Chuck Liddell knows fans have expressed concerns for his health, but he’s reluctant to blame fighting for all of his post-retirement issues.
There’s no question Liddell’s high-impact 30-fight career has left him banged up and with various injuries, some more obvious than others. One popular point of discussion among fans is the condition of the 56-year-old’s brain as clips tracking Liddell’s speech changes over the years frequently circulate online.
Liddell directly addressed the controversy speaking to Dominick Cruz on the Love & War podcast, with Liddell attributing much of the change to a neck surgery he underwent following his trilogy bout with longtime rival Tito Ortiz in November 2018.
“It’s hard for me because a lot of people—I’ve seen people show, like, videos of me before and after,” Liddell said. “But the problem is I damaged my vocal cords and my neck.
“It was either from the surgery or after it. I went in, they’re like, ‘You have damaged one of your—You have three muscles in there and one of them is kind of not working. So the other two will take over for it. So that changes your voice.’”
In his prime, Liddell was one of the faces of the UFC, reigning as promotion’s light heavyweight champion from 2005-2007 and compiling a highlight reel of famous knockouts. He was in his fair share of back-and-forth brawls, which appeared to catch up to him later in his career as he was finished with strikes in six of his last seven fights.
However, Liddell insists that there are instances where he has been caught on camera slurring his speech or looking confused and those have more to do with circumstance, than brain injury.
“I’ve seen those and they’ve done a couple with me where’s like I’m talking to someone and it’s like, dude, really, you’re going to pick this one where I’m having a conversation with somebody and I’m like, ‘Wait, hold on, I forgot, um,’ and they make that look like, ‘Oh, he’s got a problem with his brain,’” Liddell said. “But it is what it is.”
Liddell admitted there are definitely mental challenges when it comes to life after fighting, as many former athletes have mentioned in the past. Specifically, finding an outlet for the energy and focus that was once fully dedicated to preparing for a walk to the octagon.
“I learned that for me, I like hitting the bag and sparring and wrestling, jiu-jitsu, something competitive that way,” Liddell said. “It helps me stay calm. It’s the only time in the day my brain shuts off and I just work on beating whoever’s in front of me. I’m just working on that. I didn’t really realize that until I had three hand surgeries, I didn’t get to hit a bag for about a year. That was from a freak accident where a piece of glass bumped up and cut both flexor tendons, just a long story. … It was just crazy.
“So I had a year where I didn’t hit the bag and I realized, ‘Why am I so on edge?’ And then as soon as I could start hitting the bags again I was like, ‘Oh.’ Like, sparring, I couldn’t wrestle, I couldn’t do any of that. I was like, oh, OK, that release. Shutting your brain off and working on something, that makes everything so much easier.”
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I mean, you lost to a guy with one leg. That’s tough.
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I didn’t make this poll question but want to share my thoughts: Prime Chuck Liddell is a Top 5 light heavyweight in today’s age. I don’t like his changes against someone like Jiri or Alex, but what’s Jamahal Hill going to do? Prime Chuck clears the bottom half of the Top 15.
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