In an exclusive interview with The Sun Newspaper, former UFC light heavyweight champion, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell claims that he is one who can beat Fedor Emelianenko.
While many online mma news syndicates, forums and organizations claim that Fedor Emelianenko is pound for pound the #1 fighter in the world, Chuck Liddell disagrees. Not only does he disagree, but states that he could take the Russian in a fight.
“Fedor’s someone I want to fight because he’s someone I match up well with. He’s a ground and pound guy that doesn’t have a great shot. He doesn’t have a great game plan. I think I could take him. I think I match up well with him."
While Chuck has only won 1 of his last 3 fights, it is obvious that he has lost absolutely none of that confidence that makes him such a dominant fighter at 205lbs (205lbs being the key phrase here). While he would surely be one to look out for if he moved up in weight, tackling "The Russian Experiment" is a tall order for any heavyweight fighter much less a light heavyweight fighter. That being said Chuck doesn’t seem to worried about the proposition.
“A move to heavyweight is a possibility for me. If I’m done with everything at light heavyweight I might move up. The top guys up there aren’t all that big heavyweights. Randy was but I knocked him out twice.”
In a way I would have to agree with Chuck about matching up well with the Russian. A counter puncher with big KO power and excellent takedown defense seems like it could be the recipe for a possible Fedorian defeat. Of course a little luck would have to be on the side of Chuck as well. Ok maybe a lot of luck. Chuck would have to be dead on with his punches and weather more storms than a Doppler Radar System. Another thing is, Fedor is so good at coming up with strategies for fights. It is hard to imagine him not having the perfect plan to defeat Chuck.
We must also keep in mind that Liddell just beat one of the scariest human beings on earth, Wanderlei Silva. Chuck was an underdog in my eyes and he pulled it off which was completely amazing to me. While Silva did take a loss, he also earned the respect of American fans as well as the respect of his opponent.
“He was able to take some big shots which surprised me. I always thought he had that flash chin when he gets hurt but he recovers so quickly. I knew he recovered quickly but not that quickly! I hurt him quite a few times and I followed up and hit him with more and he still wouldn’t go down!"
Liddell also stated in the interview that a rematch with Silva could happen later on this year or next year if he can steal the belt back from Jackson. The proposition could turn out to be a daunting task though considering Chuck has suffered two losses at the hands of "Rampage" during his career. We can only pray that Liddell vs Silva 2 becomes a reality later on down the road.
Source: www.redsweat.com