UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell on 'embarrassing' Bellator 149 fights

Chuck Liddell never shared the cage with fellow UFC Hall of Famers Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, but he was active in the promotion during phases of both men’s octagon careers. So it’s not hard to see why he has strong opinions on the recent Bellator 149 main event between the two.

Shamrock (28-17-2 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) and Gracie (15-2-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) headlined the Feb. 19 card, which aired on Spike. Gracie won by controversial TKO after absorbing a knee that Shamrock claimed landed to his groin.

Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC), whose last bout took place in June 2010, said at the recent launch party for “EA Sports UFC 2” that the bout should have been a special feature and not a main event – especially, he said, since Shamrock had fought only once since 2010 and Gracie hadn’t competed since 2007.

“My issue with that is, don’t make it a main event,” Liddell said. “I get it if guys want to see it for nostalgia’s sake. You can sell it, and it’s going to bring in people as a special fight on a card – a real card. If you want to be a real league, have a real card and put that as a special fight because people want to see it. You’re getting what you expect.

“Any real fans aren’t expecting to see some fireworks from two guys who have been retired for 10 – and should have been retired for 15 – years. You get what you expect. To put it as a main event is kind of embarrassing to me as an organization.”

The other featured bout on the Bellator 149 card was an ugly fight between street-fighters Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (6-2 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris (2-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

The bout, which was ridiculed on social media, came to an end when “Dada 5000” collapsed following a series of grazing punches from Slice. The end came as much due to exhaustion as any single punch.

Liddell made his name as a knockout artist in the UFC’s octagon. Predictably, he was not impressed by the skills on display.

“Don’t even get me started with that ‘Dada 5000’ or whatever that guy’s name is,” Liddell said. “Did you see his shadowboxing the day before? The hitting the mitts? Oh my god. What is he doing? Has he trained before? Has he ever been in a gym? Has he ever hit a bag? It was terrible. I was like, ‘Are they really going to let this guy fight?’ And he’s fighting in a semi-main event in a big show. It’s not like this was somewhere like we’re back in Tachi Palace (Fights) or something. It’s a big show.”

The situation became scary when “Dada 5000” was taken to the hospital following the loss. He suffered renal failure and was reportedly in critical condition for a time.

The heavyweight brawler is now recovering at home, but the situation provided a valuable lesson in Liddell’s eyes.

“I heard that,” the former light heavyweight champion said. “That’s horrible. That’s what happens when you put guys who shouldn’t be fighting at the top level at the top level.”

Check out the clip above or the extended interview below.

And for more on Bellator 149, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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