"He's already said he'll be back in the gym next Monday," said Hackleman, who has coached Liddell for 16 years. "He's going to fight again, hopefully as soon as possible, maybe in December. We're looking at 'Shogun.'"

According to The Fight Network, Hackleman has already been alerted by the brass that Shogun is likely up next for Liddell.

A Shogun-Liddell match up makes sense now, given that Shogun was beaten soundly by Forrest Griffin at UFC 76. The stakes of such a fight, couldn't be higher; the winner would obviously be catapulted directly back into title contention and the loser would be at a serious crossroads.

John Hackleman dismisses early speculation of a Liddell retirement.

"You're dealing with a guy that just lost a fight, is totally depressed right after a humongous loss," says Hackleman, who was not present at the press conference.

"Of course, he's disappointed. We didn't get into details about the fight, especially after a loss, because that's not the time you want to talk about it. We usually talk about it when we get back in the gym."

As for the Jardine loss, Hackleman disagrees with the notion that Liddell has lost his fire.

"I think things went wrong with Keith Jardine. Keith Jardine came out and fought like a freakin' killer," says Hackleman. "Chuck just couldn't pull the trigger in time and was just a hair off and Jardine's timing was perfect."