Chuck Liddell

On March 3, 2020, Liddell announced in a TMZ interview that he has retired from mixed martial arts again.

On September 26, 2019, ESPN announced that as the inaugural special about mixed martial arts on 30 for 30 will be covering the trilogy and feud between Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Liddell announced on April 14, 2018, that he was coming out of retirement to target a third fight with Tito Ortiz. The fight took place on November 24, 2018 under Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Liddell lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

In 2018, Liddell was a houseguest on the first U.S. season of Celebrity Big Brother, where he was the first person evicted.

Liddell was one of 16 people to compete on Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars. He and professional dance partner, Anna Trebunskaya got 11th place in Week 4.

On September 8, 2013, during an interview on the Opie and Anthony show, Liddell stated that there was a possibility of one last comeback, similar to George Foreman.

It was later announced that Liddell would be coaching against fierce rival Tito Ortiz on the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the two of them fighting each other on June 12, 2010, at UFC 115. However, in March, it was rumored that Ortiz had pulled out for unknown reasons and would be replaced by former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. This was denied by UFC president Dana White.

On April 7, 2010, White confirmed that Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 would be the main event for the card. However, on April 12, 2010, the main event was changed to Liddell vs. Rich Franklin.

On June 12, 2010, Liddell faced Franklin at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Franklin connected with a counter right hook, knocking Liddell unconscious with five seconds remaining in the first round. Earlier in the fight, Franklin had broken his arm blocking a body kick from Liddell. Only a few hours after the match, UFC President Dana White declared that Chuck Liddell would not fight in the UFC ever again.

With the opinions and considerations of his family and friends in mind after losing three consecutive fights by knockout, Liddell decided to end his fighting career on December 29, 2010. At the UFC 125 press conference, Liddell announced his retirement and stated he would be taking the position of Vice President of Business Development within the UFC. Liddell was visibly emotional at the announcement, acknowledging his retirement and an end to his fighting with words of farewell: "Most of all I want to thank my fans and my family. I love this sport and I'm excited to go to this new stage in my life and keep promoting the best sport in the world, the sport I love... now that I'm retired."

Liddell continues to train in San Luis Obispo, California, where he attended college along with fellow team member and friend Wyatt Courtney. He has one child with MMA fighter Casey Noland, a daughter named Trista. From a prior relationship he has a son named Cade. Liddell proposed to his girlfriend Heidi Northcott on November 4, 2010. Their daughter Guinevere was born in 2011. Their son, Charles David Liddell Jr., was born in 2013.

In 2010, he opened The Ultimate Iceman, a memorabilia store in San Luis Obispo. This store was closed in 2011 to focus on online sales.

On January 17, 2009, Dana White confirmed during the UFC 93 post fight press conference that Liddell's next fight would be against the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Maurício "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montréal, Canada.

On July 10, 2009, at the UFC 100 Fan Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Liddell made a guest appearance on The Simpsons in Season 21, Episode 3 The Great Wife Hope..

On February 1, 2008, Maurício "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell, however on March 4 it was announced on UFC.com that Rua was receiving surgery on his knee and had been forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler "Suga" Rashad Evans would replace Maurício Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight.

On September 6, 2008, Liddell fought Rashad Evans at UFC 88. Liddell was defeated at 1:51 of the second round, after Evans connected with an overhand right, causing Liddell to fall unconscious to the mat. The loss led to renewed criticism of Liddell over-relying on the same coaches and training partners.

Liddell endorsed John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election.

In his fifth defense, Liddell would lose the title at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007, in a rematch with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Liddell was knocked down by a right hook less than two minutes into the first round and was unable to defend himself against Jackson's strikes on the ground, resulting in a knockout victory for Jackson. After the loss, Liddell was widely criticized after reports indicated he had been seen in night clubs the week before the event. He responded that it was not anything he had not done prior to his other fights in Las Vegas.

On July 11, 2007, Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumored bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to fight in the main event at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine.

On October 23, 2007, White announced that a matchup between Liddell and Wanderlei Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision, out-landing Silva with harder, more efficient punches and getting two takedowns later in the fight. Both fighters were awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. This fight was voted 2007's Fight of the Year at the first annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards and ultimately was Liddell's final victory in MMA.

Liddell is associated with John Hackleman and The Pit fight team. His brother Sean also competed in MMA and fought in the WEC. He retired in 2007 with a 1–2 record. He has a brother named Dan and a sister named Laura.

