The rumor mill has been churning as of late with the possibility of an iceman comeback. Roughly six and a half years ago Chuck Liddell announced his retirement at the behest of his former manager, now UFC president Dana White. To encourage him to make that decision Dana gave him, what was assumed to be, a largely ceremonial but well paying job as the Vice President of Business Development. Well that presumably cushy gig came to an end last year shortly after WME-IMG bought the UFC for 4 billion dollars.

Without that monthly paycheck, Liddell; who was once the UFC’s biggest star, might be getting the itch again. He flirted with the idea of a comeback over the years but never with much conviction. However a week ago Chuck broke out the old shorts and took to instagram in a picture looking lean and mean, which once again sparked speculation.

But just because a guy in his 40’s has abs doesnt mean hes ready to fight. As a bum in his 20’s with no abs who can’t fight I’m somewhat of an authority on the matter. Or so I thought, until two days later when his longtime trainer John Hackleman went on the Anik and Florian podcast and had this to say about a Chuck comeback.

“This sounds so bad, seriously. But It would all depend on the match. I’m not gonna name who I would let him fight… It’s not up to me to let him fight or not — but (who) I would OK (him fighting) and who I wouldn’t,” Hackleman said.

In fairness Hackleman did go on to say he’s not sure if a theoretical three million dollar return fight would be worth it when you consider Chuck’s legacy and the future earning potential associated with it. But he certainly opened the door to the possibility. And if we had to speculate on which opponents Hackleman might greenlight, the top two are currently associated with Bellator; Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. If instead we see him return in the UFC the likely candidates are Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, or Mauricio Shogun Rua. The latter two of which handed him two of his final three knockout losses. We can’t say whether a return for the Iceman will ever materializes or if it’s even a good idea, all we can say is if it happens we’ll watch.