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UFC’s Mike Goldberg: Chuck Liddell is the most recognizable athlete in the history of MMA
By Zach Arnold | June 15, 2010
From his interview on Monday with Tapout radio, a warm-up passage of sorts before we get into his thoughts on the end of Chuck Liddell’s career.
HOST: “What did you think of mid-fight in (Mirko) Cro Cop and Pat Barry when they hugged and showed respect? I mean, I personally thought it was awesome. Just curious as to your take on it.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “I personally thought it was awesome as well. I think that you know when you if you knew the storylines of the excess of you know admiration and hero worship that Pat Barry has had for Mirko Cro Cop since he was a little kid and then not so much to see Pat do it because that’s kind of Pat’s personality, that’s his m.o., but for Mirko to embrace it I thought it was awesome. It showed that these men are competitors, beating the living crap out of each other, but yet they respect each other more than any professional athlete perhaps in any professional sport. The only thing I wonder is did it take away from the ferocity of Pat Barry. Did Pat all of a sudden get caught up in the moment and get too nice? Now we’ve found out what took away the ferocity of Pat Barry was a broken hand and a broken foot which would pretty much do it to everybody except maybe Rich Franklin… who knows what Rich would have done if the fight would have continued into a second or third round, you know we’ve seen Frank Shamrock have to stop before from a broken arm and Randy Couture [fought] through one from Gabriel Gonzaga but yet very much like Rich he finished the fight real quickly but… I liked it. I liked it was you know it was the pinnacle of what was a great storyline, a huge storyline for Pat you know coming from everything that he’s come from and no money a few fights ago and losing his grandmother in Hurricane Katrina and you know fighting his idol, I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wish the fight could have continued with the same ferocity for Pat but I think injuries had a lot more to do than sharing a few hugs and mutual admiration inside the Octagon.”
And now onto Mike’s thoughts about what he saw cage side at UFC 115…
HOST: “I thought it was a pretty good PPV. A lot of stuff you know kind of came out, I really didn’t personally want to see Rich (Franklin) and Chuck (Liddell) fight because they’re just two great guys and you know that it’s kind of like really someone’s the end of someone’s career if they lose that fight and you know Chuck was the one that went down and I mean I wasn’t expecting him to go down like that, that fast and it’s almost sad. I mean, because, you know, he’s an icon.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Well, it’s more than almost sad, I mean it’s… it’s the end of an era, I mean it’s the end of the legacy of The Iceman and he truly is, he’s the face, he’s the guy who was on the cover of every magazine, on the cover of every home page and was the first man that everybody wanted to interview when this thing went on the major rise that it did and you know Randy and Rich and you know Matt Hughes and BJ Penn, they’re all great fighters and personalities, but undoubtedly Chuck is the most recognizable athlete in Mixed Martial Arts history and by far the poster boy for the UFC, so it is sad but you know what he walks away a very wealthy man, he walks away still a very healthy man, and I think now with everything that’s changed in his life the last year you know he walks a very happy man, too. Not happy that he lost, not happy that he was knocked out in his last three fights, but happy that he did it right and what happened happened. So he doesn’t have to go home and go, well if I would done this or if I would have done that. He trained the way he should have trained, he trained you know healthy, he trained smart, he trained happy and now he can go and enjoy the fruits of his labor for I hope many many many decades. I’ll tell you, as hard as it was to see that match up of two great people, great fighters and you know I think obviously one UFC Hall of Famer and the other a UFC Hall of Famer to be is that I’d much rather it see come at the hands of Rich Franklin than some up-an-comer who wouldn’t understand or respect or put into perspective what a knockout, that’s the final punch thrown against you know Chuck Liddell means. And Rich Franklin knows that and he embraces it and he understands it and most importantly he respects it. And so while it had to come at some point and it’s disappointing it did happen, I’m kind of glad that it came at the hands of another equally classy and professional fighter in Rich Franklin.”
HOST: “And Rich really he even said it afterwards he’s like I don’t want to be known as the guy that threw the last punch that ended Chuck’s career. He’s like not necessarily ended his career but that’s the last, that’s the last time he’s going to fight. It seemed like he almost didn’t want any part of it.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “If you’re Chuck, you’d rather have it come from Rich than from Tito (Ortiz) and I don’t know if Tito would have landed one, but I can guarantee you that Chuck would much rather have it come from Rich.”
