© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com

Becoming UFC's light-heavyweight champion has been Chuck Liddell's lifetime dream. And holding the title is something Chuck is quite comfortable with. "It's great being the light-heavyweight champion. I've been working for this my whole life. I was very disappointed the first time I took a shot at the title with Randy, because I knew I could beat him. But I had a bad fight. And to finally get it… Tito held it from me for a long time because he wouldn't fight me before that, so it's been a long time coming," says Liddell.

But now that his fanciful vision has become a reality, the Iceman is busy weaving other dreams. "I'm at the point where I'm wondering who I'm going to fight next. We're talking about even fighting Arlovski for the heavyweight title. If they give me a shot at the title, I'll step up to heavyweight just to have both. I just want to be the first guy to hold both titles at the same time. It doesn't look like they're going to be able to get me Wanderlei Silva. I wanted to be the first one to have both UFC and PRIDE belts, but it doesn't look as though PRIDE are going to give me a shot at it," says Liddell.

"UFC are prepared to let me do it, but PRIDE aren't. Maybe if I have the UFC light and heavyweight titles they'll let me do it. I don't know, but I'm going to try to convince them somehow. "

When Chuck defeated Randy at UFC 52, there was more to the victory for Liddell than just the feeling of euphoria: It was also like having a weight lifted off his shoulders. "It was a pretty big thing for me because I didn't want to be someone who should have been the champion at some time and then never actually got it. So the victory did lift the weight off my shoulders. Now I'm looking for a new challenge: either Wanderlei Silva from PRIDE or going up to heavyweight in UFC."

With Randy making his Octagon debut at UFC 13, and Chuck first appearing at UFC 17, it seems hard to believe there was a time when these two veterans weren't competing in the world's biggest MMA competition. And whenever either athlete is fighting, fans can't help feeling they are witnessing an important era in NHB history.

A lot had happened since Liddell and Couture first clashed on June 6, 2003, at Meltdown. Both men defeated Tito Ortiz, Chuck KO'd Vernon White, and Randy wiped Vitor Belfort. For Couture vs Liddell II, Chuck boldly stated he would not only reverse the original result, but that he would win by knockout. Their second meeting went pretty much as Liddell had predicted.

"Everything went perfectly. My leg kicks were working well. I was hitting him with that jab. When he came in I hit him and turned the corner. The biggest thing we said when I was training was, 'Hit him and turn the corner. Circle and don't go back. If you go back he'll throw one at you.' So we worked on circling, and it went great."

Chuck, can you pinpoint the main difference between the first fight and the second one?

"Well, conditioning was the biggest difference, but also since that first fight we went back and concentrated on a lot of things. We saw the last three fights were won by knockout, and we'd focused on the little things. In the long run, it was probably a good thing my losing to Randy before because it got me to stay on my game, and work on improving."

It seems you and Randy have been there forever, and that you're always lifting the standard of MMA. Do you feel that way?

"Yeah. That's what we're trying to do: keep pushing it. And now I'm on top, if I want to stay there I've got to keep pushing and pushing. I've got to keep myself motivated."

How did you feel in the Octagon when the fight actually got under way?

"I was very comfortable, man. I was ready for the fight. I knew I could win it. And like I said, I was going to knock him out. I was going to knock him out sooner or later. I was going to knock him out in the third or fourth round, but the thing is, the time that knockouts happen the most is when you're not looking for them. I knew I'd get him sooner or later, so I was just throwing my punches the way I should. And I wasn't trying to load up and rip his head off. I was just being patient and feeling happy to be executing my game plan."

Not feeling a need to rush it?

"No. No urgency or need to knock him out in a hurry. I knew I was in great shape and I knew I could take him five rounds if I wanted to."

But how did you feel so confident after losing before? How do you get that confidence?

"Well part of it was I knew what kind of shape I was in. And I went back…I hadn't watched that fight because I hated seeing it. I watched it in January. It was the first time I'd ever seen that fight. I looked at it and I coached myself. I said, 'You know what? That's not me out there. I'm not fighting the way I fight.' And after I saw that I was more confident after watching me lose that fight. I thought I did better than everyone gave me credit for.

"But the way I was standing, I was so flat footed. I was dead tired three minutes into the fight. I knew there was no way that guy was going out there again the next time. And when I went out the next time, I was so confident.

"Plus I don't like it when everyone expects me to lose. Everyone, everyone loses sometime. I've got a great picture of after I dropped Randy, and everybody in the first couple of rows had their mouths open and they were looking like, 'Oh, shit'. Vanilla Ice was the only one smiling. He's a great guy. He was out of his chair with his arms up, and everyone else was just sitting there, looking like 'Oh, shit.' "

Does it look like there'll be a Liddell vs Couture III?

"They're talking about maybe January. We're both going to have another fight and then maybe go after it then."

You said before the interview that you were at a weigh-in. What's that for?

"For K-1 in Vegas. Scott Lighty is one of my main sparring partners, and I'm here for him."

Chuck, I know you've got to get back in there. Thanks for your time.

"No problem."

Chuck Liddell's sponsors: Cobb 28, Tap Out, and Sinister Clothing.

For more on Chuck: www.iceman.tv

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