I miss Chuck - Actually, who doesn't?

[Greek777]

Can you guys believe that this June, it's going to be five years since Liddell retired after the Franklin fight? Chuck's last win was against Wand. In December 2007.. absolutely insane how time flies. Seriously, I miss watching Chuck walk to the cage with DMX playing in the background. Got me hyped every time.

I remember the night that Chuck vs Wand finally happened. I did not care, at all, about the fact they were coming off of losses. I was so unbelievably hyped for that fight, I can not put it into words. And man, it delivered 100%. What a great war between two of the most excited and fun to watch fighters to ever do it. In fact that entire show was spectacular.. One of my favorite UFC events ever. The main card from top to bottom was full of great fights.

Just a random thread remembering one of the best eva.. But yeah.. Chuck was fucking great, man. Was there ever a time someone felt like "Nah, I don't feel like watching the Liddell fight tonight. Not a fan". NO, there was not, damn it!

Anyway, I am watching the 2003 PRIDE MWGP tonight. Just got done watching Chuck vs Overeem, what a great fucking fight that was - back and forth slugfest. Also, lol, people try to say Overeem was tiny in PRIDE.. I beg to differ. That dude was always hittin' the horsemeat.

------------------

WAR CHUCK. Thanks for all the great fights (since you know, he's reading this and all)

WARRIORS! I'll never forget how fun this was to watch live. They traded knockdowns, punches, and showed heart that is rarely on display.

Leave your favorite memories, pics, vids etc of Chuck here!

 

[Greek777]

Chuck vs Overeem - full fight. Three minutes of insanity

If you have never seen this before, it's a must watch. Some newer fans don't know Chuck went to PRIDE a few times and had some great scraps there. Anyway, this is literally a 3 minute fight..

Click play - you will not regret it! Also - adjust the quality to 480p instead of 360. Looks better that way. Also features English commentary with El Guapo AND a young Dana White, who bet $250,000 that Chuck would win the GP... Even though he ended up losing to Rampage after this fight, Dana never paid up ; )


View: http://vk.com/video3498354_165674613

 

[Greek777]

Young Chuck = bad motherfucker with a crushing overhand.

Remember when he landed that spinning back kick to Vitor? and he could wrestle pretty damn good too... Especially defensively.

Show some love - I know there are Liddell fans on TMC!

 

[Robbie Hart]

he was fun to watch, at least this guy's opinion.............would fight anyone, no questions asked (am i wrong?)..........remember some documentary on him about fighting babalu which was a "dangerous fight" for him at the time but took him on though this could have derailed him had he lost......

 

[Greek777]

Yup, Chuck could have waited for a title shot in the UFC but said no and took fights in the interim

Unlike a lot of guys now who'd rather sit out for 10 months so they don't have to fight again before they get to the title

Chuck had confidence in himself, for good reason too. When he knocked out Tito in the first fight, my god. Amazing. So deserved.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Love and miss Chuck. One on my favorite fights of his was against Pele. Bsre knuckle Vale Tudo. Love at one point Chuck had top control and was punch Peles head through the net on the edge on the ring. Total badass.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Much better quality of the same fight.

 

[Greek777]

Awesome fucking fight. Chuck eats a crazy high kick in it. He really had a great chin in the early days man.

Takes serious balls to fight Pele in a Vale Tudo match, in the middle of Brazil, in like 1997. That was really early in his career too.

Chuck had balls of steal, man. There was something different about the guys who came up in that era. They didn't start this to get famous or get rich... nor did they have BJJ and MMA gyms in every strip mall.

These guys were a different breed. Much respect to them. Chuck & Pele = legends

 

[La Paix]

Much more fighters need to model their approach to the fight game after him. Getting points was hardly in his game plan and the finish was always the goal.

 

[La Paix]

 

[La Paix]

Found some good parts from his book online.

Before their fight at UFC 43: "(Couture and I) had been workout out together for a few days before the fight was announced. His coach asked me how I set up certain moves, especially for getting out of trouble when I am in the bottom position. I have a lot of fakes that get people to bite, which is why I am so hard to hold down. But Randy was a heavyweight; I didn't see us fighting anytime soon... Then I learned a valuable lesson: Everyone is a potential opponent."

"But about six weeks before UFC 43, I had a setback. While sparring one morning I tore the MCL in my knee... Severe lateral movement, the kind that comes from the violent twists and turns of wrestling, was out of the question. Instead I could work on only my stamina and my stand-up. There would be no going to the mat."

At UFC 44 Tito vs Couture: "Tito was getting $125,000 for fighting and another $50K if he won. Randy was getting $105,000 for showing up and a $70,000 win bonus."

At UFC 47 Ortiz vs Liddell, Ortiz was paid $125,000 and had he won, an additional $50,000. Liddell was paid $50,000 to show and another $50,000 to win.

After the second fight with Couture: "I signed a seven-figure endorsement deal with Xyience."

Liddell made $250,000 for the second Babalu fight. Babalu made $21,000.

For the second Tito fight: "I was going to make $250,000 that night no matter what, plus a lot more for getting a piece of the pay-per-view money... Six months after my fight with Tito I was still getting checks in the mid-six figures from my share of the pay-per-view."

Chuck made 500K for the Rampage rematch and another 500K for the Jardine fight.

 

[La Paix]

n high school: "That junior year the wrestling coach, who competed at my weight class in the local police league, challenged me to a match. If I won, the entire team could take off that day's conditioning drills; if he won, we had to do double the work: an extra set of sprints, an extra set of rope climbs, an extra round of wrestling without breaks... I pinned the coach in the first round."

