MONTREAL - Despite recent comments that a loss on Saturday could mean a forced retirement for Chuck Liddell, UFC President Dana White has backed off the claims and said the 39-year-old fighter has earned the right to have a say in the decision.
White softened his stance (to put it mildly) during Wednesday's pre-UFC 97 press conference at Montreal's Bell Centre, which hosts Saturday's pay-per-view event.
"I think early on when I first made that statement publicly, it got blown out of proportion," White said. "Kind of like most of my public statements."
White backed down from comments he made last month to the Canadian Press' Neil Davidson. At the time, White said he had put Liddell on notice that he not only needs to beat Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at Saturday's UFC 97 event, but that he needs to win in convincing fashion.
"I'm not even saying if he wins (because) unless he looks incredibly impressive - I mean, he's going to have to go out there and dazzle me for me to want Chuck to still fight," White told the Canadian news agency.
Additionally, White was even more blunt while a guest on Wednesday's edition of "Off the Record" on TSN. He told host Michael Lansberg, "If Chuck loses Saturday, he will retire."
White, though, now says such a decision will not be made without first consulting Liddell and that the MMA superstar and future UFC hall-of-famer will always have a home with the organization. As long as White is alive and kicking, anyway.
"He and I sat down before this fight was made and had a long talk," said White, with Liddell sitting to his side. "Everyone knows my relationship with him. I was basically saying [those comments], you know, out of friendship. People were like, 'Oh, you're going to kick Chuck Liddell to the curb.' Far from it. Whether he's fighting or retired, he's going to be with the UFC until I'm dead."
Liddell shrugged off the retirement talk and said it'll be a non-factor come Saturday, when he and Rua - who were considered the world's top two light heavyweights just a couple years ago - meet in UFC 97's co-main event.
"Honestly, I'm planning to come out and have an impressive performance and knock him out," Liddell said. "With that, I don't think there's going to be any problems with bringing me back (to the UFC), so I'm really not worried about it. It's not something I worry about. It's like everything else. This fight is very important, it's a very tough fight, and so I'm going to concentrate on this. I'll worry about what happens after the fight after the fight."
Even if Liddell were to lose, don't expect him to get his walking papers that night.
White said he'd never treat Liddell, the biggest earner in UFC history, in such a manner.
"As a friend (of Liddell's), I'm not going to run backstage and say, 'You're done, it's over, beat it, and get lost,'" White said. "We'll sit down and talk after the fight on Saturday and see what happens."
However, that's not to say Liddell isn't under pressure to perform. Once considered one of the UFC's most dominant champions following a championship victory and four title defenses (from 2005 to 2007), Liddell is now 1-3 in his past four fights.
The unfortunate streak included knockout losses to Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, a split-decision defeat to Keith Jardine and a narrow unanimous-decision win over Wanderlei Silva. It's been two-and-a-half years since Liddell's most recent knockout win, and some have suggested the sport has evolved past him.
White, though, thinks Liddell is taking the right steps to get back on track.
"Chuck told me, being the Chuck Liddell we all now and love, 'I'm not done fighting yet, I love fighting, I want to fight still, and I want to take a run at the title again,'" White said. "So how do I say no to that? I think he's changed his lifestyle habits a little bit. He's gotten back in the gym and started training hard. He's focused and taking it seriously. We'll see what happens Saturday."
But whatever happens, White wants to see something impressive now that Liddell is entering the twilight of his career.
"He's going to have to come out put on a good performance," White said. "Because my point is, what more does this guy have left to prove? He's the most famous mixed martial artist in this sport. He helped us build this sport. He made a ton of money, and he's held the world championship. I mean, he's done everything you can possibly do, and he's almost 40 years old now."
