Show notes
Chuck was born in Santa Monica & raised by a single mother. Growing up, school kids would pick on him, take his lunch money and bully him. His mom was a believer in non-violence and would tell him at first to not fight back. Eventually, she told him that he couldn't start a fight, but he could finish it if someone was picking on him. He hated people picking on others, so it gave him a lot of reasons to get in fights growing up defending his friends. He was taught if you work hard, you can be better than your opponents, and gave him the confidence to continue his desire to learn martial arts.
His dad left when he was only 3 years old, and Chuck wouldn't see him again until he was 28 years old. During high school, he started to focus on his fighting in a more professional way. His mom taught him the basics in Koei Kan Karate which laid the foundation for his MMA career. In college, he went to Cal Poly for Wrestling & Football, but eventually shifted to kickboxing. He would ditch class or shift his schedule around just to go to karate class every day. He eventually started fighting with the UFC in 1998, and by 2001, he was the #1 prospect for the Heavyweight World Champion. Liddell's moniker 'The Iceman' was coined by his trainer, John Hackleman, of Liddell's calm and relaxed temperament before fights.
Eventually, when he was at the peak of his fame, on TV and PPV events nationwide, his paternal father tried to reach out to him. But at this point, Chuck had no interest in starting a relationship with a father who chose to not be present in a child's life. He heard from his mom that he was an abusive guy, and probably a good thing that he wasn't involved very much in his life. In 2010, Chuck retired from fighting, and instead focused on the business side of the UFC. Now as a father himself, he wants to focus on being there for his daughter and being involved in her life as much as possible.
He's learned to separate his marital issues from his kids, to keep the drama away from them. With fatherhood now, his focus is to be a more involved, present father than he had growing up. He loves taking his children to school, watching their games and events, and being a part of their daily lives.
Also, hear some stories from his early fighting days, how he got into kickboxing, behind-the-scenes UFC stuff, and random questions with Chuck! This is Chuck Lidell in his own words, on Knockin' Doorz Down.
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