Liddell Predicts Knockout of Rua
Chuck Liddell, 39, and coming off some difficult performances, wants his belt back, and given that he’s Chuck Liddell, you can’t discount the possibility that he’ll get back on the road to wearing it once again.
The former light heavyweight champ, Chuck “Iceman” Liddell, is one of the headliners of the UFC 97 fight card at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 18. He’ll take on former Pride fighter and champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
“I’ve wanted this fight for a long time, since back in the Pride days, back in the UFC vs. Pride days,” Liddell told MMAWeekly.com “I can’t wait for this fight.”
“I plan on mixing it up out there, but I plan on striking and I plan on knocking him out,” he said.
Liddell has lost three of his last four fights.
To turn around his run of bad form, Liddell has been training with American Top Team and working with former Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Howard Davis Jr. Liddell has been working with Davis Jr. on some of the finer points of the striking game including keeping himself balanced when on the the attack.
Rua hasn’t looked nearly as sharp in two UFC bouts as he did in his fights at 205 for Japanese Pride, but underestimating him would be a mistake, and Liddell says it’s a mistake he won’t make.
Liddell knows he’ll have to go through Rua if he wants the belt back.
“This is exactly what I need. I want fights that are going to get me closer to getting a title shot, and I think this is one of those fights,” he said. “I’m ready man. I’ve been training hard. It’s been a long camp for this one, and I’m ready to go.”
Last four fights:
| Loss | 21-6 | Rashad Evans | KO |  Chuck “Iceman” Liddell |
| Win | 21-5 | Wanderlei Silva | Decision | |
| Loss | 20-5 | Keith Jardine | Decision | |
| Loss | 20-4 | Quinton Jackson | TKO |
“It’s a fight that people want to see,” commented Liddell. “I’m expecting him to come out ready to go. I think this is going to be a great fight for the fans. We’re going to be going at it until someone gets knocked out.”
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