UFC President Dana White announced during The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale that Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell will be the coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, and will square off for the third time at the conclusion of the season. Liddell's fighting career had been the subject of much speculation since Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 97.
“We have definitely seen the last of Chuck Liddell,” White said after Liddell's loss to Shogun. “That was his last fight. Obviously Chuck Liddell is a great competitor, he loves the sport, he loves to fight so this has been a very tough decision for him. He was very confident he was going to win that Shogun fight. But Chuck is one of my best friends, I consider him a member of my family, I love him and I don’t want to see him fight anymore."
Liddell, who has one more fight left on his UFC contract, had maintained that he would be the one deciding on his future, not White.
“I still love fighting," Liddell explained on Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show” last month. "I don’t know what we’re going to come up with. I’m going to start spending a lot of time training guys or get back in there –- one of the two.”
Liddell had crossed paths with Ortiz earlier this summer on the way to UFC 101, when he found himself on the same flight as "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy." Ortiz poked some fun at Liddell for sitting in coach, while he flew in first class. Liddell stated shortly after the flight that he would welcome a third encounter with Ortiz.
“Well, I always enjoy beating him up," he admitted.
"The Iceman" will get that opportunity soon enough.
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