Chuck Liddell doesn’t seem to be preparing himself too much for the upcoming fight he has against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 85, which is scheduled for June this summer. The Iceman seems to look past Shogun and continues to focus more on a title fight that he feels he deserves already. Here’s what the Iceman had to say:
"He’s a good fighter … had a great career in Pride, and I’ll be glad to show him again why UFC is better than Pride. I have the edge in the standup game and the wrestling game, too. His submission game is decent, but I don’t think I’ll have a problem with his submission game, either"
Liddell did win his match against former PrideFC light heavyweight champion Wanderlei Silva, considered one of the most dangerous men at 205. Although he won via a unanimous decision at UFC 79, we can’t forget that he suffered back to back losses prior to his fight with Silva. He lost his belt to Quinton Jackson at UFC 71 and then lost to Keith Jardine at UFC 76. So does that give him the right for a title match? This is how Liddell felt about the situation:
"I didn’t think I needed two wins in a row to get a title shot. But two fights definitely give me the credibility to get a title shot."
If he does indeed get past Shogun, it would be then that he could talk about an opportunity of a light heavyweight title. Until that time comes, his goal should be on Shogun because everyone knows that this match will not be an easy one. Shogun has not lost 2 fights in a row throughout his MMA career and there is no sign of any slacking off on his part.
(props to chron.com)
