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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell remains undecided about his future despite getting knocked out for the fourth time in six fights in June.
Speaking to the Minneapolis Star Tribune this weekend, Liddell laid out what's going into his decision.
"It's about how I feel and if I want to go back and make a run at a title and how far away that would be. And whatever I think is left in the tank," Liddell said. "I've been doing PR stuff for the last couple months, and I'll finally be home for the month. I'll probably decide sometime in September, when I have time to relax."
Liddell was on top of the sport at the outset of 2007, but his loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson began a stretch that has seen Liddell fall precipitously down the ranks. Getting knocked out by Rich Franklin at UFC 115 was his third straight knockout loss, leading UFC President Dana White, fans and writers everywhere to call for his retirement. But Liddell remains unsure what he wants to do.
"I don't feel like there's anything left to prove," he said. "I still love fighting, but there's a lot that goes into it. Maybe it might be time. I'm just not sure yet."
Penick's Analysis: I know it's hard for fighters to come to terms with the end of their careers. It's the same thing for anyone who has been doing something they love as their career. But looking at the fact that he's taken some serious abuse in his last six fights and his brain and chin have been tested far too often, it's time for him to realize that his ability to take punishment is not what it used to be. The punch that Franklin finished him with would not have stopped him four years ago, but there are a lot of guys in the UFC's 205 lb. division that can deliver similar punishment should he be matched up with them. His fans simply don't want to see him knocked out anymore.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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