A few months back, rumors started circulating about a potential Chuck Liddell comeback, fueled in part by posts to Liddell’s social media accounts showing him in excellent shape and teasing about a third fight with Tito Ortiz. Liddell’s long-time friend and coach John Hackleman threw fuel on that fire by suggesting that a Liddell return “would depend on the opponent.”

Enter Chael Sonnen.

The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger turned Bellator headliner has been angling for a fight with Liddell as part of his “legends ass-kicking tour,” goading Liddell over social media.

Hey

SCHMUCK

Liddell



Some one-syllable words of advice



You

Sign

Bellator

Fight

Chael



DON'T — Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) June 29, 2017

Called my Manager

Said

Get Chuck's Manager on phone. He said

'Where Chuck's at, he don't even have a MAILMAN, much less a Manager" — Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) July 25, 2017

Well, Liddell insists there’s nothing to the rumors but he also says that if they did fight, it would be a difficult one for him.

“I’ve never been very interested in fighting him,” Liddell told TMZ Sports. “He’s kind of a boring fighter. I mean, it’s a great matchup for me if we’re gonna fight but I haven’t talked to anybody about anything.”

“It’s an easy matchup. . . He ain’t gonna take me down and lay on me.”

Liddell made a career out of knocking out grapplers by “using his wrestling in reverse,” as former UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg used to say. A comeback bout against Sonnen could be exactly the type of fight Hackleman was talking about, particularly when you consider the financial incentives which, Liddell admits, could be alluring.

“He wants a big money fight, right?” “The Iceman” said. “It’s gonna be big money if I’m fighting him. He needs to draw something. . . For sure [it would have to be a big payday].”

Sonnen headlined Bellator’s second ever pay-per-view (the first in the Scott Coker era) earlier this year at Bellator 180. Viacom said they were “very pleased” with the results of the PPV, which MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer reported from early estimates was somewhere between 90,000 and 130,000 buys.

But whether that’s enough to draw Liddell out of retirement remains to be seen. After all, Liddell’s last fight was the main event of UFC 115 which drew an estimated 520,000 buys.

If a Sonnen fight does interest Liddell, though, Scott Coker might oblige him.