‘The Old UFC Didn’t Even Want Chuck Liddell’- Dana White

UFC Lightweight fighter, Charles Oliveira, has impressed one and all with his unbeaten streak in his last 8 matches. ‘Do Bronx’ has worked tirelessly from the past 2-3 years on his way to the title match. President Dana White, too, acknowledged his hard work and compared him to a certain Chuck Liddell.

Recently, White appeared for an interview where he discussed Charles Oliveira’s slow but steady rise to the top. The President had some words of praise for ‘Do Bronx’.

“This guy has consistently won, consistently came and did this thing,” White said.

“Not everybody comes out as a breakthrough star and rises to the top immediately. Some guys have to take time and grind it out and then if you are talented enough, and everything goes your way, you can get there.”

White then went ahead compared Oliveira’s career to that of Liddell. “I mean, Chuck Liddell was one of those guys. Chuck didn’t have, you know, meteoric rise to the top. I mean, when we first got involved and bought the UFC, the old UFC didn’t want Chuck Liddell in UFC, so not everybody’s path is same,” he concluded.

READ MORE: ‘Give Him Whatever He Wants’- Dana White Reveals How He Found Michael Chandler 

When Dana White didn’t want Liddell to fight again

Liddell (21-9) retired from UFC in 2010 after suffering 3 back-to-back losses. He again returned to MMA in 2018 to compete against Tito Ortiz for the Golden Boy MMA promotion.

Prior to his fight, White had said in an interview that he thinks this fight shouldn’t happen. “Chuck is actually a smart guy, and I tried to talk both of them out of this De La Hoya fight, told them that this De La Hoya thing was bad. Chuck, I tried to talk out of the fight period. Chuck Liddell is (almost) 50 years old and should not be fighting,” he said.

‘The Iceman’ lost that fight brutally against Ortiz via KO, who he already had beaten twice in UFC, including for the defense of the Light Heavyweight title. After the fight, White praised Liddell for his spirit of fighting but opined that he shouldn’t have fought that match.

Though their paths may appear to be the same, unlike Liddell, Oliveira is yet to win gold. He has an opportunity this coming Saturday to grab the ultimate prize in the lightweight division against Michael Chandler.

Can Oliveira grab his first gold?