Contextualizing Chuck Liddell’s UFC 115 Loss To Rich Franklin

In the wake of UFC 115 fans and media alike were left wondering if the right hand that put Chuck Liddell to sleep also signified the end of career of “The Iceman.” Having lost four of his last five bouts no one was confusing the 40 year-old Liddell with the man who, in his prime, ran the UFC light heavyweight division. And when opposing Ultimate Fighter coach Tito Ortiz’s neck surgery forced a change of opponent to the younger and quicker Rich Franklin the odds of a Chuck win became much lower.

Still, this was one of the greatest light heavyweights in the history of the sport so no one was willing to write him off. Following the fight it seems that it is the correct time to ride off into the sunset. In four of his last six bouts Chuck has been brutally knocked out causing concerns not only for his athletic legacy but also for his long term health.

Ben Fowlkes of MMA Fighting penned an article that has raised the ire of some MMA media for saying:

In some bizarre way, it might even be the perfect ending to a great career.
Sure, I know everyone wants to go out on a win, but in the fight game it rarely works that way. Just try and talk a winning fighter into retiring. See how far that gets you. The truth is that all real fighters need to be beaten into retirement. They need to find out for sure that it’s over. One only hopes that they can do it with the same heart and dignity that they showed during their best days.
Liddell has already done the first half. He came forward and made Franklin put him away. He went down swinging, which is the way any proud champion wants to go out.

The main point of contention for many is the idea that suffering the fourth in a string of violent knockouts is some sort of ending that is perfectly in line with the macho culture of MMA. Zak Woods of Watch Kalib Run writes:

Fighters often need to be beaten into retirement but that doesn’t make it right or acceptable. It’s tragic and horrific that they and the rest of us can’t let go until the point where chronic physical degradation is all but assured.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports compared this fight to the boxing bout between Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali. Many believe that the punishment Muhammad took in that fight directly contributed to his mental degradation and the onset of Parkinson’s.

In that vein a dark foreboding cloud hangs over Liddell’s final moments inside the cage. Will this be a moment we look back on in disgust at our complicity? The truth of the matter is that we don’t yet know what the long-term effects of being a MMA fighter are and that’s what makes this result so unnerving.

In some ways the base of MMA fans have hidden behind a short history to point out that you don’t see retired mixed martial artists with the mental and physical problems of many former boxers. But we’re in one of the first eras where there is legitimate talent in every weight class and we’re seeing guys who have had long careers starting to get to retirement age. Men like Liddell have been knocked out repeatedly which is medically a huge concern, Wanderlei Silva is right there with him, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has taken enough punishment in his magical career to cause real concern and the list goes on.

Over the next 20 years we’re going to have a better idea of the long term health effects of mixed martial arts, and Chuck Liddell will be one of the cases that will be closely followed. I only hope for his sake that this “ending fit for a champion” isn’t part of a larger story that is fit for no man.