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Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:16 pm EDT

The dance is over for Chuck Liddell

By Maggie Hendricks

Chuck Liddell, who proudly carried the MMA flag as he stumbled through the reality show "Dancing With the Stars," will no longer have to wear frilly outfits and plod through dances. He and his partner Anna Trebunskaya were voted off the ABC show on Tuesday night.

But what a run it was. Who would have expected that the UFC Hall of Famer would take to the dance floor? He didn't have much natural dance talent, but he clearly worked hard on every routine that he was assigned. His best dance was the intense tango, but in the end, his lack of improvement is probably what made both the show's voters and the judges give up on Chuck.

"Dancing With the Stars" made its debut in 2005, right around when Liddell was beginning his reign atop the UFC light heavyweight division. Who would have thought, just four years later, that MMA would become mainstream enough that Liddell would be one of the stars on the show? 

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36 Comments

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  1. Barry McCociner
    1. Posted by Barry McCociner Tue Oct 13, 2009 11:15 pm EDT

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    umm...I doubt he brought one fan to MMA. While I applaud him for having the courage to do this, dont forget that they get PAID to do it, along with the opportunity to make more money down the road in other ways. I would have guessed that liddell would have been a contestant on the show because the show is full of people that have regionalized fame, and liddell is another example of this. To put it in perspective, I will not be watching chick gymnastics since that girl won last year, and i highly doubt someone who didnt watch it before will start watching it now. I just wasted ten minutes.
  2. Coach Isiah Thompson
    2. Posted by Coach Isiah Thompson Tue Oct 13, 2009 11:21 pm EDT

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    A very reliable source has confirmed this August confrontation between fans of Donny Osmond and Chuck Liddell prior to being selected as celebrity dancers on ABC's hit show Dancing With The Stars.
    Liddell Fans: What are you here for, old man?
    Osmond Fans: Come ask leave boy alone.
    Liddell Fans: Can't the boy handle the problem himself?
    Osmond Fans: One to one problem....yes. Five to one.....too much to ask of anyone.
    Liddell Fans: Is that all that's bothering you? Care to dance, Chuck?
    Chuck Liddell: Yes, Sensei.
    Osmond Fans: No more dancing.
    Liddell Fans: You don't come into this dance studio and drop a challenge like that and leave. This is a dance competition, not a knitting class. You get your boy out there or we have a serious problem.
    Osmond Fans: Too much your advantage. Your dance studio.
    Liddell Fans: Name a place then.
    Osmond Fans: Tournament.
    Liddell Fans: We can accommodate you there.
    Osmond Fans: Ask one more small favor.
    Liddell Fans: What's that?
    Osmond Fans: Leave Donny alone to train.
    Liddell Fans: You're some @$$ pushy fans.....but I like that. We agree to leave Donny alone. But if he doesn't show, it's going to be open season on him.....and you.
  3. Daniel H
    3. Posted by Daniel H Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:54 am EDT

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    I don't know if this will bring any new fans to MMA or not but it certainly won't hurt anything either. Personally I am just happy for Chuck because he is one of the guys who hit his prime before the money in MMA was very good so this might help him achieve better long term financial security. If you ask me some of these young guys should pay royalties to guys like him an Coture for taken the beatings for 10 grand in the early years when the sport was building up.
  4. paige r
    4. Posted by paige r Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:58 am EDT

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    Karate Kid 1....nice.
  5. John T
    5. Posted by John T Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:45 am EDT

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    Hey Barry! thats why its called dancing with the STARS ! And yes they get PAID as a result of their success in life that put them in the position to be on the show. I guess miserable [profane]s have to run their mouths. So keep wasting your time buddy, you're pretty good at it
  6. bmorris1979
    6. Posted by bmorris1979 Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:05 am EDT

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    Chuck is looking at that chick's head like he wants to eat it
  7. Mark
    7. Posted by Mark Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:47 am EDT

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    I cant believe a bunch of MMA fans are actually taking their time to talk about Dancing with the Stars
  8. Barry McCociner
    8. Posted by Barry McCociner Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:05 am EDT

