Fans will remember this event in relation to Coleman, but more so the kick heard round the world when Pete Williams from The Lion’s Den knocked out the exhausted former champ with a kick to the face. Nicknamed “Redemption”, the show’s title was given in honor of Mark Coleman’s attempts to climb back up in the heavyweight rankings after losing his title to Maurice Smith from three events earlier. The event would be UFC 17 from the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Alabama. It took Chuck three years to get his shot in the UFC, with one fight under his belt that is uncredited on most of his records (which he won by a head-kick KO), but all that mattered was that he made it in. It was also here that Liddell met the Fertitta’s and Dana White (a story for another day). Liddell headed to John Lewis’ “Jsect” gym in Vegas, where the UFC fighter was already training other known MMA fighters, and helped Chuck combine his wrestling skills with his striking, as well as teaching him more about the ground game. After having a talk with his teachers, he decided to take his fighting career to the next level, and that was to enter the growing world of MMA. It was time to either make the pro thing a reality, or put on a tie and use his accounting degree from Cal Poly to earn a living. Liddell was making a minimal amount of money for his kickboxing fights, and now had to support two kids.
Years later, he would meet Nick Blomgrem, who taught Chuck Muay Thai and transitioned him into the world of competitive kickboxing, as well as John Hackleman, who improved the budding fighters skills all the way to the end of Chuck’s career. At age 12, he began learning Koei-Kan Karate (which is what the tattoo on the side of his head is about), and by high school was a black belt in the style, as well as on the wrestling team and a center on his football team. From there, it was anything goes for the young boy. When other kids picked on him in daycare, he would stand still and absorb the blows until, after one particular fight that required his mother to get him, she gave him permission to defend himself. Growing up in Santa Barbara, California, Chuck’s mother forbid her son from getting into fights at school. It was either make it in fighting or get a desk job, and Chuck was not ready yet to push pencils.Ĭharles David Liddell was getting into fights from a young age, but he was not the one starting them. At the time, Liddell held two national kickboxing titles and accolades in other organizations, and was at a crossroads in his life. In 1995, 25-year old Chuck Liddell had known about the UFC from its early days, but never considered fighting until a friend of his, San Diego Chargers fullback Lorenzo Neal, offered to sponsor him to train.
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