Chuck Liddell has reminisced about sharing the mat with former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.
'The Iceman' became an MMA legend thanks to his sprawl-and-fight style that made him a wrestler's nightmare and a fan favorite of the sport.
Cain Velasquez was known for his brutal wrestling. It earned him a contract with the UFC after just two fights, but it was no use when he met Chuck Liddell.
In 2008, they shared a few sparring sessions as Liddell was nearing the end of his career and Velasquez was still finding his way in MMA's premier promotion.
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez.
Chuck Liddell remembers sparring with Cain Velasquez
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold recently explained the nightmarish time he had sparring with Velasquez and expressed his preference for training with Daniel Cormier during an appearance on the Jaxxon podcast.
Liddell also appeared on the show. The 55-year-old shocked everyone in the room by revealing that his training with Velasquez was very different.
However, the UFC Hall of Famer admitted that he sparred with the man widely considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time when he was just a prospect.
“I trained with him a few times,” Liddell revealed.
“When we sparred, I frustrated him a lot.
“He couldn't take me down. He couldn't take me down.
“I mean, he was 4-0 at the time, he just came to the sport.
“I never had to do it again once he got to where he was.
'He was the man! He was tough.”
Chuck Liddell backs himself to beat Jon Jones
Jon Jones is the greatest MMA fighter of all time, but he's also a man who apparently found it very difficult to compete against Liddell in the gym.
'Bones' is virtually undefeated throughout his career, with the only loss on his record coming in a highly controversial disqualification defeat in 2009.
Since then, he has dominated light heavyweight for a decade, moving up a division to test himself against the big men of MMA.
Jones defeated Ciryl Gane in March 2023 to become the UFC heavyweight champion before defending his title by knocking out Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 last month and setting up a unification clash with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Liddell believes he could have been the man to beat Jones, who he is certain wouldn't have been able to knock out had they met in the Octagon.
“I would have been a bad match for him,” Liddell said in October.
“I'm probably one of the few guys where he has trouble dictating where I fight him. He would have to fight me standing up, he couldn't outsmart me, he couldn't take me down.
“Jon Jones, no, he couldn't take me down, he should have struck with me.”
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