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    wow john...someone doesnt get laid enough...I dont know how you saw me as running my mouth. I was responding to the questions maggie posed.
    1. No, I dont think it will bring new fans to MMA.
    2. I applaud chuck for doing something so far out of his normal realm.
    3. yes, i would expect an MMA fighter to be on the show...they have had football players, gymnasts, businessmen, reality show stars, singers, actors, etc...why not MMA? Dancing with the stars tries to get the best ratings possible, so they try to find the most diverse group of "celebrities".
    p.s. A lot of you on here attack joenamath54, and he responds with unintelligent childish remarks which take away from his point, but he makes good points. MMA will never overtake boxing, and it is just a fad. 10 years ago, everyone wanted to be a poker player, now everyone wants to jump in the cage. While I find MMA entertaining and fun to watch, It will never become the mainstream force that MLB, NFL, NBA, and boxing are.
  9. The Unsilent Majority
    9. Posted by The Unsilent Majority Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:50 pm EDT

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    His lack of improvement....odd, that's what got him eliminated from the UFC too. Poor guy. Someone teach this old dog some new tricks, he's till got a lot of fight left in him.
  10. The Unsilent Majority
    10. Posted by The Unsilent Majority Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:53 pm EDT

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    Barry...who cares if MMA ever overtakes boxing? It's a lucrative business that draws a large fan base. It doesn't have to compete with boxing, but if you want to make that point, then once Floyd Mayweather jr. either dies, gets beat, or retires again, MMA will start outdoing boxing PPVs again.
  11. depauwfoz
    11. Posted by depauwfoz Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:16 pm EDT

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    It already has overtaken all but the very biggest in boxing matches, judging strictly from PPV numbers over the past couple of years. 7 of the top 10 PPV buys in 2008 were UFC events to just two of boxings. The De La Hoya fight at the top of the list had 1,250,000 buys to the number #2 Lesnar Couture with 1,010,000 buys. Then there are five more UFC events before another Boxing. It won't overtake boxing in the future because it's already done it in terms of overall buys. It's not because it's a fad. It's been around for years and has only gotten bigger.
  12. depauwfoz
    12. Posted by depauwfoz Wed Oct 14, 2009 2:16 pm EDT

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    It already has overtaken all but the very biggest in boxing matches, judging strictly from PPV numbers over the past couple of years. 7 of the top 10 PPV buys in 2008 were UFC events to just two of boxings. The De La Hoya fight at the top of the list had 1,250,000 buys to the number #2 Lesnar Couture with 1,010,000 buys. Then there are five more UFC events before another Boxing. It won't overtake boxing in the future because it's already done it in terms of overall buys. It's not because it's a fad. It's been around for years and has only gotten bigger.
  13. Barry McCociner
    13. Posted by Barry McCociner Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:00 pm EDT

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    Sorry, but PPV numbers is all you have to back yourself up, thats pretty weak. Boxing is the sweet science and has been a long revered fixture in this country. It aint goin anywhere. Arguably one of the top 3 most famous people in this world was a boxer. Yes, boxing has hit a low point right now, but it has proven over the last few hundred years it isnt goin anywhere. The UFC has more buys than most WWE shows as well, but I dare u to say it is bigger or more mainstream than them. Now go order that machida shirt so you have something to remember MMA by 20 years from now.
  14. event horizon
    14. Posted by event horizon Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:20 pm EDT

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    Sigh....Somewhere in a basement Daniel W is deeply moved to tears as his hero has been removed from DSW...Sorry Bro, It will be ok....Just playin tiger....
    Glad this soap opra is over...Now onto steller MMA blogs...
  15. dave l
    15. Posted by dave l Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:47 pm EDT

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    That broad is uuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggglllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
  16. tim
    16. Posted by tim Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:48 am EDT

