Clark Kent
<B>News Bot</B>
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2006
- Messages
- 7,128
- Reaction score
- 6
01-27-2010 12:05 AM:
Nice job by John Morgan. MMAJunkie's lead reporter attended the season 11 "Ultimate Fighter" media day and caught a matter-of-fact statement by Tito Ortiz about Chuck Liddell. Ortiz, who always seems to be in mocking mode, sounded heartfelt when he said he was happy that Liddell beat alcoholism (1:22 mark) to make it back to the UFC.
"I think [Liddell] had a problem," Ortiz said. "A lot of people go through addiction. I think his deal was he was an alcoholic. He loved to party."
Ortiz claims Liddell's ego got the best of him.
"When you have all the money in the world and you can do what you want, no one tells you, 'No.' You're one of the baddest men on the Earth; no one tells you, 'No.' You can do what you want."
Ortiz then claimed UFC president Dana White had an intervention (1:40 mark) for "The Iceman."
"Thank God that (UFC president) Dana (White) gave [Liddell] an intervention, and he's sober now," Ortiz said. "He's been sober since November, and he looks like a different person. It's awesome. I'm proud of him – really proud of him. A lot of people can't do that. I kind of went through that myself, but I looked in the mirror and I realized that wasn't the life I wanted to lead.
Liddell avoided rock bottom and disasterous outcome.
"I'm proud he's found sobriety. A lot of fighters, and a lot of people in general, don't do that. They fall off the face of the earth, and sometimes they'll find them in a hotel, dead, or behind a wheel, dead. Thank God Chuck isn't one of those guys. Thank God he found sobriety, and I'm proud of him – very proud of him."
Ortiz followed Liddell during the media session, so Liddell did not have a chance to respond to Tito's claims. Yahoo! Sports reached out to Liddell after the session, but he declined the opportunity to comment.
Did this really happen? Or is this another Ortiz ploy to anger, embarrass and punk Liddell? If it did happen, the UFC needs to follow the path set forth by Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers. If Liddell needed an intervention and beat alcoholism, it's nothing to be ashamed of or hide.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
Nice job by John Morgan. MMAJunkie's lead reporter attended the season 11 "Ultimate Fighter" media day and caught a matter-of-fact statement by Tito Ortiz about Chuck Liddell. Ortiz, who always seems to be in mocking mode, sounded heartfelt when he said he was happy that Liddell beat alcoholism (1:22 mark) to make it back to the UFC.
"I think [Liddell] had a problem," Ortiz said. "A lot of people go through addiction. I think his deal was he was an alcoholic. He loved to party."
Ortiz claims Liddell's ego got the best of him.
"When you have all the money in the world and you can do what you want, no one tells you, 'No.' You're one of the baddest men on the Earth; no one tells you, 'No.' You can do what you want."
Ortiz then claimed UFC president Dana White had an intervention (1:40 mark) for "The Iceman."
"Thank God that (UFC president) Dana (White) gave [Liddell] an intervention, and he's sober now," Ortiz said. "He's been sober since November, and he looks like a different person. It's awesome. I'm proud of him – really proud of him. A lot of people can't do that. I kind of went through that myself, but I looked in the mirror and I realized that wasn't the life I wanted to lead.
Liddell avoided rock bottom and disasterous outcome.
"I'm proud he's found sobriety. A lot of fighters, and a lot of people in general, don't do that. They fall off the face of the earth, and sometimes they'll find them in a hotel, dead, or behind a wheel, dead. Thank God Chuck isn't one of those guys. Thank God he found sobriety, and I'm proud of him – very proud of him."
Ortiz followed Liddell during the media session, so Liddell did not have a chance to respond to Tito's claims. Yahoo! Sports reached out to Liddell after the session, but he declined the opportunity to comment.
Did this really happen? Or is this another Ortiz ploy to anger, embarrass and punk Liddell? If it did happen, the UFC needs to follow the path set forth by Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers. If Liddell needed an intervention and beat alcoholism, it's nothing to be ashamed of or hide.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
