White confirms Liddell retirement

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Chuck Liddell has decided to retire.

The former light-heavyweight champion retires with a 21-7-0 record and has struggled lately, losing four of his last five fights.

“We have definitely seen the last of Chuck Liddell,” the UFC president confirmed exclusively on Setanta Sports. “That was his last fight.

“Obviously Chuck Liddell is a great competitor, he loves the sport, he loves to fight so this has been a very tough decision for him.

“He was very confident he was going to win that Shogun fight.

“But Chuck is one of my best friends, I consider him a member of my family, I love him and I don’t want to see him fight anymore.

“He has nothing else to prove. He is the most famous Mixed Martial Artist on the planet, he’s made more money than God, he’s a champion and he’s got nothing else to fight for.”

“He went out with a bang,” stated Dana. “I wanted him to retire after the Rashad Evans fight, but he flew out to see me and he told me he was going deep into training – he said ‘give me this shot’.

“He lived up to every word, he trained with the American Top Team and he came out gun-slinging.

“That may only have been one round, but it was a round that showed why he is the most famous Mixed Martial Artist in the world.

“He went out the way he wanted to go out.”

Tags: Chuck Liddell, Dana White, Rashad Evans, UFC