On May 15, 2008 I drove up to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. I brought Jen Leigh with me, who is another one of our writers, and we met up with DeWayne Zinkin and Heidi Seibert of Zinkin Entertainment at a gym in San Luis Obispo. At the gym we met Chuck Liddell's trainer John Hackleman, who has a strict no photography policy at the gym. We did get the privilege of watching Chuck train for a while, which was still pretty intense considering that Chuck is coming off of a hamstring injury.
After watching Chuck train for a while, we got treated to Italian food for lunch. I fund out that it's true what they say about how Chuck likes to text message all of the time. But he is good at multitasking and was able to text, talk with us and have a meal at the same time. Then it was off to the Iceman's pad. What I discovered about Chuck is that he is a real down-to-earth, regular guy. It was almost like going to a buddy's house that I hadn't seen for a while. Chuck rolled out the red carpet for us, figuratively speaking, and welcomed us into his home. Chuck was so cool and so laid back that after the interview, we had to make a move to leave. Otherwise it felt like Chuck might just let us hang out for the rest of the week. Jen and I took turns interviewing Chuck with me starting things off:
How did you feel right after you were injured? Were you pissed off about it?
Very pissed. It was one of those things; a freak accident, but it was doing a drill. I was working with someone that I didn't usually work with. It wasn't his fault or anything but, it was just one of those things where it shouldn't have happened. It wasn't like we were live sparring or something crazy. Stuff happens when you are doing drills and goofing off and just working some little drills, trying not to work too hard. It was a light day and for it to happen that way it just kind of sucks.
Do you think that Rashad Evans was a good match up for you?
I thought it was a great match up. He's a wrestler that likes to try to move around and strike. But he's going to get caught.
So you're looking forward to fighting him if they stick him in front of you again?
Anytime, I'll fight him any time they want.
What's next for you right after your hamstring heals?
Hopefully I'm fighting. Whenever it heals and whenever its ready I'll start working on a fight. I'm hoping we'll be ready to go by September, if not there's November-December so, sometime this year I'll fight again.
What inspired you to write your book, "My Fighting Life"?
To be honest I was kind of talked into it. I'm one of those people that's a little bit modest. I don't particularly think that people are really that interested in talking about me growing up. But, I'm glad I did it when it was all done. Chad Norman did a great job. I was really happy at the end. A lot of fans came up to me and said that they really liked it. They felt like they got to know me a lot better. All in all I think it was good.
Fighting is a job just like anything else. What motivates you to keep fighting? Have you ever lost interest in it for a time, or been bored with it?
I've never lost interest or been bored with it; I love fighting. It gets hard training sometimes. When you're training really hard for a fight it's tough work, but then you have a reward at the end. You got that fight and you get to have fun.
Are there any fighters that you are a fan of personally?
Lots of them actually.
Which one stands out in your mind?
BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Matt Hughes…
Now it's your job to beat the crap out of people for a living. How would you feel if somebody actually died at your hands?
Well, obviously I wouldn't be happy about it. I'm one of those guys; I'm out there trying to punch you out and to hurt you, but as soon as I'm done hopefully there's nothing wrong with you, I'm hoping that you're okay. So yea, it would be horrible.
That's not something that I would ever want to happen to anybody.
I heard a strange rumor that you like to party. I was wondering what your drink of choice is.
Um, my drink of choice... I don't know. It's a good question I guess (laughing). I like to have a good time. Bud Light!
What, if anything, is Chuck Liddell afraid of?
Things that I can't control, with the kids and stuff. You watch these TV show like "to Catch a Predator". I think a lot of that happens to parents that don't pay attention to their kids but still, that could happen to anyone.
What do you like best about being a dad?
They're great. I have a great time with the kids. I'm always happy when they're around.
Does it bother you when boxers like Floyd Mayweather rip on MMA? Floyd was saying something like he'd give you a million dollars if you went up against any good heavyweight. He also said something like "These are guys who couldn't make it in boxing. So they do [mixed martial arts]." What would you say to stuff like that?
