Chuck Liddell assesses how prime 'Iceman' vs. prime Jon Jones would play out: 'He wouldn't be able to take me down' (Exclusive)

UFC legend Chuck Liddell recently assessed how a fight with Jon Jones would have gone when both men were in their light heavyweight primes. 

"The Iceman" was a key figure in the UFC's growth in the early noughties. Liddell won the UFC light heavyweight championship with a first-round knockout of Randy Couture at UFC 52 back in April 2005. His celebrated reign on top of the 205-pound division included another win over Couture and a successful defense against longtime nemesis Tito Ortiz. 

Jon Jones, meanwhile, is widely regarded as the greatest light heavyweight fighter in MMA history. A two-time champ in the weight class, "Bones" carved his way through a whole generation of 205-pound greats, including Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Daniel Cormier and Glover Teixeira. 

'I Win By Knockout' - Liddell Confident Of How He'd Have Fared Against Jones In His Prime

During an exclusive interview with MMA News, "The Iceman" was asked how he believes a fight would've gone between him and Jones if they were both at their peaks.

Liddell was quick to assert that he would've landed the knockout on Jones. 

The retired MMA veteran noted Jones' knack for controlling the pace of his fights, before suggesting that "Bones" would've been unable to do so against him. 

"I win by knockout, if you ask me," Liddell said. "I mean, that would be a fun fight. I mean, for me, the thing that Jon does really well is dictate where the fight is fought, like, if he's better than you on the ground, he'll take you down, or if he's better than you at ground-and-pound, you know, that's it... He's been able to control where a lot of these fights have been fought. He wouldn't have been able to do that with me... He wouldn't have been able to take me down."