HOST: “I don’t know if Tito would have done it, but God that would have been terrible if it had.”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Well, it would have been different and no disrespect for Tito because he’s a historian, too, I mean Tito is Tito but I just think the rivalry which was so heated and you know that’s the one thing you don’t want to wake up every morning going, man, Tito put me into retirement if you’re Chuck. The rest of the world, whatever, but if you’re Chuck, everybody has that guy. You know, everybody has that man that they don’t like. Obviously, you know, Rampage (Jackson) and Rashad (Evans) would be the same thing, you know let’s say Rashad you know knocked out Rampage and Rampage was done, I’m sure there are 100 other people that if it happened, it didn’t, but if it did he’d rather happen by anybody else except for you know Sugar Rashad, so. That’s certainly something to be looked at, but The Iceman has given us a lot and he’s given us everything, his blood, sweat, and tears. He’s entertained us. He’s helped us all be successful. We wouldn’t be doing this radio interview if it weren’t for Chuck Liddell and that I think is a celebration that we will soon and understand as we accept the fact that we won’t see The Iceman in there again and honestly, not one Iceman fan wants to see what happened the last three fights happen again. It’s hard to watch and I’m not saying, you know the thing is if you look at Chuck, what if he were taking on normal human beings instead of world-class top-ranked fighters like himself? I’m sure he could beat up on Joey Smith, 23-year old with four professional fights, but why didn’t he do that and what does that tell us at his point in his career? He went out against the best, he knocked out many more in his life than have knocked him out and he’ll always be The Iceman and he’ll always be the only Iceman in our eyes…”
When the discussion went to heels, the name Rashad Evans came up. Read this passage and consider what kind of racial remarks Rashad Evans made leading up to the UFC 114 fight and read how Mike Goldberg characterizes Evans:
HOST: “You brought up Rashad Evans and does it blow your mind that so many people give that guy a hard time because he’s such a good dude?”
MIKE GOLDBERG: “Yes and no. I mean, you know, yes it does because people don’t realize and get to know him the way that you and I do, you know, and the way that the inner circle does. Sugar Rashad likes to have fun out there and some people don’t like fun people, you know. I’m not going to sit here and say that I mean you know Terrell Owens is a bad example and I wouldn’t make that comparison to Rashad because I think he’s a better locker room guy, but you know the hot dog of a performer is one that a lot of people are going to take and discredit. It started with Matt Hughes all the way back on The Ultimate Fighter and until you get to know that guy and you don’t just see the escapades and the celebration and the dancing and you know kind of that m.o. of what makes him comfortable in the Octagon, you’re going to think the wrong things. Half the time, probably more than half the time, so you know I mean that’s how Sugar carries him when he’s around the fighting fans and the fighting fans when they get to one by one by one get to know him at an Q & A or autograph session or on an interview or read an article, you know one by one they’re going to get to know that this is a much different person who’s just out there having fun and he’s not disrespecting anybody and as they get to do that as time goes on, the real Rashad will step forward but you know he’s got to do what makes him most comfortable, what makes him most successful when it comes to fight day and if that’s dancing around, playing a little Muhammad Ali in the lights inside the Octagon then you know it’s his jaw on the line, he has every right to do whatever he wants to do, but yeah Rashad is as wonderful a person as Rich Franklin. I mean he really is when you look at those two people, he’s as wonderful and educated, as humble and giving and as caring as a Rich Franklin, but they just carry themselves a little bit differently and so people have perceptions that are incorrect but trust me as you and I well know they’re incorrect. He’s a very wonderful person and a true ambassador as well for the sport of MMA.”
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Does someone actually take the time to transcribe these radio interviews? I hope you guys are using some kind of software for that. If not, that’s kind of sad.
Nice way to thank the webmaster for taking the time to transcribe these for us!
Liddell has done amazing stuff for MMA but its time for him to take a backstage role. He’s done as a fighter but has so much to give as a trainer perhaps.
The only other person I think that might fit this description would be Royce Gracie, but that’s on a more global level.