The thing that they started talking about this and bringing this up explains where they're at. Before, they didn't even notice us. Now they have to talk about us because we're taking their place. They can't make it in our sport. Look at the boxers that just went to kickboxing. So many said that boxers were better than kickboxers because the kickboxers came to boxing and lost. Well, now there are boxers that are going to kickboxing; did you see that show last week? It wasn't very pretty. Boxing guys don't do real well in kickboxing because you can't stand in their stance. Especially in MMA. The way he fights, he'd get taken down. I told Mayweather, well he said that after I told him that I'll bet him a million dollars that I'll get a 135 pounder to kick his ass in an MMA fight. And that's a 135 pounder; that's a couple of weight classes below him.
Too bad it's all talk!
Yea, he obviously doesn't know how much I make to fight.
What's the best thing that has ever happened to you in your life?
The best thing? My kids being born.
What is your biggest regret?
My grandpa never got to see me fight. He always thought that I was the best in the world. He always told me that.
I heard that he supported you a lot.
Yea, he always said that I could be anybody. He used to watch Tyson and say, "You can beat that guy." And I'm like, "Alright pops, whatever, whatever you say" (laughing). When he saw those mixed martial arts fights he thought that there was no way that I could be defeated. I just wish that he was there to see it.
Let's talk about the women. Do you have women that throw themselves at you all of the time?
Define throw themselves at me (laughing).
Well, I know that you touched a little bit on that in your book.
I don't know, I do okay. I do okay with women I guess. I was always the guy that when my buddies would say, "hey
man, that girl over there likes you", I would say, "nah" and they'd say, "no really, she does, she's looking at
you", and I'm like, "yea whatever".
How hard do you think they should come down on fighters that use steroids?
I think they come down on them pretty hard. You lose your way to make a living for a year if you get caught. You get tested. I've been tested regularly for 10 years. So, it's one of those things. I don't know how much harder you want them to come down on someone. You take away the way they make their living for a year, not to mention they're going to lose sponsors and it'll be hard to get new sponsors when you add that stigma to you if you're a steroid guy. It's a negative response from a lot of people in a lot of ways.
Tell me about your role with MMA Jacked with both the website and the new training centers.
Well, it's mostly as a consultant. I help with the site by letting them know what I think the site should have on it. The guys that I work with are really the guys that are in charge of getting it done. It's cool and it's a social network for fighters, fans and other people to be on.
How much leisure time does fighting afford you as a professional fighter?
I don't get a lot of free time. Dewayne (Zinkin Entertainment) and these guys keep me pretty busy. When I get to stay at home and relax the most and do stuff with my kids is when I'm training for a fight. I'm training 2-3 times a day. Usually I want to get a nap somewhere in there. I'm eating 5-6 times a day and trying to get that in between training sessions. Plus you're doing interviews and you're still doing your regular day-to-day business. So, it's a lot of work. There is not a lot of time off. And then when I'm off, I have to make decisions between going somewhere and making money or staying home and relaxing, so it's kind of hard balancing those two.
What would you do if your father suddenly showed up at your door?
I'd shut the door.
Fair enough. I heard that he wasn't a big part of your life anyhow.
He wasn't any part of my life. He left when I was 3. He tried to get in touch with me when I was 28. I told him he was 25 years to late and to have a nice life.
Has your degree in accounting ever helped you in MMA?
I like having it, especially in the beginning with the stigma that we are a bunch of Neanderthals that like to beat people up. And it's a good contrast, having a degree and being a fighter. It's good for basic business ideas. People ask, "do you do your own takes now" (laughing). It's a specialized field and I would have had to keep up with it all this time and that's just not something that I would do. It does help me understand things a lot better from having a business degree.
Thanks Chuck. That is all that I have for you, but Jen has a few additional questions for you if you don't mind.
Here is the video from Jen Leigh's interview with Chuck:
Special thanks to DeWayne Zinkin and Heidi of Zinkin Entertainment
Photos by JP Berube
1 comment:
Good stuff!!...Great read...
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