: Nothing on him either.
Mauricio Rua: Is that Shogun? I think he’s a little too small for the weight class.
Dan Henderson: Tough, Tough, Tough.
Thiago Silva: I only saw him fight one time so I don’t know much about him. Tito Ortiz: He’s a punk.
Rashad Evans: He’s a very good wrestler, he’s going to improve, I see him getting better and better.