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Tito Ortiz: Chuck Liddell Shouldn't Fight Again After Knockout Loss
November 27, 2018
Tito Ortiz said his first-round knockout victory over Chuck Liddell on Saturday night should mark the final fight of Liddell's storied MMA career.
On Tuesday, TMZ Sports provided comments from Ortiz, who noted he probably wouldn't accept another bout against the former UFC light heavyweight champion because of the lopsided result at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
"Physically, I don't think he should [fight again]", Ortiz said. "... I'm not even going to say I will fight him again because I don't think he should."
He added: "Chuck Liddell was a great champion; he was a great fighter, great man, great father, and I'm thankful he gave me the opportunity."
Liddell was one of UFC's biggest stars at his peak.
He defeated Randy Couture to capture the light heavyweight title at UFC 52 in April 2005 and successfully defended the belt four times, including a victory over Ortiz in December 2006, before losing to Quinton Jackson in May 2007.
Liddell also beat Ortiz in April 2004 in their first career encounter.
The Ice Man finished his UFC career with three consecutive losses, however, and entered retirement in December 2010, six months after his loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 115.
Now 48, the California native looked like a shell of his former self in Saturday's short-lived clash with the 43-year-old Ortiz.
Afterward, Liddell said there were "no excuses" for his poor performance, but he refused to rule out taking on another fight in the future, per Mike Bohn and Dave Mandel of MMAjunkie.
"I don't want to think about that right now," Liddell said. "I'm not in the right state of mind to really talk about whether or not I'm done or not, but I felt good out there and I had fun. So we'll see."
Meanwhile, Ortiz told TMZ Sports he's going to work alongside Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, which has been mostly known for boxing, to build its MMA brand.