Chuck Liddell thinks he has the blueprint to beat Jon Jones

In December 2010, UFC legend Chuck Liddell walked away from mixed martial arts. Upon his retirement from the sport he helped popularize, “The Iceman” was given a cushy office job at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas where he currently serves as an ambassador for the sport.

During his time, Liddell was one of the most beloved and feared fighters of his generation. Before there was Rousey and McGregor, there was Liddell. He was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, did cameos on “Entourage” and guesting on late-night talk shows (and sometimes disastrous morning shows, too).

Despite being away from the sport for half a decade, Liddell hasn’t lost any of his competitive fire. Appearing on a recent episode of “The Fighter and the Kid” podcast, Liddell admitted he is still very much a “fight anywhere, anyplace, anytime,” type of guy. He definitely misses fighting but his reasons for retirement remain the same: his time was up.

One fighter Liddell is frequently compared to is Jon “Bones” Jones. Essentially undefeated in his career, Jones is the unequivocal best of his generation. And Liddell wonders what it would be like to mix it up with the current UFC standout.

"We'll see how he comes back," Liddell said. "He always shows up to fight. He always shows up in shape. He's good at winning fights. If he keeps beating everybody he's the best right now. I still think if he fought someone like me in my prime he would have a lot of trouble.”

In his prime, or in retirement, Liddell sees one problem with Jones’ toolbox as a fighter: he lacks power. And that’s something the 46-year-old Liddell thinks he can exploit, even today, “The problem is he doesn't hit hard enough to hurt me and he's not going to out-wrestle me. He's not going to out-wrestle me and I hit too hard for him. I would catch him sooner or later. It’s just styles make fights.

"What he does really well, if you've got a guy that's a great striker, he can out-wrestle them. If he's got a guy who's a wrestler, he can out-strike him [and] out-point him. For me, I'd be big trouble for him because if he could take me down he wouldn't be able to keep me down, if he even got a takedown. I mean, I will hit him.”

Liddell retired from professional fighting because of his age — and more specifically, a deteriorating chin — but you have to love his passion for the sport he obviously still loves so much.

After hearing about Liddell’s comments, Jones took to social media, taking a snappy jab at the Iceman’s weak-spot:

It’s unfortunate Liddell and Jones missed one another by just a few years, generationally speaking, because there seems to be some genuine dislike between these two all-time greats.