While he must get past Rashad Evans first in September at UFC 88, Chuck Liddell still yearns to get another crack at Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the man who beat him twice. “I want to fight Rampage real badly. I actually think I match up very well against him, but I’ve managed to lose to him twice now”, commented Liddell to The Sun. “But the third fight will not have anything to do with the first two, it will be a fresh start. Rampage is the one fight I really want, as much as I want my title back.” A self admitted super competitive person, Liddell is still burnt by the two losses he has yet to avenge. Aside from Keith Jardine, it is the only opponent he has yet to avenge a loss to, and despite not having the title, Quinton Jackson is far up on the list of fighters Liddell wants to square off against. “He’s lost the belt now, so I can’t beat him and win the title back in one fight, but I want to fight him just as bad as when he was champion.”
Chuck Liddel is a fighter who hides little. While other fighters are secretive about their gameplans, he’s pretty clear–he’s going for a knockout. At UFC 88 in September against Rashad Evans, nothing has changed in the desired outcome, but some adjustments are to be made stylistically. “Evans is a very different type of challenge because he is very fast, goes for takedowns, and has a mentality to try and take the fight into his comfort zone”, Liddell tells Yahoo Sports. “I won’t allow him to do that, I’ll pressure him for three rounds if I have to but I think I’ll knock him out.”
“We’re not looking past Patrick Cote, but I think we’ll take one step at a time and see what happens. If a Chuck Liddell fight came up, we’d take it.”
–Ed Soares, manager of Anderson Silva, talking to MMAweekly.com
On August 26, 2006 Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin defeated Renato Sobral and Stephan Bonnar respectively, both for the second time.
“(I still have) two to four years depending on how my body’s feeling…I’m hoping in two years I’ll still be saying ‘two to four years.’ I still feel like fighting now and my body is still working now.”
Chuck Liddell speaking to Tagg Radio
UFC 88 video: Rashad Evans on fighting Chuck Liddell
On August 21, 2004, Chuck Liddell defeated Vernon White and Randy Couture defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 49
On August 20, 2005 Chuck Liddell defeated Jeremy Horn via TKO in the 4th round. Also on the card, Randy Couture defeated Mike Van Arsdale.
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® CONFIRMS ADDITIONAL BOUTS FOR UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH
MATT HAMILL vs. RICH FRANKLIN
YOSHIYUKI HOSHIDA vs. KARO PARISYAN
ROUSIMAR PALHARES vs. DAN HENDERSON
NATE MARQUARDT vs. MARTIN KAMPMANN
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2008
LIVE FROM PHILLIPS ARENA
Las Vegas, NV ( USA ) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization today confirmed four more fights on the card for the upcoming UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH which features legendary former champion Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and unbeaten rising star “Sugar” Rashad Evans. They will finally meet in the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization’s historic first trip to Atlanta for UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH, live at Phillips Arena on Saturday, September 6, 2008.
Added to the fight card are exciting match-ups between Matt Hamill vs. Rich Franklin; Yoshiyuki Hoshida vs. Karo Parisyan; Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Henderson; and Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann.
Tickets for UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH are on sale now and are priced at $604, $404, $254, $154 and $79. Tickets for UFC 88 are also available at Phillip’s Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 404.249.6400.
UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).