The origin of his mohawk and tattoo on the side of his head: "During my senior year, in 1992, Eric and I were going to see a Slayer concert with a bunch of our roommates. We loved Slayer and wanted to do something crazy and memorable for the concert. Matt pulled out some electric shears and said, 'Hey, let's shave our heads.' ...But my senior year I had finally decided (to let my hair) grow out. So shaving my head wasn't exactly a crazy notion. We started throwing around some ideas; then Matt suggested I get a Mohawk. I thought, cool. That was the extent of the conversation... I figured that it wouldn't be too long before I had to get a real job and grow it out, so why not enjoy it until I graduated? That was my reasoning when I decided to get my head tattooed as well. I chose the Japanese letters that spelled Koei-Kan, my karate style, which means House of Peace and Prosperity. I wanted the tattoo to be somewhere everyone could see it without me having to take off my shirt, but also in a spot where I could hide it once I started interviewing."

 

[Wild]

I loved watching Chuck fight. He just said fuck your takedown...I'm walking you down, biting down on the mouthpiece, jumping into the fire, and throwing the fuck down. Who wasn't a fan of that? He was never in a boring fight, and had one of the more dominant runs ever in the UFC...and did so while partying like a madman. Imagine what he could have done, if he lived a truly clean lifestyle during that time.

It was sad watching him get KO'd by Rashad, Jardine, Franklin, etc at the end of his career but every dog has his day. Doesn't change my opinion of him whatsoever. He was one of the baddest motherfuckers to ever grace the octagon, and there may not be ever another LHW like him.

 

[ShatsBassoon]

It was hard watching Chocolate Al go out like he did and it sucks listening to him speak nowadays.
Definitely a buzz everytime he fought.

 

[jason73]

they dont make them like that any more

 

[Jonny Quest]

One thing I loved about Chuck and he said this in an interview a while back and also in his book, that he is never afraid to get in the ring. Most fighters say they get nervous before a fight or they get butterflies, but Chuck said he never got those jitters or feeling, and I fucking believe him.

 

[Wild]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpIYlFH4BLU

 

[lookoutawhale]

Chuck was fun to watch but i hope he would have retired earlier because his speech got worse and worse. He was really getting punch drunk. I hope he recovers now that hes not fighting any more.

 

[sparkuri]

I gained a lot of respect for Chuck after his beatdown lost to rampage in pride.
He came out in the closing ceremonies after one of the worst beatdowns like nothing happened.



but this is still my favorite highlight.

 

[Stillmatic]

Chuck was fun to watch but i hope he would have retired earlier because his speech got worse and worse. He was really getting punch drunk. I hope he recovers now that hes not fighting any more.

Can you recover?

 

[Greek777]

His speech is indeed very sad. Watching the PRIDE 2003 MWGP right now. It's amazing how articulate he is and how different his voice sounds. He talks so much slower now;. So shitty

 

[Robbie Hart]

I gained a lot of respect for Chuck after his beatdown lost to rampage in pride.
He came out in the closing ceremonies after one of the worst beatdowns like nothing happened.



but this is still my favorite highlight.

May the force be with you....i seem to remember him claiming this was due to cough syrup, might I be correct?

 

[lookoutawhale]

Can you recover?

not sure, but hope so.

There is neuroplasticity. Where the brain changes neuron pathways when other parts of it become damaged. Hoping that kicks in for him somehow now that hes stopped taking damage to the head.

 

[Greek777]

Sadly I don't think there is any reversing brain damage :-/

Remember when Dana would parrot the false claim that MMA is the "safest sport in the world", way safer than boxing because of less head trauma? That's ridiculous. Most trauma comes from sparring anyway. It's safer on the brain than boxing sure, but it's not exactly a walk in the park

Dana said this at the UFC 140 press conference.


"Dana White: We're really important with fighter safety. We don't cut any corners, we get them checked up before and after the fight is over. People talk about concussions and Parkinsons and all those things but when you go overboard on safety, things turn out alright."

"Frank Mir: I have no fear whatsoever. I'm a father of four and brain damage is the least of my worries and in boxing, it's been proven you can't say that."


That's a real shame. I truly believe that at the time, they believed what they were saying to be true. Stupidly enough, though, brain damage is something that shows up WAY later in one's life. It doesn't just manifest over night. Frank has been knocked out like 3 times since he made that statement. I wonder if he feels the same way now?

When you look at Liddell you can't help but worry. @Brian J. D'Souza wrote some really good stuff about this in his book, including the quotes from the press conf. above. Brian if you see this, can you shed some light on how you feel about the situation, and the downplaying of the serious effects of concussions?

I'm sure TJ Grant wouldn't agree with the above sentiments.

 

[D241]

Galanis, you are the best forum member of any forum I have ever visited-ever.

You have no idea how much I appreciate your post man. Your enthusiasm, your ability to "get it" in terms of context and impressive shit besides the w or L in the win/loss column. For example your comment about taking serious balls to fight Pele vale tudo in 97, you're god damn right.

People, Galanis is not an old man. He's actually a young man, but he did/does his homework-and then some!

All you have to do is take the passion you have for watching ass kickings, and do some research and watch old events, try to do it in chronological order as well if you can.

Galanis-your passion you have for watching these fights and then sharing them on here, many of us have seen those fights, so we don't think about going back and re-watching them, at least this is the case for me. Then you start talking about a fight, and your excitement over absolutely spills over to me and I have seen so many great mma fights that after re-watching, I was able to appreciate them on a different level. This happens quite often and I don't think I point it out enough, but your post consistently are quality which is why if I thanked you every time it'd seem like an obsessed stalker with a crush or something and I'm not bigriggsladyboy aka @Stillmatic

Anyways, I wish I had more spare time but what I do a lot is when I play video games I like to have something on my computer and I put on mma fights and have switched to mlb the show because often I end up not focusing on the game and getting caught up in those action moments in a fight.