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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Hall of Famer Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell has officially retired from the sport of mixed martial arts.
Liddell's retirement was announced prior to the start of the UFC 125 pre-event press conference on Wednesday, and it was revealed that he will become the new Executive Vice President of Business Development with the UFC.
According to Dana White, Liddell will be on par with a small group of five or six executives, with White and Lorenzo Fertitta among them. An emotional Liddell took to the podium in Las Vegas to express his gratitude to White and Fertitta, and look ahead to his new position.
"I want to thank Dana and Lorenzo," Liddell said. "I love this sport, and I'm excited to go to a new stage in my life and keep promoting the best sport in the world. It's what I love, and they've given me an opportunity to keep promoting this sport."
Liddell, the former longtime Light Heavyweight Champion and one of the first true superstars of the modern era of MMA, lost five of his final six fights. In four of those, including in his final three fights, he was knocked out cold, leading to questions about his chin and concerns about his future.
His final fight in the Octagon came in June of this year in the main event at UFC 115 in Vancouver. Taking on former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin, Liddell found success early in the fight, even breaking Franklin's arm in the first round. However, rushing in late in the round, Liddell ran into a right hand from Franklin that put him out and ended the fight.
White would say after the fight that Liddell would never fight in the UFC again, and now that has been made official. He'll immediately begin his new position with the UFC, which Lorenzo Fertitta said will involve a variety of things in furthering the UFC and the sport around the world.
Penick's Analysis: This was the right move on many levels. Seeing Liddell get knocked out cold in three straight fights had fans worried about his health, and while it's not our place to tell him to leave the sport, this really was the right thing to do. The UFC obviously held him in such high regard, and he has the relationship with White and the Fertitta's, that giving him this position to help further the UFC and help continue to be a part of the UFC even though it's not as a fighter was a no brainer. As the first superstar of the UFC's boom era following The Ultimate Fighter's first season, Liddell was such a big part of that growth that he deserves to be with the company for the long haul. This was a good announcement from the UFC, and I'm happy for Liddell that he's got the next stage of his professional life set.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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