The worst seat in the house, by far, at any UFC show that Chuck Liddell attends is on the floor in Row 2, directly behind the company's vice president of business development.

Liddell doesn't exactly sit back and watch quietly, particularly if one of his friends is competing. He was jumping all over the place cageside on Dec. 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when, in a mostly empty arena, his pal, Court McGee, was fighting Marcio Alexandre.

View photos Chuck Liddell retired in 2010 after being knocked out in his final three fights. (Getty Images) More

It didn't matter much that Liddell stood throughout most of the fight, because so few people were seated ringside for McGee's fight that early on the card. Las Vegas crowds are notoriously late-arriving.

But it was packed by the time Luke Rockhold walked to the cage at UFC 194 later that night to challenge Chris Weidman for the middleweight title. It made no difference, though, as Liddell, a close friend of Rockhold's, kept jumping from his seat, throwing his arms in the air, and expending almost as much energy watching, it seemed, as he did in some of his famous knockouts.

On Tuesday, it will be five years since Liddell announced his retirement as an active fighter and was named to a front-office position by UFC president Dana White. He loves the game as much as he ever did, and is a frequent presence at the major shows.

He's not certain if he'll attend UFC 195 on Saturday, when Robbie Lawler defends his welterweight title against Carlos Condit at the MGM Grand Garden, but he'll be sure to be watching.

"I just love the fights," Liddell said.

White, his close friend, had to plead with him to retire because he so loved to compete. He was knocked out in his final three fights but still wanted to go on.

He loved it so much that on Monday, discussing the five-year anniversary of his retirement with Yahoo Sports, he said with a straight face that he even loved cutting weight.

If there is one thing a diverse group of fighters who hail from every continent can agree upon, it is that cutting weight sucks. There is nothing like it, and most despise it intensely.

Liddell, though, is so passionate about fighting that he liked cutting weight, because of what it represents.

"… When I started to do that," Liddell said, "I knew that it was the final thing I had to do before I got to fight."

The sport has changed much in the five years since he retired. For one, women are now competing in the UFC, which wasn't the case during his career.

More significantly, though, is that fighters are now entering the sport as mixed martial artists, and not as, say, a wrestler learning how to put it all together later.

Liddell was the biggest star in the UFC during his day, and his bouts with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture helped push MMA toward the mainstream.

The biggest stars in the sport today are featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. They're each great fighters in their own right, but they're also as popular for what they do outside of the cage as for their work in it.

McGregor's quick wit and penchant for trash talk have enabled him to steal the headlines and stand alone at the top of the heap in terms of widespread appeal.

His gift for gab can, at times, obscure the fact that as a fighter, he's pretty damn good. He knocked out long-time champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds in their bout at UFC 194.

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