Ortiz claims Liddell ‘was an alcoholic’

UFC star Tito Ortiz claims Chuck Liddell ‘was an alcoholic’ in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports.

Ortiz is set to fight rival TUF 11 coach Liddell in the summer.

Ortiz told Yahoo! Sports: “I think [Liddell] had a problem… a lot of people go through addiction. I think his deal was he was an alcoholic. He loved to party and when you have all the money in the world and you can do what you want, no one tells you, ‘No.’

“Thank God that Dana [White] gave him an intervention, and he’s sober now. He’s been sober since November, and he looks like a different person. It’s awesome. I’m proud of him – really proud of him. A lot of people can’t do that… I’m proud he’s found sobriety.

“A lot of fighters, and a lot of people in general, don’t do that. They fall off the face of the earth, and sometimes they’ll find them in a hotel, dead, or behind a wheel, dead.”