Bisping suggests Chuck Liddell seeking comeback with Bellator
With rumours of Chuck Liddell looking at the possibility of coming out of retirement, Michael Bisping has fanned the flames by claiming the former UFC light heavyweight champion is seeking a third fight with Tito Ortiz.
Speaking on his own podcast ‘Believe You Me’, Michael Bisping, coached by Ortiz on season three of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, has now added to the kindling by stating that he has heard Liddell is supposedly ‘pissed off’ after losing his job with the UFC and could sign with Bellator MMA in the future.
“I’m in the circle, where people tell me things,” Bisping explained. “This is me putting out a disclaimer, if they hear me saying this, I can say ‘I said it was third-hand information’ when really it might not be third-hand information.
“Somebody at the weekend told me that Chuck Liddell is really pissed off because he had a pretty sweet deal with the UFC when he left this job. He was an ambassador for the UFC. I believe he was on $1 million a year, that’s the number I heard.
“It was great that the UFC was doing that, but now, of course, new UFC owners came in,” Bisping said. “I heard that Chuck was really pissed off, so that’s why he’s possibly going over to Bellator.”
The UFC middleweight champion would then go on to offer his thoughts on whether a potential third bout between Liddell and Ortiz should take place:
“Can he compete? Should he come back? The answer is no. Can he compete, and should he fight against Tito Ortiz? The answer is probably yes.”
Hearsay of a Liddell return initially started earlier this month after ‘The Iceman’ posted a face-off with former rival Ortiz captioned ‘Why not?’.