When WME-IMG purchased the UFC from Zuffa in that landmark deal, Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell was one of the many employees to get the boot.
UFC president Dana White explained that he hired Chuck Liddell as UFC executive vice president of business development as a ‘gift’ in return for his loyalty to the promotion.
‘The Iceman’ was considered to the be the face of the UFC and, therefore, MMA in his heydey. Once he hung up his gloves for good in 2010 after suffering three successive knockout losses, White got him a new gig that didn’t require taking damage inside an Octagon.
The UFC even played up the vagueness of his job title with an amusing promo poking fun at what he actually did for them as EVP of BD for the UFC.
At the weekend, something a bit unexpected happened. Liddell posted a photo of himself facing off with Tito Ortiz. The caption suggested that completing their heated trilogy could be on the cards, despite both fighters being retired.
There have been some rumblings of Liddell being upset with his former employers, a rumour which Michael Bisping perpetuated on his Believe You Me podcast.
“I’m in the circle, where people tell me things. This is me putting out a disclaimer, if they hear me saying this, I can say ‘I said it was third hand information’, when really it might not be third hand information.”
‘The Count’ was told (by an anonymous source, of course) that Liddell was on an astronomical wage before being sacked by the UFC.
“Somebody at the weekend told me that Chuck Liddell is really pissed off, because he had a pretty sweet deal with the UFC when he left this job. He was an ambassador for the UFC. I believe he was on $1 million a year, that’s the number I heard.”
“It was great that the UFC was doing that, but now of course, new UFC owners came in. I heard that Chuck was really pissed off, so that’s why he’s possibly going over to Bellator.”
Nothing confirmed, but wouldn’t anyone be ticked off if they had that much annual income and lost it just like that?
