Chuck Liddell , now more than four years removed from his second retirement, still casts a considerable shadow in the mixed martial arts world.
One of the first mixed martial artists to achieve true mainstream stardom, Liddell was a larger-than-life character who married a unique look and undeniable charisma with world-class skills. He peaked during a remarkable seven-fight tear in the Ultimate Fighting Championship between April 2, 2004 and Dec. 30, 2006 that saw him rattle off seven consecutive knockouts and emerge as perhaps the sport’s most recognizable star. Though Father Time was not kind to Liddell—he lost six of his final seven bouts, many of them via brutal knockout—his accomplishments have stood the test of time. He was the sixth fighter inducted into the Pioneer Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame on Jun 11, 2009.
As Liddell’s exploits drift further and further into the rearview mirror, a look at some of the numbers that accompanied throughout his career:
53: Years of age for Liddell, who was born on Dec. 17, 1969 in Santa Barbara, California.
6: Promotions in which Liddell plied his mixed martial arts trade. He went 16-7 in the UFC, 2-1 in Pride Fighting Championships, 1-0 in the International Vale Tudo Championship, 1-0 in the International Fighting Championship, 1-0 in Neutral Grounds and 0-1 in Golden Boy MMA.
13: Liddell victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 62% of his career total (21). His list of victims includes Ortiz (twice), Renato Sobral (twice), Randy Couture (twice), Alistair Overeem and Guy Mezger. Liddell owns one other victory by submission (5%)—he put away Kenneth Williams with a rear-naked choke at Neutral Grounds 11 on March 31, 1999—and seven more by decision (33%).
1: Submission loss on the Liddell resume. Jeremy Horn choked him unconscious with an arm-triangle 12:00 into the first round of their UFC 19 pairing on March 5, 1999.
770: Days spent by Liddell as UFC light heavyweight champion. He laid claim to the 205-pound title with a first-round knockout of Couture at UFC 52, successfully defended it on four subsequent occasions and finally relinquished it in a first-round technical knockout loss to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71.
14: Knockdowns credited to Liddell as a UFC light heavyweight, tying him with Mauricio Rua for first on the promotion’s all-time list at 205 pounds.
78: Seconds needed for Liddell to punch out Kevin Randleman at UFC 31 on May 4, 2001. Having occurred more than nine years prior to his retirement from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it went down as the fastest finish of his career.
64: Significant strikes landed by Liddell in his fourth-round technical knockout of Horn in their UFC 54 rematch on Aug. 20, 2005. It established a high-water mark for “The Iceman” that stands to this day.
55: Rounds completed by Liddell as a professional mixed martial artist. He went the distance on eight different occasions and carried a 7-1 record in those bouts. The one outlier? A split decision defeat to Keith Jardine at UFC 76 in 2007.
.722: Cumulative winning percentage between the eight men—Ortiz, Couture, Rua, Horn, Jackson (twice), Jardine, Rich Franklin and Rashad Evans—who defeated Liddell. They boast a combined record of 263-98-5.
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