Chuck Liddell: Latin American MMA scene 'a few years behind,' like Europe a decade ago

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell likens Latin America’s MMA scene to Europe a decade ago. It’s a little underdeveloped.

“You’ve got some great striking, good jiu-jitsu, but they’re missing the rest of the lot, and they’re missing how to connect all three of them together,” Liddell said backstage at this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 98 in Mexico City. “I think they’re a few years behind.”

Apart from some notable exceptions, Liddell indicated it will take time before native Mexican fighters compete at the level of their American counterparts and others around the world. But with the country’s love of combat sports, and increased exposure from added UFC events, he said it’s just a matter of time before they catch up.

“You start picking up a couple of them, and now we’ve got a European champion,” said Liddell, referring to current middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping. “It’s not that far out.”

UFC Fight Night 98 featured a bevy of up-and-coming Mexican fighters, including Erik Perez, Alexa Grasso, and the finalists of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3,” where Liddell served as a head coach. His charge, Claudio Puelles, was defeated by Martin Bravo by second-round TKO.

In a few years, however, fans could be seeing a lot more of the “TUF” fighters.

Check out the above video to hear Liddell’s thoughts on Latin America and for more on UFC Fight Night 98, check out the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie.