Liddell Already Pumped About Punching Tito

Chuck Liddell is looking to come back strong after taking a  break from the sport following his loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua back in April 09. Before the break he had lost four of his last five bouts. The slump had even prompted UFC president Dana White to repeatedly say he believed the 40-year-old fighter should retire.

Liddell is currently in Las Vegas for the next six weeks to film the upcoming season of “TUF,” which premieres March 31 on Spike TV. He is scheduled to face the opposing coach Tito Ortiz in a fight that should happen sometime this summer.

Even after Dana announced that Liddell would be returning to competition, White said in December that he hoped it would be for only one fight. Not surprisingly, Liddell has bigger plans than one fight — a couple of comeback fights and, if he wins, a climb up the light heavyweight ladder.

I’d want another fight,”  Liddell said during “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ media day on 25 Jan 10. “Hopefully, Dana will be happy and I’d want a shot at a contender and then a shot at the title.” “I don’t think I have anything to prove, really, but I’d like to prove (Dana) wrong and show him I’m not done. I’m not too old and I can still fight.”

Chuck appears to be motivated and said this about his involvement in TUF “It’s a good way to do it. It’s a good way to get pre-trained.” “I wanted to take a year off, so that would have taken me through April. It’s a good way to make sure if that’s the guy they want me to fight, I’m motivated for it. These six weeks should motivate me.”

It’s well-known that Ortiz (15-7) and Liddell (21-7) already have a long history, dating back to before they met in the octagon for the first time in 2004.

Liddell accused Ortiz of avoiding a title defense against him while Ortiz held the championship belt from 2000 to 2003.

After losing the title to Randy Couture, Ortiz met Liddell in one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history. Liddell posted a knockout win, then added a TKO win over Ortiz in a rematch in 2006.

Although the rivalry has died down quite a bit since, Liddell said six weeks of constant interaction should rekindle some of the animosity.

“I did one interview with him today and I’m already getting pumped about punching him in the mouth,” Liddell said. “I knocked him out twice already, but I have no problem getting up to fight him.”

Tito is definitely a good choice to get Chuck fired back up, I really hope he can pull off another win. I really do not want to see him go out on a loss to someone he had previously dominated. But Liddell is a competitor and he will be the only one that decides when he is done.