Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will battle for the third time next month under the Golden Boy MMA banner.
UFC Hall Of Fame member and former two division UFC champion Randy Couture has one major concern with the bout and it all has to do with Liddell.
“I’m not too concerned about the age, honestly,” Couture said on The MMA Hour. “I fought right up until where Chuck’s at right now, at a high level. My only concern with that is that Chuck hasn’t been competing, hasn’t been sparring, hasn’t done anything in the fight realm other than regular strength and conditioning for the last eight years, since he retired. So that puts the pressure on him to get back up into fight shape, back up and get the timing back to where we’re used to seeing Chuck have going into a fight. He had that style where that timing was very, very important. It wasn’t that he was the biggest, strongest or best athlete. He had a very unique timing, to find you right on the end of one of those long levers and make it a short night. Now, whether he still has that timing, that’s the question.”
Couture and Liddell met three times during their respective UFC tenures, with Liddell winning two of the three bouts, while Couture defeated Ortiz in their lone UFC encounter.
The former two division UFC champion knows that Ortiz has been the more active fighter, but insists that he must get Liddell to the ground to finally defeat Liddell.
“Tito has been way more active,” he added, “had some big fights. Will he be able to go out and implement his game plan? Which has gotta be getting in Chuck’s face, finding a way to get Chuck on the ground and take some gas out of Chuck. Certainly not standing and trying to trade with Chuck and find out if he does have that timing. I think it’s gonna be interesting.”
Golden Boy MMA: Liddell vs. Ortiz III takes place on Saturday, November 24 from The Forum in Inglewood, California with Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on pay-per-view.
