Iceman (28 page)

I
WASN'T THE CHAMP ANYMORE. AT LEAST FOR THE
moment. While it killed me, it didn't seem to matter to a lot of people. I still went on
Letterman
a couple weeks after the fight. I was still voted The Most Dangerous Man at the
Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards
. I was getting invites to club openings in Denver and to toss the coin at arena football games and play the heavy in big-time Hollywood movies. Someone still wanted me to write a book, too. That, to me, is all proof that the UFC continues to be one of the world's fastest-growing sports, with kids signing up in towns all over the country to learn how to do mixed martial arts. It's not wrestling, which is just pure entertainment. New fans are connecting with the athletes, and they recognize how competitive ultimate fighting is. I was a part of building that foundation, and it will last long after I'm done fighting.

Not that I'm done. Quitting didn't cross my mind even after I suffered another setback in September, just three months after the Rampage fight, losing a split decision to Keith Jardine in UFC 76. It was the first time I went the distance in a fight in over five years. To Jardine's credit, it was too close a fight for me to complain about the outcome. I connected on a lot of hard punches in the first round of that fight, so many that even Jardine said afterward that he was seeing stars. But he didn't back down. He scored a lot of points by consistently kicking me in the leg and in the side. My ribs looked as if they had been treated with a meat tenderizer, but I don't think it affected me during the fight. The only thing that still bothered me even days later were a couple of my fingers.

When I heard the Jardine decision, I immediately walked over to a side of the cage, squatted, and put my hands over my head. I thought to myself that it should never have been that close. I wanted to go for the knockdown but never found a chance to throw that punch. I just couldn't pull the trigger on anything. That night I went to the after party and drank a lot of apple cider. The fight had been in Anaheim and I had plans to go to Disneyland with my kids the next day. And that's what we did. A guide took us around the park, let us skip all the lines, and got us into all the rides. We had a blast. When I got back to San Luis Obispo, I immediately started thinking about what was next: I was back in the gym less than a week after the fight. I started breaking down my losses, trying to figure out what I have to do to string some wins together again. You always have to get the fuck back up. In fact, this is how I know I'm not done: The only thing I wanted to do as soon as the cobwebs cleared after Rampage was start fighting again. Same with Jardine.

It's not about the money. I made $500,000 for UFC 71. And 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. In June 2007 I spent $1 million buying my mom some property and a house and fixing it up. And I still had plenty of money left over. Remember, I was an accounting major who used to make $500 for a fight. I know things can always be worse. And I know the fight game can only last for so long, and nothing I do afterward will ever pay as well. I could retire, and as long as Dana is running the UFC, I'll have a job with him that keeps me comfortable. He's told me that. But I'm still smart with my money. It's a long life, I've got two kids, and I'm not going to blow everything I've earned. But I still love to fight. That feeling will never go away. So as long as I can throw a punch, I'm going to get in the cage.

This is what I've been doing since I was three years old and Pops taught me how to punch. It's why I took up karate and played football and wrestled and had more interest in beating the crap out of people during high school than in getting drunk. There was no such thing as the UFC when I was growing up. I couldn't possibly have known what was in store for me. But, it turns out, my entire life was geared toward becoming one of the best mixed martial artists alive. The street fighting, the grappling, the karate, those were all things that I'd become an expert at. Who knew that I could spend my entire life training in obscure disciplines such as those, and suddenly, combined, they would become one of the most popular professional sports in the world?

No one knew. Least of all me. But sometimes you just get lucky.

I don't know what's next, but here's what I do know: I'm a born fighter and I love to fight. As long as I can throw a punch, I'm going to get in the ring.

CHUCK LIDDELL'S MMA RECORD (20-5 AS OF SEPTEMBER 27, 2007)

 

UFC RULES

Fouls:

• 1.
  Butting with the head.
  
• 2.
  Eye gouging of any kind.
  
• 3.
  Biting.
  
• 4.
  Hair pulling.
  
• 5.
  Fishhooking.
  
• 6.
  Groin attacks of any kind.
  
• 7.
  Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
  
• 8.
  Small-joint manipulation.
  
• 9.
  Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
  
• 10.
  Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
  
• 11.
  Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
  
• 12.
  Clawing, pinching, or twisting the flesh.
  
• 13.
  Grabbing the clavicle.
  
• 14.
  Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
  
• 15.
  Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
  
• 16.
  Stomping a grounded opponent.
  
• 17.
  Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
  
• 18.
  Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
  
• 19.
  Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
  
• 20.
  Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
  
• 21.
  Spitting at an opponent.
  
• 22.
  Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
  
• 23.
  Holding the ropes or the fence.
  
• 24.
  Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
  
• 25.
  Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
  
• 26.
  Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
  
• 27.
  Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
  
• 28.
  Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
  
• 29.
  Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece, or faking an injury.
  
• 30.
  Interference by the corner.
  
• 31.
  Throwing in the towel during competition.
  

UFC MANDATORY EQUIPMENT (FROM UFC.COM)

• 1.
  Competitors may only use UFC and commission approved 4–6 oz gloves, designed to protect the hand but not large enough to improve the striking surface or weight of the punch.
  
• 2.
  Commission-approved MMA shorts and kickboxing trunks are the only uniforms allowed. Shirts, gis, and shoes, and the problems they present for grabbing, are not allowed.
  

MMA MAIN SUBMISSION HOLDS

• 1.
  Heel hook
  —Grab the heel and twist as hard as possible so the guy feels as if it were going to separate from his leg. In technical terms, you're hyperrotating the heel. Submission that hyperrotates the ankle joint.
  
• 2.
  Toe hold
  —Same as the heel hook, only on the toe, which should feel as if it were being removed from the foot.
  
• 3.
  Armbars
  —From your back, place your legs across the opponent's chest, with one of his arms between your thighs and with his elbow joint against your hips. Then grab his arm with both of yours, so his forearm is on your chest. Got it so far? To lock his arm, lean back and arch your hips at the same time. This creates intense pressure in the elbow joint. If the guy doesn't tap, his options are torn ligaments, torn tendons, or a broken arm.
  
• 4.
  Triangles
  —Get your opponent's head and one of his arms between your legs and squeeze. This will force his head down and choke off the blood supply to the brain.
  
• 5.
  Guillotine
  —This is almost too easy against grapplers. The move is executed when you are face-to-face with a guy. When he goes for a takedown, wrap his head inside your arm and squeeze hard. If the pressure from your forearm is placed against the windpipe, then you'll get an air choke, meaning the guy can't breathe. If the pressure is on the arteries of the neck, then you will get a blood choke, which means the blood stops flowing to his head. Either way, it's lights out.
  
• 6.
  Rear-naked choke
  —This works when you're behind your opponent. Wrap one arm around his neck, with the inside of your elbow against his throat. From there you lock the hand of the arm wrapped around the guy's neck on your biceps and use your other hand to push the guy's head down, closing off an airway. Don't forget to hug your arms together and push out with your chest.