Tito Ortiz rejects Chuck Liddell's proposal: 'I don't need the money,' but 'I can lend you some cash'

Whether or not it’s a good idea is debatable, but the likelihood of MMA legend Chuck Liddell returning to competition – nearly seven years after his last fight – appears to be increasing.

One of the primary looming questions about a potential Liddell comeback seems to revolve around an opponent. “The Iceman” appears to have one in mind, though: a third showdown with career-long rival Tito Ortiz.

Liddell (21-8 MMA, 16-7 UFC) has battered former training partner Ortiz (19-12-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) twice during their UFC Hall of Fame careers. A third fight has been set up in the past but never materialized, but the idea apparently isn’t dead (via Instagram):

Why not?

A post shared by Chuck Liddell (@chuckliddell) on Jun 3, 2017 at 9:02pm PDT

Strongly urged and somewhat forced by UFC President Dana White, Liddell retired from the sport in 2010 following a first-round knockout loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 115. It marked Liddell’s fifth loss in six fights, with the final three defeats coming by highlight-reel knockouts.

Once retired Liddell was given a full-time job in the UFC’s front offices. He spent several years there, but when WME-IMG acquired the UFC this past summer, several layoffs followed, and Liddell was among the casualties.

Although he’s kept busy, Liddell has never completely detached himself from the idea of fighting again. And with no contractual obligations to the UFC, Liddell is free to explore his options.

Bellator President Scott Coker recently told MMAjunkie he met with Liddell, but he said it was to discuss a brand-ambassador position rather than the possibility of a fight.

If Liddell were to come back, though, rebooting his feud with Ortiz would be one of the few logical directions available. Liddell beat Ortiz by second-round TKO at UFC 47 in April 2004, and he then put on a similar performance en route to a third-round TKO win at UFC 66 in December 2006.

The rivals were supposed to clash once more after coaching Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but Ortiz withdrew due to an injury, and Liddell instead fought Franklin in what was his final bout.

Ortiz, meanwhile, has continued to compete in notable fights in the years of Liddell’s absence. He’s coming off a first-round submission win over Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170 in January in what he called his own retirement fight.

Whether the possibility of another showdown with Liddell would be enough to persuade Ortiz to come back for another fight remains to be seen, but given his response, he doesn’t seem particularly interested.

As he replied to Ortiz’s “why not?” post, Ortiz worked in a few digs (via Twitter):

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.