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    Barry, there is a difference in how you are defining "overtake" and how most others are. I believe you are saying that MMA will not surpass boxing in longevity. Well, you are right. As long as two people keep boxing, MMA can't possibly catch up. Even 1,000 years from now, if 99% of the world follows MMA and only 1% boxing, then on your criteria boxing still reigns.
    MMA might be a passing fad. I enjoyed poker a few years ago (and I still would if I could get more than 3 tv channels) just like I am enjoying MMA now (ironically, Versus is one of the channels I can get). However, for some reason I have never enjoyed watching a boxing match. I don't care if boxing survives longer so long as MMA continues to put out a great product right now. And right now MMA boxing, per the numbers.
  17. iba
    17. Posted by iba Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:56 am EDT

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    You can give boxing all the props you want, and it is very very well deserving, it has been around a long time. Your right boxing is a " sweet science". But if you knew anything about fighting, you would know that boxing is an aspect of mma. Fighters in mma trained in multiple discplines, to include boxing. With that, why would you condemn MMA when it includes BOXING (the sweet science), and a multitude of other highly respect discplines???? Listen the loss of interest has nothing to do with the better fighting, but has to do with boxing being stretched to thin by many promotions!!
  18. spippen
    18. Posted by spippen Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:25 am EDT

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    Chuck Lidell is the reason I first got interested in MMA. I just really have always liked the way he fights, win or lose. You always knew going in you were going to be highly entertained with any of his fights. He just Brings it - every time. That's all you can ask of anybody. MMA has already surpassed boxing in terms of popularity, at least for me, and I used to love boxing. You just know that Don King would love to get into MMA right now, but Dana White has got a pretty good choke lock on the sport. Boxing, for me, has never been lower. What a shame. I think it took more guts for Lidell to get on the dance floor that it did to enter the octagon for some of his fights.
  19. Wil
    19. Posted by Wil Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:55 am EDT

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    Barry, when was the last time boxing was relevant? MMA has already overtaken boxing(not in the "longevity" sense, but in the OBVIOUS sense you actually used it in...pretty weak argument tim, if we used that criteria then baseball and boxing will never be "overtaken" by football). MMA is much more popular already and even when this initial honeymoon phase of interest fades away it may still be much more popular than boxing. The problem with boxing is that that most divisions are watered down right now and the sport as a whole lacks characters which draw people in. While boxing purists will argue this, the talent required in MMA at least equals boxing but MMA surpasses boxing in characters, excitement, and marketability. ....poker by the way is still pretty damn popular, but it's no longer a brand new fad so of course is seems to have lost its appeal but it's still there.
    I agree with you that boxing has a long history and will continue to prosper but today, at this point in time, boxing can no longer hold a candle to MMA
  20. leesherfield
    20. Posted by leesherfield Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:48 am EDT

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    uuuuuuuuggggggllllllllyyyyyyyyyyy but sexy that what we like to call a buger pretty green on the inside but sticky & slimy on the outside. nooo chhuucckk, don't eat that yuk.
  21. irishbuckeye
    21. Posted by irishbuckeye Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:15 am EDT

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    Why in the world would anyone watch it!!!! i would expect something like that from maybe david twinkle toes hasselholf!!! what the f--- chuck are you thinking! if you are that hard up, get a job in construction something you don't have to hide from your kids!!! jesus
  22. depauwfoz
    22. Posted by depauwfoz Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:36 am EDT

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    Yeah Barry, I guess you're right. PPV numbers have nothing to do with the popularity of two largely PPV only sports. Everyone knows money and popularity are to things that just kill staying power. That 's just silly. You're also referencing Ali to prove boxing relevance. That's like referencing Pele's stint here in the 70's to prove that soccer finally made it here. Wil hit the nail on the head for a lot of problems with boxing.
  23. angelol
    23. Posted by angelol Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:53 am EDT

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    That "chick" gymnast won Olympic gold medals. Not exactly regional fame, more like worldwide fame.
  24. kelley d
    24. Posted by kelley d Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    That women isn't ugly, I have seen ugly and that is not it. As far as boxing vs mma, I see the possibility to make serious money in the future by taking the sport back to what it was in the begining, by that I mean a boxxer vs a wrestler and so on. You will have people in strict fields competeing against the new mma guys who are all going to badasses in every thing so it would be interesting to see them fight a highly trained boxer ( Mayweather) against say BJ penn. I would pay to see that.

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