In March 2007, shortly before UFC 68, he appeared on Good Morning Texas (Texan version of Good Morning America) for an interview, and to promote the film 300, but appeared to be very drowsy and fell asleep in mid-interview. The interview ended when Liddell asked the host who he would like to fight. UFC President Dana White, along with Liddell's head coach Scott VanGilder, explained that Liddell had pneumonia and had taken a large dose of sedatives the night before the interview.

On May 9, 2007, Liddell became the first UFC fighter to be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. Liddell released his autobiography, Iceman: My Fighting Life, on January 29, 2008.

On February 4, 2006, at UFC 57, Liddell faced Randy Couture in a rubber match, After an action packed first round, Liddell landed a big punch to Couture's face causing him to bleed, Couture bounced back with a take down of Liddell, but he was able to get up right away. Later in the second round as Couture moved in Liddell countered similar to in the second fight at UFC 52 knocking Couture out, defeating Couture for the second time via knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada, to retain the light heavyweight championship belt. After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

In his next defense, at UFC 62 on August 26, 2006, Liddell would beat Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who he had defeated nearly three years prior. Seconds after the fight started Sobral came running forward throwing punches. Liddell, moving backwards, was landing big punches, and a right uppercut ended the fight at 1:35 of the first round. It was announced during UFC 61 that, were he to defeat Sobral, Liddell would face off against PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight failed to materialize due to the competing promotions' inability to reach an agreement. UFC president Dana White attributed this to Silva's subsequent knockout loss to Mirko Filipović.

In what was the most financially successful UFC event up to that point, Liddell fought a rematch with Tito Ortiz at UFC 66, which took place on December 30, 2006. Liddell's takedown defense neutralized Ortiz's wrestling ability, forcing Ortiz to stand up with a known striker. Although Ortiz did take Liddell down at one point in the fight, Liddell went on to defeat Ortiz via TKO in the third round to defend his light heavyweight championship successfully for a fourth time. It was later revealed that Liddell had torn his MCL prior to the fight. He had also popped the tendon out on the middle finger on his left hand during the fight itself.

In early 2005, Liddell was a coach on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV's reality show which featured fighters competing for a UFC contract.

On April 16, 2005, at UFC 52, Liddell fought Randy Couture, again for the light heavyweight title. Couture moved in for a punch, Liddell countered with a big right hand to the temple of Couture, knocking him out cold, making him the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Returning to the UFC, Liddell was once again in contention for the light heavyweight title, preparing for a match with former champion Tito Ortiz. Eventually, after Ortiz lost the title to Randy Couture, the two would meet in a highly anticipated bout at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004, in Las Vegas, Nevada. After most of the first round was spent feeling each other out, Liddell threw a few punches and a kick which was blocked by Ortiz, with Ortiz slapping himself on the head, taunting Liddell.

After his defeat to Couture, Liddell entered the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as the official UFC representative. Liddell defeated Muay Thai specialist Alistair Overeem in the first round of the tournament. In the action-packed bout, Liddell was getting out-landed by the taller, quicker and more technical striking of Overeem; later in the round Liddell landed an overhand punch to the head of Overeem, sending him staggering into the ropes. Liddell then rushed in with knees and straight rights and knocked Overeem out at the end of the first round.

By 2002, Liddell was considered the #1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, with growing popularity and support from his fans. The UFC tried to arrange a title bout with then-champion Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz cited scheduling conflicts.

Liddell made his UFC debut in 1998 during UFC 17 in Mobile, Alabama with a decision victory over Noe Hernandez. In his next bout, he faced Brazilian fighter Jose "Pele" Landi-Johns at an IVC event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which was bare-knuckle. Despite being a heavy underdog in his opponent's home country, Liddell dominated the vale tudo fighter on the feet, and won via decision. After a technical submission loss to top contender Jeremy Horn shortly after, Liddell began establishing his reputation as a top contender with dominant victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Amar Suloev, Jeff Monson, Renato Sobral and Tito Ortiz. Liddell was also the first UFC fighter to fight in Pride, where he represented the organization against fellow kickboxer Guy Mezger, knocking him unconscious.

Liddell was a four-year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School, playing center and linebacker. He also excelled at wrestling. While growing up in Santa Barbara, he often frequented the infamous Del Playa Drive, the middle of the party scene of the college town of Isla Vista, where he often found himself in fights with drunk college students. He became a Division I wrestler at Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) in San Luis Obispo California and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business/Accounting in 1995. He holds an amateur kickboxing record of 20 wins and 2 losses, with 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout. When Liddell started his mixed martial arts career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jon Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Charles David Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He has an extensive striking background in Kenpo, Karate, and Kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Liddell had 23 fights in the UFC; along with Randy Couture, he is widely credited with bringing MMA into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.